Sloane Helicopters

[medivac001]

Hi all,

after a stint working in the US i have returned to the uk and want a 22 or 44 to keep on the pad at home and use for buzzing around and to and from work.

i sent SLONE an email about 3 weeks ago abd leasing a machine from them and have had nothing back. is this normal from them? it did look like they did a good deal but im worried if this is how they perform.

anyone know of similar outfit that can provide lease of a machine, im about 30 mins south of gatwick.

thanks guys (and gals)

[VeeAny]

In that location you could try

Home Page EBG Helicopters (http://www.ebghelicopters.co.uk)
Welcome to Elite Helicopters (http://www.elitehelicopters.co.uk)
Helicopter Charter,Flying Lessons,Sightseeing Tours and Rides by London Helicopter Centres - Redhill (http://www.london-helicopters.co.uk)

They each operate a couple so may be able to spare one.

There are other companies down there but I am not sure if they have anything spare.

or call Tim Price at Shoreham (not sure if he has R22 but does have an R44), you can find his number by searching on here for his name, he posted on a similar thread a few weeks ago.

You might also want to contact Biggles99 on here, he's involved in R22 sales and that kind of thing so might have something for you.

[manfromuncle]

Welcome to the customer service of UK flight schools!

[ShyTorque]

Not being funny, but are you sure you emailed the correct address? Check the spelling; it's SLOANE.




I've corrected the thread title spelling: but coming from someone who can't spell medevac, I think that you may have a point!

Splot

[John R81]

Nice links, VeeAny. My machine looks good in them 'photos!

[biggles99]

Medivac,

assuming Sloane did get your email, one of the reasons you may not have had a reply is that what you've asked for is virtually impossible.

Well, it isn't but to make it viable to the lessor you'd have to pay through the nose.

Using a 6 year old R44 with 1100 hours TT as an example, these are the kind of standing costs:

150k capital tied up, say 66% loan on this amount = 100k over (say) 5 years. 20k plus interest per annum repayments, so approximately 2k per month in repayments.

Insurance: at 5% on 150k, so 7.5k per annum, £625 per month

Maintenance on 100 hours a year (1 x annual, 1 x 50 hour, 2 x 25 hour oil change) £6,000, £500 per month. It's a finger in the air for unscheduled maintenance, so I haven't bothered. There be some, even on a Robinson things wear out before their time.

Depreciation: depends when you buy and when you sell, but 12k a year is a conservative (read optimistic) estimate. so another £1,000 per month.

So that's £4,125 per month in standing costs. Add a reasonable rate of return at 8% and an operator should be looking at around £4,500 a month to allow you to have their aircraft sitting on your lawn. And don't forget that you then have to put the fuel in!

So if Sloane's quote came back to you at a tad under £600 per hour, dry, and you have to contract to 8 hours a month, every month, would you sign up? If so, I have just the machine for you :E

That's why people who want to do this buy their own machine -- unless you are buying to learn to fly, it's certainly not cheaper than renting, but you have the convenience and pleasure of going flying whenever you want.

Your best best is to find another private owner who lives within 30 miles of you and do a deal with him-- he's already got these costs and he may well want to diffray them in a way that gets closer to what you want.

hope this helps,

Big Ls

[Tallguy]

Medivac001, please check your PM's.

[medivac001]

thanks all,

@biggles99, they do advertise this as a service so i guess its not that strange to ask!

and i used the form on the website so i guess it got to them. but im not going to chase someone to give them my money!!