Taylor04 Posted February 20, 2009 Posted February 20, 2009 Last week I posted on here about a friend of ours looking for a helicopter to use for ag spraying. But he went to get financing and can't find financing for a military helicopter. Does anybody have any ideas or done this route before. Quote
adam32 Posted February 20, 2009 Posted February 20, 2009 What do you mean a military helicopter? It must be out of the military for him to be buying it, so it should be civilian registered...? Quote
Taylor04 Posted February 20, 2009 Author Posted February 20, 2009 Hey sorry bout that they tell him it can't be like a oh58 or a uh1 helicopter only civilian helicopters yes. Quote
Goldy Posted February 21, 2009 Posted February 21, 2009 Last week I posted on here about a friend of ours looking for a helicopter to use for ag spraying. But he went to get financing and can't find financing for a military helicopter. Does anybody have any ideas or done this route before. If he can fly the B 47, he could pick one up and lease/rent it for around $100 per hour. The maintenance and overhaul is a bit pricey, I would guess maybe $85-90 an hour? Lots of Bells converted to AG work...course that would cost some bucks too. Goldy Quote
apiaguy Posted February 21, 2009 Posted February 21, 2009 You need to tell us more about this "friend" What do you want to fly? Most helicopters fly ag. Buy a dang R22 R44 S300 Hiller B47 206 a350 md500 205 etc.........All of them have spray systems available. How much do you want to spray before you refill?How much do you want to spend?How much gas do you want to burn?Are you trying to start a business or spray your own stuff? Too many decisions for anybody here to make an intelligent reply.People are using former military helicopters to spray with because they are cheaper to purchase which helps cut costs in a competitive market. They can then be (sometimes) certified in the restricted category and used to fly ag. There is no other reason you can't buy a certified ship..... I don't know why they won't finance a former military ship. Quote
rick1128 Posted February 21, 2009 Posted February 21, 2009 You need to tell us more about this "friend" What do you want to fly? Most helicopters fly ag. Buy a dang R22 R44 S300 Hiller B47 206 a350 md500 205 etc.........All of them have spray systems available. How much do you want to spray before you refill?How much do you want to spend?How much gas do you want to burn?Are you trying to start a business or spray your own stuff? Too many decisions for anybody here to make an intelligent reply.People are using former military helicopters to spray with because they are cheaper to purchase which helps cut costs in a competitive market. They can then be (sometimes) certified in the restricted category and used to fly ag. There is no other reason you can't buy a certified ship..... I don't know why they won't finance a former military ship. There are several reasons. Primarily it is because they are not certified in normal category. It makes them very difficult to resell after they are repo'ed. Also keep in mind the FAA has been cracking down on certifying ex-military aircraft in restricted category. There are a large number of hoops to jump through with NO guarantee of getting a restricted airworthiness. Your friend needs to look at what his potential customer base is and the size of the field/spray areas. For small fields you don't need a UH1. They seem to be primarily used for forestry/powerline spraying. Large fields like in California or the midwest a 206 works well. But for smaller fields a BH47 or Hiller 12 with or without the Soloy conversion seems to work well. Quote
Taylor04 Posted February 22, 2009 Author Posted February 22, 2009 (edited) Ok not sure I understand all this. But answer this question if there's a uh1b in restricted category already being used for spraying in united states should he have any problems with getting this Heli. All operators around him use hueys and he's needing one. But if this is gonna be a road block I'm working on a soloy 47 maybe. He could use either. Edited February 23, 2009 by Taylor04 Quote
rick1128 Posted February 23, 2009 Posted February 23, 2009 Ok not sure I understand all this. But answer this question if there's a uh1b in restricted category already being used for spraying in united states should he have any problems with getting this Heli. All operators around him use hueys and he's needing one. But if this is gonna be a road block I'm working on a soloy 47 maybe. He could use either. Many of the current restricted category helicopters were done many years ago when the regs were enforced differently. The fact the other helicopter is a B model tells me it was most likely done 20 years or more ago. If it is already got a restricted category airworthiness, then he should be alright. But getting one without it and trying to get it certified will most likely be a nightmare. There are several OH58's out there that were recently released from government use (police, fires, forest service, etc) that can only be certified under Exhibition Use. It is so restrictive it is almost not worth the effort. Quote
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