Thank you Hot and Hi. I was incredulous that anyone could possibly think costs for an EC120 were anywhere at all comparable to an R44 but did not have the round numbers for the EC120 to go on.
I suppose if you are not in it for the long haul you can own a mid-life machine for a few hundred hours and then sell it and maybe come out ahead. But if you are in it for the long haul...
Looking at 100 hours/year x 12 years, or 1200 hours total per major overhaul cycle and,
Looking at $12K USD/year for the R44 vs. $24K USD/year for the EC120 (non-commercial policy, and they really like you at those prices) and,
$200K USD for an R44 overhaul including engine vs. $350K for the EC120 and,
Fuel at 16 x $5.75 = $92/hour for the R44 and 32 x $4.85 = $155/hour for the EC120 (full serve, current prices at a local, mid-size GA airport).
Doing the math gets you to $420/hour for the R44 vs. $686/hour for the EC120 and that's WITHOUT oil and scheduled maintenance, which will all be more expensive on the EC120.
I can tell you that at 100 hour/year, with a very good rate on insurance, I'm doing right around $410/hour, but I've been lucky on maintenance. I've got to believe the EC120 will come in, all told, at closer to $750/hour.
Also, I can and have put my R44 to work with a local school. That has significantly reduced my cost of personal flying, but it's still a money losing proposition because the ship does not move 500 hours a year, which is the practical minimum for actually having a positive balance sheet. It's really hard to do that with any turbine ship.
And don't forget that even hangarage will cost more as that three bladed rotor head will take up quite a bit more space.
Is the experience and utility of the EC120 worth 1.7x more (conservatively, it could be worse than that ) than an R44? For those who can afford it, certainly
The rest of us have to struggle along the best we can
