Category: Helicopter Studies

Cabri G2 Helicopter: Does it Compete with the Robinson R22?

The new Cabri G2 is a three blade rotor system that has an innovative design that some industry specialists say has the potential to compete with the Robinson R22 in the flight training aircraft market.

The Cabri helicopter was made possible due to the genius of Bruno Guimbal, who was one of the key design engineers at Eurocopter. Bruno wanted to develop an aircraft that had a small piston engine but had the safety levels of a turbine aircraft. His work helped small aircraft designers take advantage of the superior flight features of the larger turbine helicopters.

We stacked the two helicopter’s specifications (Cabri G2 & Robinson R22) side by side in the table below to help evaluate some of the important factors in these two aircraft. It appears that in a few critical areas the Cabri keeps pace with the R22 but the Robinson R22 is the most affordable helicopter, has the highest density altitude performance and has a well known reputation for reliability. Until the Cabri G2 has flown throughout the world from flight training exercises to pipeline patrol and until the Cabri G2 can document sustained performance, low cost and reliability, the flight training helicopter of choice will remain the Robinson R22.

Specification Cabri G2 Robinson R22
Engine Lycoming O360 Lycoming O360
Horsepower 145 hp 131 hp
Max Cruise Speed 100 kts 96 kts
Empty Weight 946 lbs 855 lbs
Max Gross Weight 1540 lbs 1370 lbs
Fuel Capacity 45 gallons 30 gallons
Hover Ceiling IGE 5000 ft (@ 1540 lbs) 9400 ft (@ 1370 lbs)
Hover Ceiling  7500 ft (@ 170 lbs + 2 hrs fuel) 8000 ft (@ 1300 lbs)
Range 250 nautical miles (15 min reserve) 380 nautical miles (no reserve)
Price (New) $355,000 US $240,000 US
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