R22 - airframe - skid gear

SG:TIP 1: Flight Training: Pre-flight: skid tubes:

The aluminium skid tubes wear very thin (some have cracked/broken) with continual practice autorotational engine off landings to the ground, especially on to sandy surfaces with sparse ground cover. This requires regular safety inspections, usually carried out at a pre-flight or daily inspection.

Install the ground handling wheels, have someone hold the tail rotor gearbox and apply a gentle pressure to bring the tail boom down till the rear of the skid tubes just touches the ground. Have your helper hold the gentle pressure on the TRGB while you place a safety block under each skid tube in the area of the front upright skid strut and then inspect underneath the skid for signs of excessive wear.

SG:TIP 2: Flight Training: Practice emergency landings:cross tubes: 

There have been a couple of incidents with different operators where the front cross tube has broken on the left-hand side about a couple of inches inboard from the fuselage attach point. Usually this seems to happen with an autorotation landing to the ground or skewed ground contact practicing jammed tail rotor pedals. Maybe a previous bad landing or frequency of landings contributed to it due stress caused by the left skid hitting heavy and first with too much right pedal applied. The R22 will survive most run on - including high speed - autorotation landings on suitable surfaces IF the fuselage is aligned with the direction of travel and RRPM is well managed.

SG: TIP 3: Pre-flight: rain caps:

If you knock a rain cap off the front of a skid tube or off a cross-tube, have it replaced reasonably quickly. With a cap off, water collects inside (as well as dirt and dust) and its near impossible to get it all out. The end result could be the protective internal primer paint being damaged, allowing corrosion to form, which then weakens the alloy and may lead to failure – usually in the wrong place at the wrong time.

SG: TIP 4: ground handling: safety:

The ground handling wheels should always be treated with respect. The handles, due their length, are not as prone to hitting you in the teeth or smacking you in the groin as some other helicopter types. Being smaller in length, the handle places you closer to the skid gear in a bent over posture. In this position, your focus is usually down and looking at the wheel itself.  Stop and look back to see that the tail rotor will not hit any objects such as  maintenance stands or suchlike as you lower the skids to the ground. Also: watch that your toes aren’t caught under the skid as you let it down off the wheel.

SG: TIP 5: ground handling: safety:

Sometimes people assist moving a machine backwards when it is on the ground handling wheels by pulling on the rear vertical engine mount strut. It can be very easy for them to get their ankles severely damaged if they come in contact with the rear of the skid tube extension as they walk backwards. If assistance is required, people on the right (pilot’s) side of the machine should take great care and only pull it with their right hand on the strut as they walk backwards. This places their right ankle further from the sharp skid extension. Left hand side – use their left hand for the same reasons.

SG:TIP 6: Pre-flight:

The skid landing gear is designed for UP loads only. DO NOT attach any articles directly to the skids or cross tubes – you may cause: cracking on the skid elbows, stress the cross tubes in the wrong direction or even have an in-flight harmonic resonance that can cause damage elsewhere.

SG: TIP 7:  Pre-flight: "Rule of thumb field guide":