General Aviation

Robinson R44

Manufacturer: Robinson Helicopter Company

The Robinson R44 is a four‑seat light helicopter built by the Robinson Helicopter Company since 1992. It evolved from the two‑seat R22, adding hydraulically assisted flight controls and a larger engine. The first prototype flew on March 31 1990, received FAA certification in December 1992, and entered service with its first delivery in February 1993. Since 1999 it has been the world’s best‑selling general‑aviation helicopter.

Aircraft Facts

Type Key
robinson-r44
Class
General Aviation
Registry Count
1,919
Example Registration
N1004T

Specifications

Wingspan
10 m / 33 ft
Length
11.66 m / 38 ft
Height
3.28 m / 10 ft
Max Speed
240 km/h / 150 mph
Cruise Speed
202 km/h / 125 mph
Range
560 km / 300 nmi
Ceiling
4300 m / 14000 ft
First Flight
1990-03-31
Production Start
1990
Total Built
6866

Aircraft Overview

History

Designed in the 1980s by Frank Robinson and his engineering team, the R44 first flew on March 31 1990. It earned its FAA type certificate in December 1992 and began deliveries in January 1993. In 1998 the Newscopter variant was introduced with onboard news‑gathering gear. The Raven model arrived in 2000 featuring hydraulically assisted controls and adjustable pedals; the Raven II followed in July 2002 with a more powerful fuel‑injected engine, wider blades, higher gross weight and better high‑altitude performance. In November 2015 Robinson announced the Cadet, a cargo‑focused version of the Raven I.

Design

The R44 is a single‑engine helicopter with a semi‑rigid two‑blade main rotor and a two‑blade tail rotor. It uses skid landing gear and has an enclosed cabin that seats a pilot and three passengers side‑by‑side. The tail rotor’s direction of rotation is reversed from the R22 to give better yaw control, and the advancing blade is on the bottom.

Variants

Key variants include the original R44 Astro, the Newscopter with news‑gathering equipment, the Raven (2000) with hydraulically assisted controls, the Raven II (2002) featuring a more powerful engine and wider blades, and the Cadet (2015), a cargo‑focused version of the Raven I. An unmanned R550X drone based on the Raven II was developed in 2023.

Operations

The R44 is widely used by private owners, companies, flying clubs and law‑enforcement agencies for training and general transport. Flight schools such as Southern Utah University, Embry‑Riddle, and the University of North Dakota use Raven and Cadet models to train rotor‑wing pilots. Many national armed forces operate the helicopter, including units in Bolivia, Jordan, Lebanon, Mexico, Peru, the Philippines, Poland, Russia, South Africa, Thailand, Alaska State Troopers (USA) and Uruguay police.

Notable Facts

  • The R44 has been the world’s best‑selling general‑aviation helicopter every year since 1999.
  • In 2009, Robinson began installing bladder‑type fuel tanks in all new R44 helicopters to reduce post‑crash fire risk.
  • The first R44 Newscopter was delivered in 1998 with onboard electronic news‑gathering equipment.
  • The R44 Raven II features a more powerful fuel‑injected engine and wider blades for higher gross weight and improved altitude performance.
  • In 2023, the R550X unmanned helicopter drone based on the R44 Raven II was developed by Rotor Technologies.

Variants

  • R44 II- 1,304 registrations - Example N1004T
  • R44- 550 registrations - Example N1019V
  • R44 II- 59 registrations - Example N120AB
  • R44 ASTRO- 6 registrations - Example N128KR

Machine-Readable Resources

Sources