Starting Helicopter Company
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 16
Likes: 0
From: Uk
Hi there. You were asking about starting a helicopter company. I got in to the industry about 7 years ago under the old system when you could instruct on a PPL. It cost me about £45k to go from ppl pass at 45 hrs to the required 250 hrs and instructor course. at the same time I invested 24K in property which has given a 250K return My advice is dont bother just SFH or set up a small group around an aircraft to reduce costs. I am lucky to work in probably the best area in the country as far as flying is concerned and with a good school additionally I dont rely on flight pay to live. Good Luck
Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 1
Likes: 0
From: Tbilisi, Georgia (country)
Ref. starting a helicopter company
Dear Dheli,
I have occassionally seen your message on the pprune forum, from 2006. I am interested, did you start your helicopter company? I am also starting the private helicopter business in Georgia (a country in Caucasus) and I really need a goood advise on that. If appropriate, please send your response to my mail at [email protected], I 'll be very thankful to you.
Thanks in advance,
Sincerely,
Levan Alpaidze (Mr.)
I have occassionally seen your message on the pprune forum, from 2006. I am interested, did you start your helicopter company? I am also starting the private helicopter business in Georgia (a country in Caucasus) and I really need a goood advise on that. If appropriate, please send your response to my mail at [email protected], I 'll be very thankful to you.
Thanks in advance,
Sincerely,
Levan Alpaidze (Mr.)
REMEMBER THE Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 71
Likes: 0
From: United States
I started my own company overseas which i ran for 20 years until it became obvious that without fixed contract(s), the business model was unsustainable. During those 20 years I was fortunate enough to have a good team and we won some contracts, in the absence of which it would have been impossible to develop the company to where I wanted it to be (in terms of personnel, equipment, facilities and resources). I had an excellent purpose built heliport with all facilities and operated a mix of single/multi helos. I think the general thread perception, or experience is entirely accurate - you better have lots of cash and plenty of patience.
The days of casually starting an operation on the basis of adhoc charters etc are just not realistic. Fixed costs in the business have become increasingly high as regulators mandate staffing/experience levels, facility requirements etc etc. The old ratio of maintenance:flight hours was long replaced by pounds of paperwork:flight hours. I closed the business when it became evident that there was just no more contracts to win on the horizon, and despite having a fairly well established base of business, it just wasn't enough to support even one AS350 with all the attendant overhead. A difficult decision to make, but a good one none the less.
I think smaller operators < 3-5 aircraft are just going to have a tough time of it unless they can identify niche markets or win some type of contract that provides stable cashflow which to a large degree will cover fixed costs.
As sexy as aviation is (and I say that because spreadsheets do make them look good), all I can say is do you home work, detach your emotions and take your time getting into anything before time and the business take a toll on you.
It was an interesting ride though, and one that I don't necessarily regret !
The days of casually starting an operation on the basis of adhoc charters etc are just not realistic. Fixed costs in the business have become increasingly high as regulators mandate staffing/experience levels, facility requirements etc etc. The old ratio of maintenance:flight hours was long replaced by pounds of paperwork:flight hours. I closed the business when it became evident that there was just no more contracts to win on the horizon, and despite having a fairly well established base of business, it just wasn't enough to support even one AS350 with all the attendant overhead. A difficult decision to make, but a good one none the less.
I think smaller operators < 3-5 aircraft are just going to have a tough time of it unless they can identify niche markets or win some type of contract that provides stable cashflow which to a large degree will cover fixed costs.
As sexy as aviation is (and I say that because spreadsheets do make them look good), all I can say is do you home work, detach your emotions and take your time getting into anything before time and the business take a toll on you.
It was an interesting ride though, and one that I don't necessarily regret !
Joined: Jul 2008
Posts: 66
Likes: 0
From: Poland
Heli charter company
Hello,
I am wondering how to start helicopter charter company:
do I need AOC?
do I need Performance class 1 helicopter?
do I need any additional requirements?
Many thanks for help...
I am wondering how to start helicopter charter company:
do I need AOC?
do I need Performance class 1 helicopter?
do I need any additional requirements?
Many thanks for help...
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 469
Likes: 4
From: HLS map - http://goo.gl/maps/3ymt
If you need to ask the question then I would suggest you have a lot of heavy reading and headache coming your way if your serious, but thats not to say it can't be done. The following is assuming you are talking about in JAR land(?).
AOC - Definitely if you want to do commercial aerial work (charter, photography etc...), any the requirements to be found suitable for holding and AOC are pretty stringent (and documented in JAR-OPS3, below). If however you want to undertake solely Flight instruction however - then no need for an AOC as that's not charter work.
http://www.jaat.eu/publications/jars/606970.pdf (JAR-OPS3) would be a good starting point.
Also the type of AOC required is dependant on the aircraft you intend to fly, (correct me if i'm wrong) but I believe there is a watered down "Single engine piston AOC" if you fancy using the R22/R44 etc..
This is my limited understanding on the issue.
Aucky
AOC - Definitely if you want to do commercial aerial work (charter, photography etc...), any the requirements to be found suitable for holding and AOC are pretty stringent (and documented in JAR-OPS3, below). If however you want to undertake solely Flight instruction however - then no need for an AOC as that's not charter work.
http://www.jaat.eu/publications/jars/606970.pdf (JAR-OPS3) would be a good starting point.
Also the type of AOC required is dependant on the aircraft you intend to fly, (correct me if i'm wrong) but I believe there is a watered down "Single engine piston AOC" if you fancy using the R22/R44 etc..
This is my limited understanding on the issue.
Aucky
