Robinson R44 Raven II Police Helicopter

The Robinson R44 Raven II Police Helicopter is part of the series of R44 helicopters produced by Robinson Helicopter Company. The Raven II Police serves law enforcement agencies as a reliable and affordable platform, delivering high performance.

The R44 Raven II Police helicopter integrates the proven performance characteristics of R44 with the specific equipment required for law enforcement. The reduced acquisition and operational costs combined with easy maintenance make the R44 Raven II an ideal helicopter for police agencies of different sizes.

Robinson delivered two R44 Raven II Police Helicopters to the South African Police Service (SAPS) in October 2008. The SAPS Air Wing operates six R44 Raven II helicopters. The Philippine National Police Special Action Force received three R44 Raven II Police Helicopters in early 2010.

The R44 Raven II Police Helicopter is also operated by the Internal Affairs Ministry of Kazakhstan, City of San Bernardino, Silver State Helicopters and the National Police of El Salvador.

Robinson R44 Raven II design and features

The R44 Raven II police helicopter integrates an aerodynamic fuselage offering increased airspeed and fuel economy. It includes a two-bladed main rotor, a two-bladed tail rotor and a skid landing gear. The enclosed cabin houses two rows of side-by-side seating for carrying a pilot and three passengers.

The open cabin design offers unclogged views, ensuring greater control over its surroundings. The helicopter generates much less noise due to its large cambered tail, heavy muffler and lower tip speeds of tail rotor.

The R44 Raven II has an overall length of 11.65m, width of 2.18m and height of 3.27m. The rotor diameter of the helicopter is 5.02m. The helicopter has a loaded weight of 1,134kg.

The police helicopter is fitted with a 500W xenon lamp which generates a high-intensity, focusable beam. It is strategically placed under the fuselage below the right rear seat to avoid the obstruction to light beam by skid. The helicopter features an air conditioning system which circulates cool air through front and rear vents.

The R44 Raven II police helicopter is optionally fitted with a range of equipment such as five-point shoulder harness system for crew seats, Public Address (PA) speaker and siren, microwave downlink, LoJack tracking system and moving map. The options available for communications systems include UHF, VHF and 800MHz police radios.

Cockpit and avionics of the police helicopter

The advanced glass cockpit of R44 Raven II accommodates up to two crew members. It includes an instrumentation console integrating airspeed indicator, altimeter, rotor/engine dual tachometer, vertical speed indicator, magnetic compass, gauges and warning lights.

The cockpit is installed with a console housing a Global Positioning System (GPS) unit that can be easily seen and reached.

The console can adapt a GPS, GPS/COM, or GPS/NAV/COM. The hydraulic flight controls installed in the cockpit reduce pilot workload.

The cockpit also integrates a ten-inch, sunlight-visible colour liquid crystal display (LCD) unit. The screen can display imagery of the FLIR system and optional moving maps. It can be folded down when not in use. The monitor’s mount houses numerous single / multi-band frequency modulated police radios complying with the Project 25 standards.

Sensors aboard Robinson’s R44 Raven II helicopter

The thermal imaging system housed in nose-mounted gimbal is an Ultra 8000 supplied by FLIR Systems. It is a lightweight multisensor gimbal offering superior infrared detection. The Ultra 8000 integrates a low-light camera with 10X optical zoom, and a daylight camera with 18X optical zoom.

The 360° rotatable gimbal is stabilised to capture high-quality infrared imagery even in extreme climates. The gimbal can be optionally installed with a laser pointer, auto tracker and an extended range camera.

R44 Raven II police helicopter engine and performance

The R44 Raven II police helicopter is powered by a Lycoming IO-540 six-cylinder, fuel injected engine. The helicopter is equipped with a 28V electrical system to start the engine in hot or cold weather.

The R44 Raven II can fly at a cruise speed of 116kt. The maximum operating altitude of the helicopter is 14,000ft. The maximum range and airborne endurance of the helicopter are 300nm and up to 2.5 hours respectively.

The approved engine and airframe TBO (time between overhaul) of the R44 helicopter is 2,200 hours or 12 years.

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