Magazine Helicopter Industry #101

HELICOPTER INDUSTRY I FLIGHTEST I
R
ight at the time for our rendez-vous, our test machine
is still in flight. It lands in front of us two minutes
later. The passenger, a private pilot invited to discover the
Enstrom 280FX, disembarks.
It’s the very beginning of the afternoon, the weather is calm,
the visibility is perfect. Pilot instructor Christian Guibert
gives his passenger-pilot time to get off and signals his next
guest - your servant - to sit in the left seat, in other words, the
pilot in command’ seat. Indeed, as a three-seater certified
helicopter, the Enstrom has removable flight controls in the
right hand side, in order to offer greater comfort to the other
two passengers.
In this configutration, the pilot, in the left seat, has the
collective lever always under his left hand. This said,
the installation on board does not call for any particular
comment. The main rotor is turning at a respectable height
(2.70 meters) for this category of machine, and the feeling of
security is good while boarding..
CLASSIC, BUT MODERN
INSTRUMENTATION
At the first sight , the cabin looks spacious enough, with
good visibility in all directions. The two windows opened
on the ceiling airframe add light to the already generous
windscreen. The flight deck is immediately attractive.
Designed all in height, its compactness does not obstruct
the pilot’s glance right in front of him, or up and down. The
wide curved bubble augurs comfortable working conditions
especially in aerial photography. Christian Guibert confirms
that, even with the right door removed, no air is coming
inside the cabin.
The seats offer real comfort and seat belts are easy to
fasten. The instrumentation is modern. On the upper part of
the flight deck, the artificial horizon is displayed on a central
digital screen and doubled by an analog instrument located
on the right, close to the screen. The navigation instruments
(heading indicator, VOR, GPS, etc.) come on the lower part of
the flight panel.
The Garmin 650 type GPS navigator is touch-sensitive and
can be even used with gloves. It offers a list of information
that the pilot will select according to his choice - nearest
airfield, nearest VOR, etc. Once the destination point is
entered, the GPS will display it on the screen and deliver all
kinds of useful information: distance and time to destination,
ground speed, and even will calculate of the real wind on the
course. The 280FX is equipped with a flow meter allowing
the pilot to check the remaining autonomy, depending on the
ground speed and the remaining time to destination.
The anemometer is on the left of the screen, the altimeter
and the variometer on the right.
HI I 68