FAA certifies R66 as police helicopter
In early September 2012, Robinson received FAA certification for the R66 Turbine police helicopter. Robinson’s R66 police model is specially configured for law enforcement and meets the latest FAA crashworthiness regulations.
The R66 police helicopter comes standard with FAA-approved technology including the FLIR Ultra 8000 thermal imaging camera, a 10-inch fold down color monitor, the new Spectrolab SX-7 searchlight with 30-million candlepower, and a dual audio controller.
Robinson believes the price tag of $1.1 million and simplified maintenance schedule will appeal to both large and small police agencies.
The first production R66 police helicopter will be delivered in October 2012 to Southern California’s Fontana Police Department. Fontana is the lead agency in a four city alliance and has used Robinson R44 Police helicopters since 2005.
Robinson will continue expanding the R66 line with an electronic news gathering version and a float version. Both of these new versions are targeted for launch in 2013.