Originally Posted by
rotorspeed
lr pilot
The most important thing here is what the purpose and priorities are for your company’s decision makers. I’m guessing that the purpose is for VIP transport, and if this is so best discuss the pros and cons with those that pay and ride! I comment below as someone with mainly 109 experience - around 2000 hrs of it.
What sort of distances are typically flown? If it’s short, say up to 50 nm hops, speed doesn’t matter too much, but if it’s mainly longer distances then it will become more important. And here the winner will be the 109, closely followed by the 429, then well back the 135. And taking of speed, why do you spec skids and not wheels? The 109 is a solid 155kt cruise gear up, and if your pax are flying because getting places quickly is important, they’ll appreciate that. The gear is very reliable and as HEMS use shows, can land on most surfaces.
In terms of pax comfort the 109 is certainly well ahead of the 135, though the 429’s bigger cabin may give that the edge here, plus I think it may be a bit smoother than the 109.
Fuel consumption should be an important factor to consider, particularly in today’s world. The bulk of the 429 handicaps it here, burning around 270kg/hr compared with the 109 230kg/hr. Don’t know the 135 figures, but I’d guess in terms of mpg it’s similar to the 109.
Regarding other factors, the 109 autopilot is fine for VFR and IFR, though it’s poor in turbulent weather - if you care about your pax you’re best to hand fly the worst. But that’s not the end of the world - if it’s not too often.
Agree all comments on the 109 not liking to be left out in the rain - never quite achieved Shy’s Christmas tree, but spurious chip lights are common until the heat and air has dried things out. Fortunately any genuine problems with engines or main or T/R transmissions are very rare…..
Overall reliability of the 109 is very good - needs regular maintenance but unscheduled stuff not too frequent. As to relative maintenance costs, I can’t comment, but suspect there’s not a lot between them.
In the UK where helicopter use is pretty extensive, the 109 totally dominates the charter market, with very few 429s and 135s around. Which is probably the bottom line - at least in our environment.
I've got a little over 1k hrs in the 429. The 429 burns between 475-550lbs/hr depending on DA. On average I'd say it burns 500-525lbs/hr for us at terrain/field elevations from 1000-3500' MSL. I only have about 20-30hrs in a 135, but the 135 burns 60gal/hr.
OP the 135 is dog****. Cross it off your list. Horrible helicopter in my opinion. Especially compared to what you are considering.
According to Bell Helicopter, we operate the 2nd highest total flight time 429 in the world. If you have any questions about the airframe, feel free to PM me.