Chaps, can I butt in here with a massive thread diversion? It's thinking about the 135 that prompted it.
Suppose one were to come into money (in this instance, win the lottery twice in successive weeks, with rollovers), give John Osmond a ring (is he still MacAlpines Sales Manager?) and pick up a shiny new 135. Suppose further one lived in say Harwich (on the East coast of England) and fancied a day job at the Helicopter Museum in Weston Super Mare - about 200 miles away.
Is there any advantage to flying the route in airways at FL100-120, assuming pilot as well as machine were SP/IFR? I mean, is there a reduction in fuel consumption? Is it balanced out by a reduction in performance? Is the money saved in a Skywatch set then used up in an oxygen set? Does anyone actually use a helicopter this way?
I thank you for your answers, if any.