Starting Helicopter Company
 

Is there anybody with experience in starting their own helicopter company or someone who knows somebody who might be able to give some good advice on doing so?

Thinking about doing a bit of aerial photography, pleasure trips, corporate travel etc.!

Thanks in advance!

Dheli

Yes, I have. Unless you have a (awfull) lot of money don't even think about it.

Remember:

If you want to make a little money in aviation, you have to start with a lot.

The difference between fixed-wing and helicopters? The money goes even faster.

It can be done (and I've done it). You really need either (i) a lot of cash upfront or (ii) less money and a good solid set of contracts which will pay for the helicopter's insurance and costs.

If you're looking to just try and make your own flying cheaper by doing extra stuff to mitigate costs of ownership, it's really not worth it, the downside risk hugely outweighs the upside cost reductions (e.g. save £20-30 per hour on your personal flying but get hit by £10,000 cost of an AD).

If you are aiming to make your own business and earn money out of it, it's really down to your offering. Some operators make money, but a lot of people don't. If you have a proper business plan and can execute it well, you can do ok, but without a lot of money it will be pretty hard.

I kind of wish I hadn't bothered... lots of hassle, not a lot to show for it...


BW

Starting Heli. Company
 

The best bit of advice I can give you is make sure you have loads of dosh ! Myself and 2 friends started a commercial operation a couple of years ago but we have since wound it up due to not really making any money. First you will have to set up an AOC which will set you back approx £14,000 and take months , although there are consultants around who will do it for you for a hefty fee I'm sure. Next come all the ops and maint. manuals which will be at least another £5000. You will have to set up an approved maint programme and be EASA compliant. For pleasure flying you will have to provide your own fire cover at the location, including all the equipment plus suitably trained personnel. You can hire companies in for the cover but they charge £30 - 40 an hour just to have them sitting there all day - that makes quite a dent in a days pleasure flying ! Finally you have to find the work - it takes a lot of calling, mailing etc to get anything plus there are a lot of established operators out there already.
Do loads and loads of research or maybe you have some things lined up already, anyway I wish you the best of luck and I'm sorry for sounding all doom and gloom but I'm sure you would rather know before you start spending

Tony about sums it up, except that one of your major problems is solved in that you have access to an aircraft and will preumably only pay for it when you use it. You're not forking out for mortgages etc when it's sitting around.

Hi Tony!

phil

If this business has the partial objective of being a vehicle to get cheap flying, please be aware of Benefits in Kind on company directors. The rules are that the asset need only be available for use, not whether the director actually uses it or not! You could be taxed on 20% market value of the asset i.e. helicopter.

Cheers

Whirls

Which location?

dheli
Locality means nothing.
You will wonder which comes first, the cart that comes first and costs heaps sitting idle, or the horse (AOC) that for some strange reason cannot be harnessed until the cart is in place and costing heaps!

Answer;
1. Patience (lots)
2. Money ( more)
3. Know the rules backwards ( more again)

don't believe the published timelines for action from the authority

Oh,

and be able to do the work that you envisage, automaically, cheaper and better than any opposition than you never before heard about.

Good luck; its kinda fun if you like beating yourself.
tet

Good luck; its kinda fun if you like beating yourself.
 

never mind, I'm not gonna bite on that bait.

I'd say think carefully about what you really want out of setting up your helicopter company. If its money! - stay flying privately and keep your other job to subsidize private flying!

Admittedly, I am an enthusiast rather than a career pilot but I quite enjoy sharing my passion for flying with the public. I've tried running commercial joyflights as an owner/operator in Oz but, to be frank, given the onerous system we have, it would probably be cheaper to operate privately and give the flights away for free. I learnt a lot from doing it but I wont do it again!

I'll stick with private thanks.

OOW

I worked for a heli company once. It was bought by a chap who obviously thought there was tonnes of money in it. 6 months later he realised it was barely breaking even, and sold it.

I heard that from a £230 R22 lesson, the company only sees about £30 profit. Does this sound correct?

It seems the heli companies that make money are the ones that have a) their own maintenance dept, b) good contacts to get charter work and, c) have modest premises

I imagine the CAA fees, insurance and maintenance are the most expensive parts of a heli operation.

I guess it all comes back to over-regulation.

The question is... are the heli accident statistics better in the UK (because of all the regulation), than in the USA? Has anyone any knowledge of this? I'm willing to bet they are the same.

Poor old Dheli,

If we haven't put him off - who will?

In all honesty, of course you could make a go of running your own company. All of the operators in the UK have had a 'day one' at some point and they're still here to tell the tale.

Personally, I would never, ever, recommend that you start an operation from nothing. The set up costs are huge and the helicopter charter market is increasingly competitive, particularly in the South East.

I wish you well with your flying, of course and anybody that is passionate about the industry should be encouraged!

My only advice would be to research your market thoroughly and take a pragmatic view on how achievable and sustainable it is. Particularly in November and December.

Try and make yourself enough money to be sitting in the back of the helicopter, with your feet up, reading the newspaper and not sitting in the front working hard!

All the best

XD

dheli

You never know, in 30 years you could be another bond or phi. Ask yourself which will be harder for you when you are peeing your bed 50yrs from now in some old codgers home, will you be regretting having waisted a year or 2 running your own helicopter company that did or didn't make it or regretting having had the chance to have your own place but bottled out???

Always remember the destination in life is not as important as the journey to it :cool: (very zen)

Good luck no matter which box you choose but be sure to keep us all posted on your decision/progress

NB:ok:

Craig Dobbins of CHC Helicopters started with one helicopter.
Imagine if he believed in the naysayers here.
He passed away in October, but he saw his company make over 1 Billion in Canadian revenue and they have been profitable for years.
Look for a PM that I will send out to you.
Kenneth

20 yrs ago i ran a small helicopter business with 5 helicopters. It used to be fun. You didnt need to employ somebody full time dealing with endless mostly irrelevant paperwork and we worked in with the caa , who were there to help ensure things were done properly and safely...........Now.....................
In this country we have a thing called the C.A.A. it is their job to stop people like you setting up business. The more operators , the more work for them , inspecting .....well ....things. A helicopter is only really safe when it is grounded , so that is what they will do. if they cannot find an excuse to ground the helicopter, dirty windscreen, inop xsponder or skymap in wrong place, they will bury you alive in meaningless paperwork , check rides,dunker ,fire,dinghy,first aid drills...to the point where you go clinically insane .....and then they will take your licence away making the skies of Great Britain a safer place.!! Just go private:ugh: :ugh:
or you could emigrate..

hear hear, thats why it costs 300 quid an hour for a r22 and an instructor

Dream on!!!
 

There are 3 ways to loose money:
The most pleasant one is on WOMEN
The quickest one is in GAMBLING
The surest one is in AVIATION

Sorry to be so cynical, but I have seen so many "start ups" failing.If by chance or vision you get a good opportunity or a good contract you can be sure that the "majors" (CHC etc....will underbid you to get it and drive you out!

SIM1 - don't want to get into business 101, but there are usually three reasons why people fail at aviation:

They grossly underestimate the amount of money required - you must have the money to pay up front, and to survive for at least 6 months
They try to pay as they go along - sort of related to point 1
They are pilots

With reference to the last, pilots think that they must fly, and at any cost. You can often make money by being on the ground

If you're thinking about starting an airline, the first point is very relevent when it comes to travel agents who will do anything they can not to pay you

Phil

Dheli,
Please check your Private Messages.
Thanks,
Ken

Or you could ring some operators mentioned on this site and see if they want to sell their business. I know of one might be interested. See a thread recently started on here!!:E :E