Light Helicopters - Is there a Buyer's Guide ?

[FLY 7]

New here, but contemplating the purchase of a light helicopter (Hughes/Robinson/Enstrom/etc) for my own training and private use.

Now, I'm gradually getting a grasp of the various pros, cons, and personal preferences for the different models, but I'm actually more interested in the general issues of helicopter purchase and ownership, and the possible virtues of 'lease-back'.

Are there any publications or any printed information, guides or advice on the purchase and ownership of a light helicopter - either model specific or general?

Thanks

[zdfwflyer]

If you have the financial resources to afford a personal helicopter then seek professional aassistance. One of the best sources is Conklin deDecker.
http://www.conklindd.com/
They can do life cycle cost analysis and provide complete breakdown of appropriate candidate helicopters to meet your situation.
They are most well known in Corporate Jet area but have at least one helicopter specialist.

[Chopper Doc Junior]

What ever you do if you are not buying a brand new machine get it looked over by a maintenance organisation you trust. This could well save you a lot of money and grief later on.

Enstroms rarely crash but the current fleet in the UK is ageing and a new fx with low hours is expensive.

R22s are the cheapest option but their safety record is not as good as enstroms.

Schweitzer 269 is a great training machine but too slow for much else.

[FLY 7]

Both the 300c and 280fx interest me.

I've flown fixed wing to ppl(a), but I feel that, with helicopters, the relationship between man and machine is much more intimate, so I'm keen to investigate the true costs and hassle of ownership versus the benefits.

[Bravo73]

If you've got the cash, I'd wait for one of these:

Guimbal Cabri G2 (http://www.pprune.org/forums/showthread.php?t=176159)

Dennis's review in Loop makes it sound like it's going to be a great machine. :ok:

[Chopper Doc Junior]

The cost and hassle of owning an enstrom has a lot to do with the machine you buy. There are some on the market that were built over thirty years ago. What you need is a good survey carried out. An older enstrom can very quickly run up a substantial bill for putting things right.
The dampers is something that is frequently a source of problems as very few people go to the expense of having them properly overhauled.
If the blades are close to ten years old there is a good chance you will be replacing them soon at around £20,000 including shipping and duty.

[rotorboater]

The Enstrom is Ok if you are going to do 100hrs a year or less but not much chance of lease back, expect running costs of about 10k pa (4.5k insurance,3.5 k hangarage, 2k annual & basic maintenance) + allow about £40/hr for engine, transmisison & blades fund + fuel (55lts/hr) + cost of money, they don't depreciate that much.

If you have more cash, then buy an R44 for about 200k brand new, loads of lease back available, waranty & its a nice fast modern machine but to keep the costs right it need to do about 300 hrs a year, it all comes down to not minding student training on your own machine, personally I went the enstrom route and only I ever fly it but maybe thats just me being a little paranoid!

The 300 is Ok but once you have passed your test you might want to stay overnight at a nice hotel and they usually look at you a bit strange when you turn up with no lugage!

[FLY 7]

Rotorboater,

Thanks for the guide figures.

What's the typical price bracket for a nice, looked after, 280fx ?

[rotornut]

Before you buy see if you can at least get a ride in the machines you're interested in. You may find that you're partial to one even though it doesn't do as well on paper as the others. I'm very partial to the 300 series, even though they are a bit slow.

[rotorboater]

You can expect tp lay about £100k for a nice FX with at least 800 hrs left on everything, a bit less for one with less hours left. A 280c (which is very similar but slightly less powerful engine and no coralator) should be about £60k with at least 800 hrs, a bit more for more hours left on major parts. Mine has over 1100 hrs on all major parts and you can have that for £75k!

[tomppl]

Does anyone have a price on hte Guimbal Cabri G2 mentioned above?

[DennisK]

Cabri G2 ... 250,000 Euros. Pity the Euro has got strong.

[Mattyf]

Works out about 187,121GBP - little bit more than an R22 but better looking I reckon. Looks as though it has a better rotor system too.

[JTobias]

Where in the U.K are you based?

[FLY 7]

I'm in Gloucestershire.

It seems that there is no clear 'best buy' when it comes to light helicopters. They all have their 'pros and cons' and everyone has their subjective preferences.

However, most of what I've read and heard about Enstroms has been pretty favourable. Shame there aren't more around.

The Cabri G2 is potentially very interesting, but agree that it does look rather small. Maybe a better colour scheme would make it look more grown up. And, however thorough the development testing, many people will only judge it after it has been in service for a couple of years, to see if there are any teething problems or operational issues.

In the meantime I could be tempted by an exceptional, late, low hrs 300C or Enstrom 280Fx. A 480 would be nice, but perhaps a bit extravagant at this stage.

Anyone think that light hlicopter prices might fall significantly if/when the predicted recession arrives;) :confused: