Boom in helicopter use in the UK
 

Interesting article by Pat Malone and another journo in last weekend's Sunday Times:

• The number of helicopters registered in the UK has risen by nearly 30% in the past five years (CAA figures), from 1,021 helicopters to 1,314.
  
• A report by the London Assembly last autumn revealed that the number of helicopter flights using the Battersea heliport — the only place you can land in central London — had increased by almost a fifth in four years.
  
• Helicopter sales have exploded over the past decade.
  
• Heli Air, the UK’s largest flight school and a helicopter distributor, sold 30 helicopters in 2002, and last year sold 70.
  
• McAlpine Helicopters - “We sell about half of our top-spec helicopters to private individuals, most of whom want to keep their helicopters at home.”

Link to Sunday Times article



H.

Blimey. What a very positive article. Good work, Pat. :D


But for the sake of the NIMBYs' blood pressure, I hope that they don't read the Sunday Times up in Barrasford! :E

The things some people do to get out of paying the Congestion Charge :rolleyes:

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d1.../Coconutty.jpg

Interesting article, shame about some of the quoted facts.... er. can't fly in the dark?

Yeah but Red Ken is talking about congestion charging for helicopters now!

I'd be very surprised if you read "every article he writes". Pat Malone is a jounalist who writes for several aviation publications each month, as well for national newspapers.
Good for you if you do - IMHO he's an exellent writer and does more than any other journalist to raise the positive profile of helicopter flying in the UK. Most press items about aviation in general and helicopters in particular are negative.

Pat is (or was?) an Instructor. To the best of my knowledge, he doesn't work for, never has worked for and has no association with HeliAir.
If you know of any company which sold even more than 70 helicopters last year, please post it.

In the meantime, the rest of us can just be pleased to read about the boom and be grateful that someone is getting positive articles about helicopter flying into the national newspapers. :ok:



H.

Chopper use up in UK
 

Great article.
I have read several by Pat Malone and they are all extremely well written, hopefully helping to convince non-pilots about the joys of helicopter flight :D .
I think the Heli-Air mention is simply because they (and their agents) are the number 1 purveyors of Robbos in the UK.

I was rather dismayed to read that you can insure an R44 for £5000.
What am I doing wrong - my premium is double that!:bored:

Good news about property value going up if you have a helipad (by £250k!!)
AFAIK after 10 years of constant use you get "grandfathered in" helipad rights - oh well, only 5 more years to go... and the helo might turn out to not be such a loss leader after all.

SB:ok:

Wow..I'm liking the £250k increase if you have a helipad !!!

The local agent that sold us this house, when called back 3 years later to give us a valuation, gave us the figure of about the same price we paid 3 years previously.........despite the £50k+ we'd ploughed into modernising the place...and the 5% p.a. that most other property in the uk had gone up in value...and the new helipad with the "best approach to a private site I've ever seen" (said by my last LPC examiner) in the garden......

Ya gotta laugh I suppose :D

Kev

Basically you need to change the variables.

Private use only.

One named pilot (with good accident record/ license type/ hours)

Reduce the insured value so you get less back in the event of a prang

Add on excesses.

Soon comes down but don't do leaseback if you do!

h-r;)

There is already a London "congestion charge" at Battersea heliport! Congestion was the reason quoted to put up prices by a large margin only a few months ago...