SNIGS: It's a thought. Shame that it will never happen
The whole flying industry makes for an interesting study in human behaviour: the dream of flying being fed on by those who need things flown.
I assume that as the cost of helicopter maintenance was expensive from the start then the training was expensive from the start. Then again, I have heard that rotary instructors are paid much much more per hour than fixed wing. Hmmm, maybe that in itself is a Catch 22 in that there aren't as many instructors due to (a) cost of training and (b) smaller transport industry.
ooops, I would prefer that we don't yaw (!) into rotary specifics gradually
I know that the UK "scene" can never be the same as the USA but I will always remember a check-ride I had over there once, with a Gold Seal instructor who "punched in" using a time recording system when we started the pre-flight briefing and "punched out" when we completed the debrief. I was then charged for his time distinctly on the invoice - everything presented in a nice transparent manner. His fee: $35 per hour.
Can you imagine (a) this sort of overt charging system here and (b) the "outrage" of some customers at such "high prices" for such expert instruction ?