01-14-2026, 03:32 AM
(Edited 01-14-2026, 03:37 AM by Jared Hartzell.)
Personally, I enjoy governors! Though, I have never used one in a rotorway because I'm lazy.
Of course, I can fly perfectly fine without one and Rotorways taught me how to truly control the power input to the point where I'd be flying certified ships and manipulate the throttle by sense (overriding the governor) whenever it wasn't reacting fast enough in order to squeeze every bit of performance I needed when flying in high DA. That's a skill I was never adequately taught when training certified... Yes, we do SOME governor-off flying as part of EP proficiency but it's typically not extensive enough to develop a natural response to changing conditions like flying 50 hours in a rotorway without a governor will. I say Rotorway specifically because of the high engine rpm and lack of torque. Lycoming powerplants seem far easier to fly with the governor off, only needing tiny pinches of throttle movement whereas with Rotorways, it feels like a high-revving motorcycle requiring more throttle twist to get it to work for you—I enjoy it far more than governor off Lycoming flying.
There's give and take... Manual throttle isn't too bad in forward flight but when doing somewhat aggressive maneuvers you gotta develop a good feeling for it. Reliable governors increase safety margins significantly, there are multiple accidents which have occurred due to low rotor rpm by mismanaging the throttle—a governor could have prevented that. Most pilots train in Robinsons and they're required to have an operational governor. I wouldn't trust any Robinson pilot to fly my rotorway without some transition training first, unless it had a governor and they're aware of the CW rotation differences and cyclic authority limitations. Then, I wouldn't really sweat it.
So, it depends on you... Do you want to spend the first hours cautiously putting in the effort to develop that skill which may help you someday or do you want to feel more safe and comfortable flying from the start? Neither is a bad choice, particularly if an individual is older with a slow response time—I'd recommend a governor. Also note that if your engine is lacking power where you fly, a governor may not work too well. If you have Joe's engine then a governor should be great!
Of course, I can fly perfectly fine without one and Rotorways taught me how to truly control the power input to the point where I'd be flying certified ships and manipulate the throttle by sense (overriding the governor) whenever it wasn't reacting fast enough in order to squeeze every bit of performance I needed when flying in high DA. That's a skill I was never adequately taught when training certified... Yes, we do SOME governor-off flying as part of EP proficiency but it's typically not extensive enough to develop a natural response to changing conditions like flying 50 hours in a rotorway without a governor will. I say Rotorway specifically because of the high engine rpm and lack of torque. Lycoming powerplants seem far easier to fly with the governor off, only needing tiny pinches of throttle movement whereas with Rotorways, it feels like a high-revving motorcycle requiring more throttle twist to get it to work for you—I enjoy it far more than governor off Lycoming flying.
There's give and take... Manual throttle isn't too bad in forward flight but when doing somewhat aggressive maneuvers you gotta develop a good feeling for it. Reliable governors increase safety margins significantly, there are multiple accidents which have occurred due to low rotor rpm by mismanaging the throttle—a governor could have prevented that. Most pilots train in Robinsons and they're required to have an operational governor. I wouldn't trust any Robinson pilot to fly my rotorway without some transition training first, unless it had a governor and they're aware of the CW rotation differences and cyclic authority limitations. Then, I wouldn't really sweat it.
So, it depends on you... Do you want to spend the first hours cautiously putting in the effort to develop that skill which may help you someday or do you want to feel more safe and comfortable flying from the start? Neither is a bad choice, particularly if an individual is older with a slow response time—I'd recommend a governor. Also note that if your engine is lacking power where you fly, a governor may not work too well. If you have Joe's engine then a governor should be great!