I only started using the Cabri as the school I was at couldn’t find a R22 for love nor money.
I was paying £450 per hour but more often than not it was in maintenance getting yet another issue fixed perhaps because it was one if the very first ones manufactured. I would hope that more recently built models will be more reliable.
CRAN makes a good point in that the training costs are putting potential pilots off.
And the Cabri is a good bit more per hour than it’s competitors.
Even at R22 costs it’s not cheap and there seems to be such a difference in prices depending on the FTO.
I still have the dilemma of swapping to the cheaper R22 or staying with the Cabri.
The Robinson gets a right slagging off on here but it’s helped plenty of people get their licence over the years.
Even though the Cabri is that much more expensive, I’ve put safety over cost and plan to continue on the Cabri albeit it’s an 8 hour round road trip to get to one.