herod wrote in message ...
Hi,

I am brand new here, and have always been fascinated with helicopter
flying. I have only been in a helicopter once. I have been reading the
info on the Rotorway website, and I have been pretty impressed. What I
am looking for is an (relatively) inexpensive, yet safe and (relatively)
up to date way to learn to fly a helicopter. Anyone have any personal
experience with Rotorway, good or bad?

Also, what does TBO stand for? It seems like it has something to do
with maintenance.

Thanks

As for the TBO, it means Time Between Overhaul.

An aircraft engine has a time set (in hours) by the manufacture as to
when an engine is expected to be overhauled. Some engines have a 1800
hour TBO. Meaning that after 1800 hours the typical engine is needing
to be overhauled. However this number is just an adverage. Some
engines are worn out after only 1400 hours where as others have gone
as long as 2400 hours. One of the main *tests* to determine if an
engine is needing to be overhauled is doing a compression test on each
cylinder. If the cylinder compression falls below a set number, then
it needs work done to it.

I'll let someone else tell you the specifics for a turbine engine.