Helicopter experts - please set me on the right path:

My understanding is that lower end 'trainer' commercial helicopters have dual collective/cyclic controls, but as you go up the food chain, the higher end machines are single pilot/single collective/cyclic.

Related question: if a commercial helicopter is equipped with dual controls, is it the norm to have two pilots?

Art

Commercial helicopters may be single or two pilot depending on the cert basis. They typically have two sets of controls, but one set may be removed for single pilot ops with observer or pax in the other seat.

I think most trainers have dual collective, some may have a central shared cyclic with a teeter to place it in the pilot hands.

Almost all helicopters have full dual controls. Collective is always in the left hand, cyclic in the right, and 2 antitorque pedals. Sometimes switches and frictions don't get dualed, but the basic flight controls always are. Robinsons have a unique T shaped cyclic with one bar coming up in the middle and then branching out left and right, but the result is each pilot has his/her own stick grip so it's essentially duals.

The are a few exceptions such as some old oddballs (a variant of the Bell 47 comes to mind, and the real early Sikorskys which only had one central collective). On some new helicopters the duals are technically options, and every once in a while you get a cheapskate who doesn't get them, but that's really rare.

They are usually easily removable, and it's not uncommon when hauling passengers to take them out. Per the Robinson SFAR they are required to be removed when a non-pilot is in the copilot seat of a Robbie. Every other make and model it's ok to leave them in.

Full disclosure, I sell new helicopters for a living.

All the ones I have flown have the option for dual controls, but unlike most fixed wing it’s easier and more common to remove a set of flight controls to free up a extra seat

I also think it’s just Robbie’s that have the SFAR where you need ground and a endorsement before you can even TOUCH the flight controls

Funny side note, the R22, probably the most common trainer in use due to its price, was never intended to be a trainer

Don’t you get 0.6 seconds to drop the collective and head to terra firma if you lose an engine in the R-22?

I can’t recall the time exactly but it was a bit of a surprise.

It’s not that bad, but it’s pretty low mass

My initial RW was in a 22, I thought it was a pretty fun ship and I didn’t feel seconds from death in it

I think the issue would be when the failure isn’t super obvious

I'm 19 hours into my rotor add-on in an R44 so have been geeking out about heli's lately. One of my mechanic's corporate customers just took delivery of a brand new Bell 429. That thing is insanely nice. It has dual controls and they have 2 pilots whenever passengers are on board.

Engine out in a heli is serious but IMO no more so than in a piston single. While you are often at a lower altitude than you would be in a fixed wing you can set it down in a much smaller space so you don't need as much time to find a good spot. Also, you can trade altitude or airspeed for rotor rpm so you have options to buy yourself time.