"factory overhauls the R22, the dismantle it down to the bare airframe..."
Interesting, design life af about 2200 hours. I make that about £55 an hour, just from lifecycle - sheesh! Engine the limit, or gearbox?
"There is no legal requirement to junk an aircraft, but there may be economic reasons to do so."
That does show promise though. Design a low cost aircraft for very low maintenance, and you have a winner. Especially if you can supply complete kits for local overhaul.
"... R-22 ... training mode ... "tough" hours ... accidents ... insurance."
So maybe design for very easy to fly (we're thinking augmented here), and designed for extreme manouvres? At worse JAR introduces "augmented" license...
"...important ... components ... 5 years although the airframe ... could be 30 years old."
Interesting, and definately sends the message about kits to overhaul or upgrade.
Mart