Hi K77,
Absolutely. I trained on the R22 because at the time that was all I could afford. That was nearly 20 years ago and my situation has changed, so if I was training from scratch today, in my current financial position I would learn on the R44. I have no doubt that the R22 will remain the staple of the flight training market for the foreseeable future because the G2, while technically a much better aircraft is simply far too expensive.
I say again, I really like the G2!
...but I couldn't have afforded it even if it was available back in 1999 when I trained. If I were ab-initio training today I would choose the R44, because I can afford it now, I much prefer flying with extra power and hydraulics and that's the machine I choose to fly day-to-day as I pay for my own flying.
Ab-initio training will always require the lowest cost platform possible, this is the only area that the G2 seriously missed the mark on. Some people believe the market for a 2-seater is dead, I don't subscribe to this view, but it needs to cost around £100-120K ($150-180K) to buy and around £100/hr to operate with no silly 12-year limits to hurt private owners.
It is possible to produce a machine to hit these numbers but its not a trivial task and would need a fair amount of investment to do it. With that in mind, manufacturers tend to find the bigger machines with higher ticket prices more inviting prospects.
CRAN