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Old 25th May 2018, 01:40
  #1271 (permalink)  
aa777888
 
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Originally Posted by Vertical Freedom
Why is everyone focusing just on the upfront purchase costs ONLY?
You've gotta operate these bucket of bolts too You know! Sure the r22 Plasticine wonder is 100k cheaper to buy than the Tonka tuff big G, but You are all forgetting that every 2,200 hrs or less You gotta fully rebuild the 22 (except the boom, that's every second rebuild) at almost a new ones price if You factor that into the hourly rate then the real cost of running a 22 is much, much higher than the big G is
So if it's about the money then the big G is the winner overall
You gotta ask Yourself what $$$ corners are being cut here to make the 22 so cheap to rent when they are far more expensive to run than the big G
VF you are so totally off base here, and I'm really surprised that that is the case, because I have to believe that your economic savvy is just as good as everything else you do. I realize that some folks carry a lot of emotion with respect to Robinson helicopters, and that you lost someone close to you in a Robinson, but that in no way means that the economics of operating Robinsons violate the laws of physics, or sanity. Bottom line up front: the operating costs of an R22 are absolutely, positively and unambiguously lower than a G2, by some $125/hr, and that includes profit. This assumes, of course, that the average US hourly rate for a G2 of approx. $375 is set with the same degree of care that the average hourly rate for an R22 of $250 is set.

That $250/hr for an R22 easily covers all direct and indirect operating costs, including all fuel, oil, insurance, periodic maintenance, overhauls (yes, even the Big One), rebuilds, etc., etc., and provides a reasonable profit, as well. This requires, of course, that the ship is flying at least 500 hours a year or so such that the insurance is properly amortized, and that the operation in question qualifies for reasonable insurance rates. But these issues are the same for all helicopters, and familiar to all helicopter owners/operators, or at least should be. Similarly, the typical rate for an R44 of $450/hr works the same, and provides a profit close to $150/hr for a busy ship. As an owner of an R44, I can absolutely assure you this is the case.

As for what happens to old R22s, as far as I know the workhorses that belong to schools are overhauled in accordance with the maintenance manuals and keep on flying. I'm not aware of any sketchy stuff going on, at least not in this neck of the woods. The school I am associated with is also a Robinson dealer and maintenance organization and they overhaul timed out ships on a regular basis. I've watched the overhaul process and flown 22's both before and after their overhauls. No fuss, no muss, the system works, and provides a measure of predictability to maintenance costs far beyond that of other helicopters and still keeps operating costs lower than any other helicopter. The only downside is that one needs to bank those dollars and not be tempted to spend them prior to the Big Overhaul. You can predict your cash flow requirements much more easily with a Robinson, but you can also much more easily find yourself short of cash when the overhaul comes due if you don't exercise some appropriate fiscal restraint. When the latter problem occurs that's where you find good deals on timed out ships, which are subsequently purchased, properly overhauled by smarter operators. and put back to work.
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