On Thursday, January 21, 2016 at 9:44:08 PM UTC+3, Jonathan St. Cloud wrote:
My only piston helicopter time is 3 hours in a Bell 47, amazing easy to fly bird, that can actually glide (very unusual for a helicopter). And comparing a piston copter to a glass glider is unfair, they should be compared to Ka-6, 1-26..etc. I believe the 300 and 22 both beat the older birds.

In the turbine machines, a bit more of the same era as glass gliders, cruise is 110 to 150 knots. Not many 200 - 400 nm mile flights in glider are in that speed range. Even in a lowly MD 500 at 64% power (top of green 89%) I would cruise at 120 knots, want to race?



On Thursday, January 21, 2016 at 2:56:45 AM UTC-8, Bruce Hoult wrote:
On Thursday, January 21, 2016 at 9:51:56 AM UTC+3, Jonathan St. Cloud wrote:
Eric, I take offense to that statement, helicopters are as fast as gliders, in fact they have a high cruise speed! )

Depends which helicopter. the Hughes/Schweizer/whatever 300 cruises at 160 km/h. I believe there are plenty of 300+ km glider flights done at higher average speed.

The R22 is a little faster, 90 knots or 167 km/h. I've blasted past them a few times, climbing, with both of us in ridge lift.

I'd NEVER describe a 500D as "lowly!"!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bKWvsS-z9PU

When this was shot, deer hunters were writing off on average one 500D a month in NZ, and *still* making a fortune.