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How does this compare to other major helicopter fleets? Digging around reddit and some other websites place civilian helicopters at around $1,500-$2,000 per fli

How does this compare to other major helicopter fleets? Digging around reddit and some other websites place civilian helicopters at around $1,500-$2,000 per flight hour (not sure if that's including repair and refitting or just fuel), I would imagine with a little government inefficiency thrown in there it wouldn't be too hard to get it up to $3,000 per flight hour.

Konnstann 3y ago
The biggest issue in the article I found wasn't the actual expense of the flights but rather the wanton use of helicopters for non-essential matters like ferrying officials to meetings to avoid traffic. They quote some figure like 2 helicopters flying 20 hours a day every day, which sounds insane.
- sickofparadox 3y ago
  Yeah it doesn't seem like police academy fly overs and the like are the best usage of taxpayer dollars. I was thinking about tacking that onto my comment but it felt out of place to the question I was asking originally.
- i_am_jl 3y ago
  The really crazy part is that one of the factors that make emergency helicopter fleets more expensive than regular commercial chopper fleets is keeping the fleet at a state of readiness. Using them for ferrying officials around cancels those benefits out while driving the costs even higher.
deleted 3y ago
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nradov 3y ago
Helicopter rental prices vary tremendously based on the aircraft type, optional equipment, and whether pilots are included. A fully loaded cost of $3K per hour for a police helicopter can be reasonable accounting for depreciation, maintenance, fuel, crew wages, training, licensing, and airport fees. Modern police helicopters tend to be on the expensive with twin turbine engines, large spotlights, stabilized cameras, and high-end digital avionics.
jillesvangurp 3y ago
This document has a nice breakdown: https://controller.lacity.gov/landings/lapd-helicopters https://controller.lacity.gov/landings/lapd-helicopters It looks like by far the largest cost is staffing. Followed by maintenance, fuel, and financing.
- yencabulator 3y ago
  Staffing, maintenance and fuel are directly proportional to flight hours, and the article is complaining about downright corrupt use of flight hours.

Konnstann 3y ago

The biggest issue in the article I found wasn't the actual expense of the flights but rather the wanton use of helicopters for non-essential matters like ferrying officials to meetings to avoid traffic. They quote some figure like 2 helicopters flying 20 hours a day every day, which sounds insane.

sickofparadox 3y ago
Yeah it doesn't seem like police academy fly overs and the like are the best usage of taxpayer dollars. I was thinking about tacking that onto my comment but it felt out of place to the question I was asking originally.
i_am_jl 3y ago
The really crazy part is that one of the factors that make emergency helicopter fleets more expensive than regular commercial chopper fleets is keeping the fleet at a state of readiness. Using them for ferrying officials around cancels those benefits out while driving the costs even higher.

deleted 3y ago

[deleted]

nradov 3y ago

Helicopter rental prices vary tremendously based on the aircraft type, optional equipment, and whether pilots are included. A fully loaded cost of $3K per hour for a police helicopter can be reasonable accounting for depreciation, maintenance, fuel, crew wages, training, licensing, and airport fees. Modern police helicopters tend to be on the expensive with twin turbine engines, large spotlights, stabilized cameras, and high-end digital avionics.

jillesvangurp 3y ago

This document has a nice breakdown: https://controller.lacity.gov/landings/lapd-helicopters https://controller.lacity.gov/landings/lapd-helicopters It looks like by far the largest cost is staffing. Followed by maintenance, fuel, and financing.

yencabulator 3y ago
Staffing, maintenance and fuel are directly proportional to flight hours, and the article is complaining about downright corrupt use of flight hours.