Rotorcraft
Robinson Preps Torrance Factory for R88 Production
Ever more vertical integration is the mantra for this manufacturer
Robinson president and CEO David Smith
Robinson president and CEO David Smith introducing the R88 at Verticon 2025. © Mariano Rosales/AIN

Unveiled last year at Verticon, the R88 is Robinson’s largest helicopter, capable of carrying 10 occupants, with a 275-cu-ft cabin for up to eight passengers or 1,800 pounds of payload with full fuel. Power is provided by a 1,000-shp Safran Helicopter Engines Arriel 2W. Certification and entry into service are expected to take place later this decade, and the R88 will sell for about $3.3 million.

A key element of the R88 design is the input drive shaft, which connects the engine to the main transmission. “Input drive shafts are really tricky. That’s one of the hardest challenges on any helicopter, the ability to take relative motion between gear boxes and engines and throughout all sorts of maneuvers and transients,” Robinson Helicopter president and CEO David Smith told AIN.

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