Curious to know if anyone has had any experience on both the EC120 and the Bell 505? It seems that a REALLY nice EC120 will go for a similar price to a pre-owned 505. Most of the 505's for sale are low time. I am surprised though at how many 505's are for sale (controller as 18 listings) vs the EC120 (23 listings). I would have expected the EC120 to have far more for sale as compared with the 505 because it is a newer aircraft, the fleet size is roughly half of the EC120. Is that any indication that folks aren't happy with the 505?
On paper, the 505 seems like a good deal: FADEC, G1000, can get HeliSAS (same with EC120 but you also need to spring for G500 when the 505 already has G1000), smaller footprint for storage. Similar useful load to the EC120, but probably better if comparing apples to apples and having to install glass into the EC120.
I do like the range of the EC120, especially given my use as a private flying. For both machines, I'd usually be able to go full fuel as there would only be 1-2 on board with limited baggage. One of the concerns reading through this thread is that I might not be able to go full fuel with just myself on board when trying to do a longer trip due to CG limitations. I am not sure exactly how that would shake out on the EC120 though. Baggage on the EC120 also seems larger than the 505 too which is important to me for family trips.
I guess I'm a bit torn, the EC120 might fit me better from a utility standpoint (large storage and long range), but I like the modern-ness of the 505 (glass & FADEC). It is also appealing that the 505 is in production so parts and service are probably (hopefully) better than on the EC120. You can also get a lower time 505 which might mean less surprises.
Final questions, for now...does anyone know if the engine monitoring system logs the full history? One of the concerns on the EC120 is that the VEMD only records the last 30 flights so if there was an unfaithful actor, an overtorque or overtemp could be concealed. Can that be done on the 505 or does the history stay forever?
Apologies for multiple posts/threads on the EC120 and 505, I should have combined my earlier post on 505 maintenance with this one.