What would u change in the R22 or 300 ?

[500E]

There are a lot of people that spray the pitch links with WD40 with the mistaken idea that it lubs the RJ ball all it does is dry\harden the teflon.

Just love the 300 and 500 both are great to fly even if the 300 is rather pedestrian (slow) Sorry cant get the rotors to revolve the correct way

[Superman]

Frank can want anything, but making it happen is another matter...

 

Fuel, capital cost, and insurance, are the three major things that cause a R-44 to cost almost twice the price to rent vs. a R-22.

 

If you take a stripped down R-44, you're looking at $100K more than a R-22, and more than 50% higher overhaul costs. Fuel burn is not quite twice as much, and insurance is at least 50% higher.

 

jehh,

 

I agree with what you're saying, but I think Frank has more pull than you think.

 

Lets say that they were to quit producing the 22, and field or factory overhauls were made almost impossible to have done (cost prohibitive). Now you have the choice of an R44 or a Schweizer 300CBi. Are the purchase, insurance and maintenance costs comparable? (I don't know, I'm asking) They have eliminated their own biggest competitor (the 22), and

from a marketing standpoint, the 44 would still beat out the 300, 4 seats, faster, less maintenance etc.

 

 

Again,

My two cents worth

Clark

[flingwing206]

The CBi's DRY operating costs over the long term (beyond 2200 hours) are the same as the R22's. The difference is that you pay the R22's costs all at once at the overhaul (you also lose your helicopter for a few months).

 

The R44 costs about $100/hour dry more to operate than the R22 or 300CBi. IF the R22 goes away, it will be a banner year for Schweizer - would YOU pay $110 - $130/hour more for your flight training? I think not (or you'd be doing it already) - heck, most folks aren't willing to pony up the $10 - $15/hour difference in fuel cost between the R22 and 300CBi.

 

(PS my cost analysis is based on our experience running the R22, 300CBi and R44-II. Your milage may vary.)

[jehh]

The CBi's DRY operating costs over the long term (beyond 2200 hours) are the same as the R22's. The difference is that you pay the R22's costs all at once at the overhaul (you also lose your helicopter for a few months).

 

Fling, I agree with you when you run the numbers based on the component times, but after having taught in both R-22s and 300CBs, I think the 300CBs require more unscheduled repairs, which ends up making them cost more.

 

When both are new, it doesn't much matter, but from my limited experience, the R-22 does seem to be more reliable. I'm curious as to your opinion on this matter, given your experience.

 

The R44 costs about $100/hour dry more to operate than the R22 or 300CBi. IF the R22 goes away, it will be a banner year for Schweitzer - would YOU pay $110 - $130/hour more for your flight training? I think not (or you'd be doing it already) - heck, most folks aren't willing to pony up the $10 - $15/hour difference in fuel cost between the R22 and 300CBi.

 

I agree with you here, to a point. There is a sub-market of the population who would do all their training in the R-44 if it were offered more widely. Look at the situation with the C152 vs C172, how many flight schools are filled with new 172s these days? The price difference between a new C172SP and an old C152 is about double the cost of the C152, yet people in this area seem to train in the newer airplane more often. Perhaps that is a demographic issue, but something to think about.