Now this is sad to admit, but I've timed students starting up and shutting down. The majority of them take at least 0.2 between engine start to skids up plus skids down to engine stop, and a good number take 0.3.
We do the add 0.1 thing on the 44 as is common practice, but that still means that the 44 student is saving between 0.1 and 0.2 per flight. Our average training flight is about an hour, so that's a 15% saving on average.
I disagree that the 44 is easier to learn on. It is undoubtedly more stable in the hover so there are savings there, but it is MUCH more sensitive in pitch so good attitude control is harder to learn IMHO. All in all it's six and two threes, and our students typically complete in 55-60 hours in either type.
So from my perspective the cost difference between learning on the 44 vs 22 is the marginal cost plus VAT, times the number of hours to complete minus five (for the type rating), with 15% off for the datcon arbitrage. Using some typical numbers that gives you (£150*1.15)*(55-5)*0.85 or around £7,500.
Looking at raw numbers for a 22 course coming in at around £15,000, that's a 50% premium for the 44. Now there are many other considerations, but if cost is your overriding concern it's a no brainer.
One of the most significant other considerations is what you intend to do after you qualify, and if it's sightseeing in the 44 with friends and family then IMHO that swings the extra cost. Do you really want to be poling around the sky with your loved ones with less than 100hrs in total and single digits on type ? I doubt it. So in that case the premium is an insurance policy to get you safer on type by the time you qualify. If you're qualifying on a budget then off to hour build for commercial then IMHO the 22 makes more sense.
Last edited by puntosaurus; 19th Feb 2009 at 11:01.