Cost Per Mile Comparison
Chart C (left) details the ‘Cost per Mile’
for our comparative helicopters, per
JETNET data. It factors direct costs (no
depreciation) and with each aircraft flying
a 200nm mission. The average US Jet-A
fuel cost used for May 2019 was $4.94
per gallon.
The Bell 505 shows a lower cost per
nautical mile at $9.19, compared to
$11.41 for the Robinson R66. That’s a
difference of 19.9% in favor of the Bell
505.Total Variable Cost Comparison
The ‘Total Variable Cost’ illustrated in
Chart D (middle, left) is defined as the
Cost of Fuel Expense, Maintenance Labor
Expense, Scheduled Parts Expense and
Miscellaneous Trip Expense. The Total
Variable Cost for the Bell 505 computes
at $965 per hour, which is 19.5% less than
the Robinson R66 ($1,204 per hour),
according to JETNET.Aircraft Market Comparison
Table B (bottom, left) contains the used
price of a 2018 model for each helicopter
(sourced from Vref Pricing Guide). The
average speed, cabin volume and
maximum payload values are from
Conklin & de Decker and JETNET, while
the number of helicopters in-operation
and percentage ‘For Sale’ are as reported
by JETNET.
The Bell 505 has 7.3% of its fleet
currently ‘For Sale’, while the Robinson
R66 has 6.6% ‘For Sale’. The average
number of new/used transactions per
month for both helicopters is ten.Depreciation Schedule
Helicopters that are owned and operated
by businesses are often depreciable for
income tax purposes under the Modified
Accelerated Cost Recovery System
(MACRS). Under MACRS, taxpayers can
accelerate the depreciation of assets by
taking a greater percentage of the
deductions during the first few years of
the applicable recovery period (see Table
C, top, right).
In certain cases, helicopters may not
qualify under the MACRS system and
must be depreciated under the less
favorable Alternative Depreciation
System (ADS) where depreciation is
based on a straight-line method,
meaning equal deductions are taken
during each year of the applicable
recovery period. In most cases, recoveryUS $ per nautical mile
(^) $ 0. 00 $3.00
Source: JETNET
Robinson R66
$9.19
$11.41
Bell 505
200nm mission costs (no depreciation)
$6.00^ $9.00^ $12.00
US $ per hour
$ 0 $1,000
Source: JETNET
Robinson R66
$965
$1,204
Bell 505
$500^ $1,500
Average Full Sale Transactions in the past 12 months; Source: Conklin de Decker, Vref, JETNET
%
For Sale
Average New
& Pre-owned
Sold
In Operation
Used 2018
Vref Price
$USm
Seats Full
Range
(nm)
Cabin Volume
Cu Ft
Long Range
Cruise Speed
(Kts)
104 125 61 50 242 260 $1.450$.990 179 769 7.3%6.6% 10 10
Bell 505
Robinson R66
Chart D – Total Variable Cost Comparison
Chart C – Cost per Mile Comparison
86 Vol 23 Issue 8 2019 AVBUYERMAGAZINE http://www.AVBUYER.com
H A^ HELICOPTER COMPARISON A
Table B - Market Comparison
w A
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