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Old 20th Jul 2003, 16:27
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t'aint natural
 
Join Date: May 2001
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Here in the UK the dual rate for an R22 is around £215 an hour (which usually includes a 'landing fee') and the wet self-fly-hire rate is about £155 - both plus tax at 17.5 percent.
The R22 has a single lifed part, effectively the whole helicopter, which makes the amortisation equation easier. With an on-the-road price of £130,000 to be written down to around £20,000 over 2,200 hours, depreciation on the first trip around the clock is £50 an hour. (It falls to around £31 an hour second time around, but unscheduled maintenance costs rise significantly).
Budget for another £25 an hour for maintenance, £30 an hour for fuel and oil, £15 an hour for insurance (at 400 hours a year - adjust accordingly) and £10 an hour for miscellaneous items like hangarage and you're pretty close to the starting line. If you have any finance costs or you get unlucky with unscheduled maintenance, you'll be in the unhappy position of subsidising everyone who hires your helicopter at £155 an hour. Even under the best possible circumstances there's very little margin in it.
A QFI where I teach gets £60 an hour and a Restricted is paid £40 an hour, which helps you arrive at the dual figure.
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