Robinson Helicopter (Booth 11842) recently produced its 12,000th helicopter. Company CEO Kurt Robinson said the helicopter rolled off the assembly line on December 23, calling it “a nice way to end the year.”
The turbine-single R66, S/N 0763, will be delivered to Hover Dynamics, one of three long-time Robinson dealers in South Africa. The helicopter was purchased by a new charter and tour operator, Fly Karoo Air Services, operating in the Graaff-Reinet area. Powered by the Rolls-Royce RR300 engine, the R66 2017 base price is $879,000.

The company is currently working to certify several new options on the R66, including a new gyro-stabilized camera for news gathering, wire strike kit, lithium-ion battery, data recorder and inlet barrier filter.

Robinson’s first helicopter, the two-place R22, was produced and delivered in 1979, the first four-place R44 in 1993 and the first five-place R66 in 2010. Robinson also offers a multitude of variants, including the recently introduced R44 Cadet, a two-place helicopter specially configured for training. Robinson was founded in 1973.