Pinger
Thank you very much for your thoughts.
every thing you said is pretty much what i thought. Really the best bet is a Jetranger because its almost like owning a Ford ,
easy to get parts and everybody can fix it.
The Squirel (or as we call it ASTAR , unless it powered by the Lycoming 101 then its called an Exploding Star !!))
is actually very popular in the Los Angeles area as LA City Police fly them and all the
TV Stations fly AS-350s for ENG. There are
also many used for Private/commercial use.
Finding people to repair the AS-350 and
obtaining parts is quite easy.
The Gazelle has always been exotic around here and is getting more so.Parts are not impossible to find but can take time to receive. Its not a good commercial machine but im looking for one for private use with the intention of flying about 150 hours a year. With this usage an engine with 750 hours remaining will last 5 years. (the overhaul time on the Civil 341Gs engine is
1750 hours). I hear the engines are near bullet proof and go to TBO if not abused.
The 500 series is extremely popular with
police operations in Southern California and id say 80 percent of Police Helicopters are
either 500Es or the Notar( the 520 NOTAR is
terribly underpowered considering tempratures
stay between 70-80degrees during the year and
90-105 degrees during the summer). A few Depts fly the 530F and it has performance to spare even during summer and desert operations.
Parts and maintenance on a 500E is no problem around here.The Cockpit is a bit tight and sitting in the back is not fun nor comfortable.
But the 500E is much more sporty then a 206B and is much faster.
Its looking more and more like the Jetranger is the most resonable machine for
personal use.
But the Gazelle has it all , Beauty ,
, speed ,power ,decent cabin and is very exotic but i believe im about 15 years late for it to be resonable to own without breaking the bank.
The AS-350 would be of interest but the prices are just to high , as is the Bell 407.
Both would be at the top of my list if they were more affordable.