FH-1100

It would appear the FH 1100 operation in Century Florida is pretty
much dead now. George VanNevel has had ongoing problems with the FAA
including a raid by the feds and local law enforcement to seize
records, parts, etc. He had been struggling for funding for some time
and a continuing battle with the FAA. With the loss of many records
and operating materials, he can't do any work. Its a small town on the
FL.AL border about 70 north of Pensacola and finding qualified people
for helicopter work is hard to do.
A fatal crash last fall cast a pall over the operation even though no
proof was available that it was a helicopter flaw or what the cause of
the crash was. The helicopter was on its way west with the new owner
and a student on board. Crash area witnesses said the weather was
nasty and they heard a helicopter going low and fast but didn't see
it. Speculation runs rampant from that point on.
I did some instrument instruction in one of their machines training a
new instructor and had no problems or complaints with the machine. I
visited the facility several times and heard of plans to improve and
produce the FH1100 including blades (which has been an ongoing problem
with nearly ALL Hillers). My impression was a lack of funding was the
major problem. As it stands, I think the FH1100 is probably going to
fade into history.

"Ol Shy & Bashful" wrote in message
...
It would appear the FH 1100 operation in Century Florida is pretty
much dead now. George VanNevel has had ongoing problems with the FAA
including a raid by the feds and local law enforcement to seize
records, parts, etc. He had been struggling for funding for some time
and a continuing battle with the FAA. With the loss of many records
and operating materials, he can't do any work. Its a small town on the
FL.AL border about 70 north of Pensacola and finding qualified people
for helicopter work is hard to do.
A fatal crash last fall cast a pall over the operation even though no
proof was available that it was a helicopter flaw or what the cause of
the crash was. The helicopter was on its way west with the new owner
and a student on board. Crash area witnesses said the weather was
nasty and they heard a helicopter going low and fast but didn't see
it. Speculation runs rampant from that point on.
I did some instrument instruction in one of their machines training a
new instructor and had no problems or complaints with the machine. I
visited the facility several times and heard of plans to improve and
produce the FH1100 including blades (which has been an ongoing problem
with nearly ALL Hillers). My impression was a lack of funding was the
major problem. As it stands, I think the FH1100 is probably going to
fade into history.

In your opinion, how does the FH100 compare with the Bell 206 series

Stu?

On Jul 13, 11:28*am, "Stuart & Kathryn Fields"
wrote:
"Ol Shy & Bashful" wrote in ...





It would appear the FH 1100 operation in Century Florida is pretty
much dead now. George VanNevel has had ongoing problems with the FAA
including a raid by the feds and local law enforcement to seize
records, parts, etc. He had been struggling for funding for some time
and a continuing battle with the FAA. With the loss of many records
and operating materials, he can't do any work. Its a small town on the
FL.AL border about 70 north of Pensacola and finding qualified people
for helicopter work is hard to do.
A fatal crash last fall cast a pall over the operation even though no
proof was available that it was a helicopter flaw or what the cause of
the crash was. The helicopter was on its way west with the new owner
and a student on board. Crash area witnesses said the weather was
nasty and they heard a helicopter going low and fast but didn't see
it. Speculation runs rampant from that point on.
I did some instrument instruction in one of their machines training a
new instructor and had no problems or complaints with the machine. I
visited the facility several times and heard of plans to improve and
produce the FH1100 including blades (which has been an ongoing problem
with nearly ALL Hillers). My impression was a lack of funding was the
major problem. As it stands, I think the FH1100 is probably going to
fade into history.

In your opinion, how does the FH100 compare with the Bell 206 series

Stu?- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Sstu
It isn't as fast but carries the same load or nearly so, easier on
fuel burn, MUCH easier for maintenance and pre-flight, flies about the
same and was a lot cheaper. I think politics got in the way and kept
FH from being selected by the Army way back when. After all, the Army
used the H12 series for a lot of their flying in addition to the BE
47, and the H-269 for training.
If they had an updated blade design and went with the C20 instead of
the C18 Allison it would have been very comparable to the 206 IMO.
Regards
Rocky