Performance at gross weight			Equipment
Cruise speed (75% power)	Approx. 130 mph		Powerplant	Lycoming O-540 six cyl 260 HP derated to 225 HP
Maximum range (no reserve)	Approx. 400 miles		Avionics	COMM w/intercom all 4 seats, plus options
Hover ceiling IGE	Over 7000 feet		Electronic Governor
Hover ceiling OGE	Over 5000 feet		Electronic Cyclic force trim
Rate-of-climb	Over 1000 FPM
Maximum operating altitude	14000 feet

Weights
Gross weight	2400 lb
Standard equipped weight (incl oil & avionics)	1400 lb
Standard fuel (31.2 gal)	187 lb
Passengers & baggage with standard fuel	813 lb

Selling price

Less than one-half the current price for a 4/5 place turbine-powered helicopter

Operating cost

Generally proportional to selling price - less than one-half the current operating cost

The first thing I noticed about Tool is his laid back relaxing way about him. He made me feel very comfortable within the first few minutes of the interview. We had about fifteen minutes before our pilot Matt would be there so we decided to chat a bit.

Jay "Tool" Daniel's has aspired to be a professional DJ his whole life. He started getting into the radio business by accompanying other DJ's and watching as they performed their show here in Tampa. He then got work here in Tampa for a local radio station and has been in radio ever since. He was approached several years ago to start doing traffic and just recently has been flying in the Robinson. Since Tool does the morning show also his days start before the crack of dawn, then a break in the afternoon and then back on the air for the evening rush hour.

I used to think the traffic guys just flew around and basically reported what they saw. Let me say these traffic guys are masters of communication and processing. Tool is pulling off reports from the city traffic department, Internet and other sources of information. He then compiles this information in his head and in a minutes notice is on the air talking to Kristy and then giving a complete traffic report including a commercial! All of this was completed and we haven't even taken off yet!

After our first traffic report it was time to hit the tarmac and see if our pilot had shown up, preflighted and was ready to takeoff.

The Fox/ 95.7 Pilot has been flying for quite a while and has over 2000 hours most of them in Helicopters. He has been flying the Robinson for some time now and makes it look easy! I think the first thing that I noticed is the similarities between Helicopter procedures and fixed wing procedures. The walk around inspection is very close to what I do in my 172—except he can sure do it a lot faster than I can. The Robinson R44 we would be flying today is a really nice piece of aviation machinery, sporting a FLIR camera device on the nose of the chopper and equipped with gyros to steady the image. This device can zoom in to amazing closeness and detail from many hundreds of feet in the air. This is all handled by Tool in the back seat holding a keyboard type device with a joystick to move the FLIR. It also controls several other cameras mounted on the helicopter, above the tail rotor, on the skid and even inside the Robinson. Tool not only does the traffic report for 95.7 STAR FM but also controls the cameras for FOX television and this usually happens within seconds of each other. So after the live traffic report, they switch over to "Live" shots for FOX 5:00 News complete with the pretty reporter in the copilots seat (No she's not a pilot either). The images are all communicated to a processing center via a microwave dish mounted towards the center of the helicopter. Then the images are either shown live or stored for later use by FOX.

Inside the cockpit of the R44 we have a complete set of radios that not only communicate to ATC but also to 95.7, FOX, City Traffic along with a slew of others all at the same time. At one point in our flight we had Kristy talking on her show, FOX News and Traffic reports in our headsets at the same time. Heck, I have a hard enough time just trying to listen to ATC, can you imagine listening to all that plus ATC and having to fly a helicopter? Matt definitely has my respect.

Flying in the R44 is a real treat! Liftoff was very smooth as our skids lifted off the tarmac. We headed out over the taxiway as the Tower cleared our departure. I quickly noticed how fast the R44 transition to forward flight and how fast it seemed to respond to inputs on the controls. We were maybe three minutes into the flight when Tool vectored us to the scene of an accident a few miles away. Our Pilot slowed the R44 down and we went into a hover about 500 feet off the ground. Another thing I noticed about flying the R44 (from a new pilots perspective) is how similar it seemed to what I had learned in fixed wing airplane training. Carburetor heat etc… was all used as your RPMs dropped below a curtain level. The same went for Manifold pressure and propeller pitch. This was very interesting to me because for some reason I thought it was all different.

After getting some video of the accident for FOX, Tool did another radio report with Kristy talking and joking as they usually do about some current event. Kristy and Tool make a great team and they make it look so easy. Then it was off to show me what this bird could do! We cruised out to the Skyway Bridge at roughly 120kts. and the ride was very spectacular and smooth. The view in the R44 is stunning from the bubble canopy and you can clearly see in all directions. We stayed around 500 feet as to avoid Tampa International Class B airspace. This makes the pilot's job a little easier and also makes it easier to spot traffic. We passed over a cargo ship coming into Tampa Bay and Tool showed off the FLIR camera working his magic from the back seat. The camera mounted on the nose of the R44 is extremely stable because of the gyros and what surprised me even more was how close Tool could zoom in. You could actually see the captain inside the ship from 500 feet. Now if there were just a few nudist beaches close by!

The flight lasted about 45 minutes as we made our way around the Tampa Bay area reporting traffic and getting Live action shots for FOX News. As we made our way back to the airport, we decided it would be fun to simulate and engine failure. Pilots usually do this frequently to gain experience in case the real thing happens and is very safe to conduct since you never really turn off the engine. In a Cessna 172 you would be surprised how far you can glide at the proper speed, but how would a helicopter do I wondered? To my amazement the R44 glided and handled very similar to a fixed wing aircraft and we made our approach with fantastic precision. I was very impressed with our pilot!

After we shut down, Tool conducted another traffic report and then our FOX News reporter took my place in the co-pilots seat and they were off again. The whole experience gave me a new look at these professionals. I was overwhelmed at the amount of information Tool must digest and then compile on a moment's notice. Then he would laugh and joke with Kristy over the air and make it sound like nothings really going on and everything is stress free. So the next time you're navigating your way home don't forget your eyes in the sky. They are there working their butts off keeping you safe and reporting alternate routes so you can make your way home a little more enjoyable. You can catch Kristy Knight and Tool on your PC at Kristy and Tool then select the Real Audio broadcast around 4:00PM EST.