365drvr - I got very close to it about 4 years ago. I currently own an AA-5 but I can tell you that an R-22 is an order of magnitude more in terms of the cost of ownership. Apart from complexity (which is where much of the money goes) helos have a lifespan of 2000 hours AND/OR 10 years - whichever is first. The secret is to get it to both at about the same time and this is often done by lease-back to a school to use up hours near the end of the time limit. Conversely, you might find one with 1700hrs on it with 2-3 years left to run. A private owner would typically do 200 hrs per year so you might be lucky. Trouble is, a lot of private owners are looking for just this sort of machine....so their price goes up..!
A new R-22 is just over £100K and a grounded, out-of-hours airframe is worth about £20K. A fully rebuilt one back to zero hours is worth - surprise surprise - just under £100K!!!
Good luck.
BTW - if you want more details, try talking to Sloane Helicopters at Sywell. They usually have a few in stock and their sales chappies can give you current figures. Make sure you're sitting down before you ask about maintenance costs...
RS
[This message has been edited by rightstuffer (edited 18 February 2001).]