Robinson ties its future to R66
The second Robinson R66 made its first flight on February 18 and a third is under construction at the company’s headquarters in nearby Torrance, Calif.
The second Robinson R66 made its first flight on February 18 and a third is under construction at the company’s headquarters in nearby Torrance, Calif. All Heli-Expo’09 attendees are invited to the Robinson factory on Tuesday for facility tours beginning at noon followed by a preview of the R66 at 3 p.m.
The Robinson open house is an unusual move for a company cultured in underplaying its achievements. It highlights just how important the Rolls-Royce RR300 turbine-powered R66 is to the company’s future. Company founder Frank Robinson is characteristically blunt about it. “The only thing that we can count on to save this company,” he said, “is to get that R66 on the market as soon as possible, and at that point we can stop having layoffs.”
