I have heard a Robinson will cost a private owner on a private Cat C of A £20k a year upkeep all in, if he does 70hrs pa. What is the lifespan in calendar years and hours of an R22?
I think it is more complex than that.
If you search previous threads this debate has been worked out on Rotorheads in the past 6 to 8 months.
Basically you have to account for:-
Aircraft mortgage: This varies depending on lender, deal and interest rate. The below are out of date examples at a higher than now interest rate (thanks Gordon)
R22 Beta II
* 1) 72 x £ 1000.83 followed by final payment of £ 21355
* 2) 60 x £ 847.92 followed by final payment of £ 42710
Insurance
In the order of £4K to £7k depanding on what you want to do (self fly or hire for SFH etc)
Hangerage/based charges
£100 to £300/ per month.
Maintenance
Say £3500 to £5500/ year based on hours flown (50/ 100hr checks) plus reserve for problems.
The account for your own flying costs, fuel, landing charges etc
Take the totals for the year then work out the hours you will fly and how much you may cross hire to somebody else, then calculate the cost per hour that applies to you.
If you set up a special purpose company then you can reclaim VAT and purchase & maintenance and pay VAT on your flying.
Its also worth looking at the R44 as if you are training you could learn on this and if you are building hours, then its nicer to fly, faster and carries more. There are older R44s around for the price of an R22 today so checkout Helidate etc for second hand machines.
Always checkout the machine with an engineer. get quotes for mortage etc from Air & General, Lombard, Hitachi, etc get quotes for insurance from Haywards, HSBC etc
For Entrsoms, go to Manchester Barton. Thats were the Northern stock is.
IMHO, R44 best bet all round, especially if you look to cross hire.
h-r
