Choppers on the Cheap.

Hughes, Bell and Sikorsky have better-known names, but Robinson Helicopter Co. in Torrance beats them all when it comes to making and selling whirlybirds 

WHEN Graham Brown wrangles sheep on his sprawling 500,000-acre ranch in the outback of Australia, he uses a two-seat Robinson R22 Helicopter.

Ken Pyatt, the owner of Sky Helicopters, uses a specially equipped four-seat R44 to buzz over the highways for local TV stations in Dallas.

And after 2,000 hours of using an R22, the El Monte Police Department traded up to the bigger R44 to help its ground forces deal with robberies, murder and arson.

Hughes, Bell and Sikorsky might be the big names in the helicopter industry, but Torrance-based Robinson Helicopter Co. is the top-selling maker of civilian helicopters in the world. One reason is likely that its two models -- the R22 and R44 -- are hundreds of thousands of dollars cheaper than models sold by its competitors.

A basic R22 costs $154,000; an R44 goes for $294,000. By comparison, a Bell Jet Ranger starts at around $900,000. An Astar, built by France's American Eurocopter, starts at $1.2 million. Add all the equipment needed by police or media outlets, and the price for other copters can soar to $2 million or more; fully outfitted Robinson choppers seldom cost more than $600,000.

Satisfied customers

Despite the cut-rate price, users find Robinson choppers reliable and effective.

"The biggest selling point for us is that they are reliable," said Bruce Peece, who runs Minneapolis-based Metro Networks and operates 17 Robinson helicopters, the largest fleet in the country. "There is not a lot of down time for maintenance. That's a big advantage in the news business or our charter business. Little ever goes wrong."

Based in a 260,000-square-foot factory at Torrance Airport, Robinson's machines are akin to the Ford pickup truck of helicopters -- lightweight, reliable and inexpensive. Revenues at Robinson this year are expected to reach $100 million, up from $90 million in 1999. Plans are in the works with Torrance officials to expand the current plant.

The company accounts for nearly two-thirds of all civilian helicopter sales in North America. With sales in 40 countries, Robinson estimates that it accounts for more than 55 percent of civilian helicopter sales overseas. It currently produces seven R44s a week and three R22s. Not surprisingly, there is a backlog of orders.

The affordable chopper-craft have become particularly popular among the media and police.

"We started with an R22 during the L.A. riots," said Bob Muse, an agent/pilot for the El Monte Police Department. "We were the first to use an R22 for law enforcement because of its cost effectiveness. We now use an R44 seven days a week, six hours a day."

By comparison, Muse said, the LAPD and county Sheriffs Department use much larger and costlier Astars and McDonnell Douglas MD600s.

"We perform the same missions, but we don't have the fancy paint job and we pay about $450,000 (for a specially outfitted chopper)," he said. "And we only have one and it virtually never breaks down."

The company, founded by Frank D. Robinson in 1973, has benefited from the growing civilian and commercial use of helicopters here and abroad.

According to the company, R44s are used by security patrols in Brazil to provide 24-hour surveillance of client banks throughout Sao Paulo. Robberies at banks that use the service dropped 80 percent. Wealthy Brazilians use R44s and R22s to avoid kidnappers. South African officials use Robinson helicopters for wildlife control.

The Turkish military trains its helicopter pilots on Robinson equipment. Doctors in remote sections of the United States use Robinson helicopters to reach home-bound patients. Businessmen fly them to meetings to save time. In England, they are used to ferry wealthy Londoners to their country estates. Tuna boat captains use R22s to hunt for schools of fish.

"Without Robinson, we wouldn't be in business," said Brown, the Australian sheep rancher. "We do more with less staff. Before, we had to use dogs and men on horses."

Brown has been operating Robinson R22s and R44s for more than a decade in the Outback.

"They are reliable, safe, easy to maintain and the cost of operation is low compared to other helicopters," said Brown, who sells his wool to mills in Italy and Japan. "To me, there is nothing else to choose from."

Finding a niche

When Frank Robinson decided to start his helicopter company, his business plan was simple. He believed there was a need for a small, low-cost and reliable helicopter -- something that didn't exist in the marketplace. He had begun his career at Cessna Aircraft working on the CH-1 Skyhook helicopter and later worked for Bell and Hughes Helicopters, from which he resigned in 1973 to start his own company out of his home.

The first R22 flew in 1975 and received its Federal Aviation Administration certification in 1979. There are currently more than 3,100 R22s flying around the world. The FAA certified the R44 in 1992 and there are more than 450 of these helicopters in operation worldwide.

"I felt the bigger helicopter companies (in the United States) were unable or unwilling to make a low-cost, easy-to-maintain helicopter," Robinson said, adding that European helicopter makers explored entering this arena, but quickly bowed out because they didn't think they could make a profit.

"We keep things simple," Robinson said.

That means no marketing department, and not much of a marketing budget; Robinson relies largely on word of mouth to generate sales. Robinson's wife heads his public relations office, and a son takes publicity photos. Except for the Lycoming engines, everything for the four-cylinder R22 and six-cylinder R44 is made by the 750 workers at Robinson's Torrance plant.

Finished aircraft are crated in two boxes for delivery by air and sea to customers. Some pick up their helicopters at the factory and fly them home.

Over the years, Robinson has had inquiries about going public, but he isn't interested.

"I don't want anybody telling me what to do," he said. "I don't want to waste time in meetings."