Why private helicopters are still in demand

 

By Abimbola Tooki

Nigerians were said to have spent $6.5 billion on private jets, making the country the largest market in Africa for luxury aircraft and one of the fastest growing in the world. Nigeria was only competing with South Africa on the continent.

Nowhere in Africa, except in South Africa was there the number of private jets than Nigeria. It became the singular fetish object of the modern billionaires.

Flaunting wealth through the display of luxury items like helicopters and private jets is not uncommon among some wealthy individuals in Nigeria. It's a way for some people to showcase their affluence and social status. However, many wealthy individuals prefer to keep a low profile and are involved in philanthropic activities that benefit society.

A private jet owner disclosed that if not for the current economic crisis occasioned by the free fall of Naira, more Nigerians, who allegedly got involved in alleged shady deals, would have acquired the luxurious equipment

Jason Hill, one of the prominent helicopter makers in the world, said with the cost of living crisis, it seems like a challenging time to launch a luxury product. The Hill machine has a price tag of almost N1 billion (£600,000) - cheap for a helicopter, but for most people completely unaffordable.

Nevertheless, there are buyers. Hill has chalked up 1,222 orders worth £540 million. Those buyers have parted with non-refundable deposits of up to £100,000.

And that's all happened before the helicopter's first flight, projected for the middle of this year.

Of course, it's not just Hill that's able to sell luxury transport options.

California's Robinson has popularised helicopter flying with a family of small, two to five seat aircraft that have notched up nearly 14,000 sales for the manufacturer.

Robinson's R66 Turbine costs just over $1 million (£790,000) and it sees orders increasing, growing from 101 helicopters in 2022, to a projected 120 units for 2023, and 150 in 2024.

The British Helicopter Association's chief executive Tim Fauchon doesn't dispute that helicopter ownership is for the wealthy. "If you're flying a helicopter you've got a bit of cash behind you."

However it still makes sense to shell out for such a machine when time is of the essence. "You buy a helicopter to save time, it's an efficient way of getting from A to B."

And private helicopter owners can recoup their costs by leasing their machine out to flying schools when they're not using it.

Also, appearing on the horizon, are fresh competitors for the helicopter business.

Electric Vertical Take Off and Landing aircraft (Evtol) have been promoted as the answer to a host of regional and urban transport needs with several hundred projects on the go worldwide.

Powered by batteries and often having multiple rotors, Evtol makers say the aircraft will be cheaper, quieter and easier to maintain than helicopters.

The promise is that one day, such aircraft could bring the convenience of helicopter travel to a much bigger market.

Adam Twidell is working out how to integrate Evtol machines into the operations of private jet club Flexjet, which has ordered an Evtol from Brazil's aerospace giant Embraer.

Hill hopes that it can cut one of the costs of owning a helicopter - the compulsory rebuild that comes after a certain number of hours have been flown.

For a Robinson helicopter with a turbine engine this comes at 2,000 hours and costs $400,000. Hill hopes to stretch that figure to 5,000 hours and replace the engine and gear boxes for $150,000.