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2. Buying your own helicopter is more expensive, not less, than renting one or using a flight school’s.

The rest in detail is below. I respect our military pilots… and everyone else in the industry

Ehud
Tucson AZ

To offer more information… I have 135 hours, am 44 years old, and I think that means the military is not an option.

I’ve looked into ownership, and while I appreciate the previous poster’s suggestion… here are the cold hard facts. I’ve used an R-44 for illustration because it’s easier (the parts all time out at the same time, and base cost is lower, but you do have a 12-year limit). A Bell 206 costs over twice as much used, and more for upkeep.

The cost of a Robinson R-44 has a straight-line depreciation, with a timed-out value of around $90-$100K and an overhaul of $180-$220K. That makes the set-aside $18.3K/yr on the 12-year plan or $100/hr on the 2200 hour plan, but requires those 2200 hours over 12 years or 183 hours a year (15.25 hrs/month). It’s easier to think of it as “hey why don’t we get a few guys/gals and commit to 15 hours a month!”

Right. Now add insurance. The company recommended by RHC (Pathfinder) does a depreciated schedule. That’s around $10K/yr. (another $10K/yr set-aside, or another $75/hr set-aside on the 183 hrs/year plan.) Unfortunately this means that there’s no total replacement… just equivalently used replacement. Most financing sources won’t accept this. The nearest choice is around $25K/yr. (About $150/hr on the 183 hours/year plan.) That is full replacement coverage that lenders like.

So without talking about ADs, SBs, 50hr, 100hr, rotor track and balancing, maintenance, annual, inspections, hangaring, oil, and — dare I say it — FUEL — the minimum cost EXCLUDING THE AIRCRAFT LOAN is $150/hr (insc) + $100/hr (overhaul) = $250/hr.

I can rent an R-44 in Las Vegas for $360/hr –wet– (blocks of 10hrs, can be used in several sessions)
I can rent an R-44 in Tucson for $450 –wet– (no minimum commit)

The cost of ownership is high. Having looked at it in depth it is my opinion this option is not for someone trying to save money. It is for someone willing to pay more for extra convenience… and perhaps the occasional inconvenience. The military option — if you are not ineligible due to age or other factors — that’s a good choice, unless of course you don’t like the rest of what comes with military service.

If you want to fly helicopters commercially forget the fixed wing route. It would be cheaper to get the airplane commercial and then a helicopter add on but total time in helicopters is what counts when looking for a job and money spent on airplane time would be wasted. If you can afford to buy and build a Rotorway then you can afford flight school.

There are no short cuts to that right seat. There are no easy answers.

1. Partnership. Find a couple/few other would-be chopper pilots, and buy a used copter of some sort. It might be something relatively low cost, VFR only, but that will get you through your private certificate. If you have enough partners and enough cash (or borrowing power), you might buy something that is IFR equipped to continue with the advanced ratings, or stick with the VFR ship and rent for the IFR training. Lotsa bucks per hour, but there aren’t so many IFR training hours required in comparison to the total time for a rating. A copter with mid-times remaining on components should do nicely; I doubt that you’d fly off all that remaining time, even with three or four people in on the deal, especially if you already have fixed wing ratings.

2. The “especially if you have fixed wing ratings” brings up another alternative: It’s cheaper to pick up the airplane ratings from scratch, than helicopter ratings. Helicopter time costs roughly as much per hour as flying a light twin airplane. Get the ratings in a single engine airplane, and then add on the rotary wing ratings. This may or may not save you many hours, depending on the specific rating(s) you’re after, but it can’t hurt. If renting fixed wing through your local FBO is still too much (and believe me, I understand, I’ve been there in the past), once again, there is the fixed-wing partnership or outright purchase, and there is a wide variety of homebuilt fixed wing airplanes available on the market as well, available for considerably less cash than an equivalent factory-built. In other words, “time-builder.”

3. Build your own. There are kits available that are far cheaper than buying a new helicopter. Rotorway will even take care of the training through private, if you buy one of their kits. Still too much? Can’t get a loan? See (1) above, RE: Partnership.

4. Leaseback. There is a member of my local EAA chapter who is doing this with a Robinson R-22 (I think, or R-44) at a helicopter school on our home field. The copter school always seems to be busy when I’m out at the airport, so they must be getting their students from somewhere.

Any other ideas out there?

I have the utmost respect for the guys coming along today, especially those willing to incur that much debt with no gaurantee of employment. They have the knowledge, the skills, and dedication to do a great job. I have tried to convince the powers that be where I work to take on low timers and let us old guys pass on our experience, to no avail. They hired pilots with 200 hour at one time, because they had no choice, but that was before lawsuits became so common and customers required five or ten times that amount.