In recent times there has been a number of efforts to reduce the cost associated with recreational flying and improve access to GA around the world. Efforts include the introduction of light sport aircraft as an alternative to the aging existing fleet, however these small aircraft in general have been met with a poor uptake, due mainly to limited capability. It seems the appetite for these small lightweight machines is simply not there as you simply can’t do enough with them.
Robinson has often been quoted stating that there is very little difference in cost in manufacturing the R22 & R44 and in recent years the R44 has far our sold the R22 despite its much higher cost.
This got me thinking, if you were to set off to design the perfect helicopter for personal ownership and private flying would it be a 2-seater or a 4-seater?
Assuming that development budget and investment in appropriate modern manufacturing methods are not limiting factors, I have hypothetically created and costed two machines based on current state-of-art for piston aircraft.
So question is, which one would you buy and why?
CRAN
