Likely % return for owner

[John R81]

G'Day.

I am trying to find out what the typical return would be for an owner who dry-leases helicopters to a operating companies. For example, excluding maintenance, fuel & lubricantes, hangerage, crew, etc what would be the range of percent return on the aircraft value?

I am not interested in the return earned by one group company from dry-leasing machines to another group company as the price might be influenced by non-commercial matters.

I am interested in all machines, but particularly in Jet turbine twins.

Any help gratefully received.

[biggles99]

Hi John,

I think you're asking the wrong question.

Start with how much you want, and then see if you can acheive this in the open market.

If you can, all well and good.

If you can't, then are there other factors that still make it worthwhile?

(EG will you fly it yourself? Will you fly your family around as if it were your posh family car?)

If you're buying a helicopter as a piece of kit purely to make a Return on Investment, then don't: buy a JCB and rent it out. (but not just at the moment in the UK.......)


As an owner of several aircraft myself, if you want more advice, feel free to send me a PM.

[John R81]

Thanks, biggles99. PM'd you.

I will be at the Heliday WSM tomorrow so if you are there let me know as I would like to say "hello".

[puntosaurus]

Best people to talk to would be the operators of jet twins, Premiair, Starspeed, Rotormotion etc. The return will depend on how keen they are to get a particular aircraft on their fleet. It won't affect their rental rate much because that's pretty much standard for the type, but it will affect the hours they commit to.

[nigelh]

If you give it to an operator on a dry lease you can expect to get back .....a helicopter worth a lot less than the one you gave them .......this MAY be made up by the lease money generated but the chances are there will have been something unexpected go wrong which will cost you , not the operator, many thousands !!! Generally the dry lease money on offer will give you a loss 90% of the time . :eek: sadly the prices these machines go out at leaves very little if anything for the operator by the time he has paid the CAA and a load of paper pushers ...so they are in no position to pay you , the owner, well. This has been helicopters in this country for the last 40 years and it aint going to change soon !!! that is why most are owned by rich people who just love them even though they lose money .

[Pigeon-dodger]

I have just purchased a heli and will be lucky not to lose 10% to 15% of my capital per year!!!:\....hoping nothing expensive goes wrong with it. Saw another one in the hanger a few years old with 400 hours needing new or recon blades. they should be good for several 1,000 hrs not 100 of hours.

[4ero]

But if you can depreciate it at 18% (approx in Aus don't know about UK) then that's not really an issue.

This does not constitue tax advice etc...