AA,
All good points.
How significant is hangar cost in the operating costs of a machine of this size for a single private owner. I live in a relatively inexpensive area and could have a hangar spot for £3000/year, that would be less than 10% of my fixed costs to run an R44 privately/personally.
On the other hand if the R44, was ‘on-condition’ rather than lifed at 12-years, then that would save me £18,750/year (current UK overhaul prices with poor exchange rate). Assuming I wanted to keep the machine to myself rather than lease back. Hence why I think Guimbals approach works better for private owners.
This does all fall apart if the purchase price is so high that the capital cost dominates everything.
Its a fascinating conundrum.
CRAN