Above are photos of all sides of the DTM-4 mounted under an R44 helicopter. Notice how clean the installation is... Simple, streamlined, lightweight, tough. Anyone can design a maintenance nightmare. We have taken great care to design this elegant system. FYI, the structures engineer we used, was the former chief of engineering at RHC. He certified both the R22 & R44 helicopters. No one had more knowledge on the Robinson helicopter and the best way to design a spray system for this helicopter. We went to great lengths and great expense to come up with the final product.
The front booms can be removed by opening up three camlocks. Takes 1 minute to complete. You can remove the two 8' outer booms and use just the 12' center section to spray right-a-ways. Slick, huh?
The tank is rotionally molded, cross linked polyethylene. You can't hurt this tank unless you drive over it with a truck. The tank will not crack like fiberglas tanks and is far more durable. The tank drops easily into the aluminum support structure. We have many customers that purchase an extra tank so that they do not have to be concerned with rinsing the tank perfectly to prevent any chemicals from one job, getting onto plants from another job. This way you can dedicate an entire tank to be used only when you are applying one of those chemicals that are really nasty to clean out.
Pictured is the optional 5 hp Honda GX160 motor connected to a high pressure polyethylene pump. This pump achieves nozzle pressures of 60 psi and all seals and o-rings are Viton. You can literally pump acid through this pump and not hurt it.. 95% of our customers select this option. If you look close, you will see the entire engine/pump can be removed by opening two camlocks and removing 4 bolts. Takes 5 minutes to completely remove the engine assy. Also notice is is on the opposite side of the pilot to improve the CG of the helicopter. You do not even notice the sprayer under the ship when flying. It actually improves the great handling R44. And since the noise of the engine and muffler is on the opposite side of the aircraft, the pilot never hears it.
Notice the large strainer on the pump outlet. We trap any contaminants before they can get to the spray valve or nozzles.
Included is a dry break [quick fill] adapter on the RH side of the tank. We strongly discourage placing a second quick fill on the LH side of the tank. The reason? Because before the pilot lifts off, we want him to look out the door and verify the fill hose has been completely disconnected from the tank.. Otherwise very bad things can happen. We are pilots who design for pilots.We know mistakes can be made when things get very busy. Safety is paramount with us.
Our system is designed and certified in "Normal" category, not "Restricted" category. No one else can make this claim. We did this to make it far easier for the operator, to quickly remove the system and go fly a charter or some other flight and not have to worry about how to jump back and forth from Restricted to Normal category.
Our system is FAA Certified, Transport Canada Approved, and EASA Certified.
