Original Message

Papillon quit on the QT after an engine failure out of Las Vegas. They were being assisted in the maintenance by the Flim Flam Florida Guys who developed the model changes. The engine had been abused in the certification process.  The Garrett was single shaft and had difficulty recovering RPM if drooped. That was a concern of the guys flying and why we didn't use the quieter reduced rpm mode (Not a factor in this accident).

They never got to the planned four-bladed Huey tail rotor replacement of the original Sikorsky two paddle rotor that would have completed the quieting. Mr. Halvorson was not afraid to risk capital on his dreams but he gave up on the S-55QT when the EC-130 became a reality.