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Gatordev

Gatordev

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pilot
Site Admin
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Wow, that was hard to read. "Knots per hour" must be the metric conversion.

Tumpak said both the Army and Navy are already following a trend of adopting twin-engine aircraft, such as the Sikorsky CH-53 Sea Stallion, and it “makes sense to train how you fight.”
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Uh, what?
 
Gatordev

Gatordev

Well-Known Member
pilot
Site Admin
Contributor
ChuckMK23 said:
That aircraft is now registered as N190AE
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I kind of had feeling it might have been registered to a specific company, and can't prove that now, but one of the previous aircraft might back that up. However....

Way to bury the lead! Look at what else it was registered to!!! (Assuming it wasn't a kit, which Google isn't helping me with).
 
DanMa1156

DanMa1156

Is it baseball season yet?
pilot
Contributor
phrogdriver said:
I’ve got nothing further to say than that the quantifiable performance differences between the aircraft are pretty small. However, you do see significant differences in acquisition and sustainment costs.

If I knew I would be keeping an aircraft for 25+ years, I’d do what the Navy did and make sustainment price and acquisition price both part of the evaluation criteria.
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Color me dumb on the topic as I've really done next to 0 homework on the topic, but overall, out of the candidates, who has the lowest acquisition cost and who has the lowest sustainment cost? Also, just from a business perspective, why wouldn't Bell (or any other company for that matter) submit more than one helo, does it cost that much to pitch it to the Navy?
 
ChuckMK23

ChuckMK23

FERS and TSP contributor!
pilot
DanMa1156 said:
Color me dumb on the topic as I've really done next to 0 homework on the topic, but overall, out of the candidates, who has the lowest acquisition cost and who has the lowest sustainment cost? Also, just from a business perspective, why wouldn't Bell (or any other company for that matter) submit more than one helo, does it cost that much to pitch it to the Navy?
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Both of the single engine contenders - Bell and the Leonardo - seem to operate at around 50 GPH of JET-A. I'm guessing very similar operating costs. Same for acquisition costs - around $3mm per.... (by design since they compete with each other in the commercial market).

The H135 - well @Gatordev would know better than anyone but I heard 65 GPH as a fuel flow and I believe a new one will run $5.5 mm or so.
 
DanMa1156

DanMa1156

Is it baseball season yet?
pilot
Contributor
ChuckMK23 said:
Both of the single engine contenders - Bell and the Leonardo - seem to operate at around 50 GPH of JET-A. I'm guessing very similar operating costs. Same for acquisition costs - around $3mm per.... (by design since they compete with each other in the commercial market).

The H135 - well @Gatordev would know better than anyone but I heard 65 GPH as a fuel flow and I believe a new one will run $5.5 mm or so.
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Dang. Even on the low end at 50 GPH that's almost 2x as hugh as the 57. I can't imagine though that gas is the highest cost here, is it? It's gotta be how often parts need to be replaced, how time intensive the inspections and overhauls are, and the supply chain that makes said parts readily available at reasonable prices, no? Obviously, fuel is a cost, but is it the biggest driver?
 
ChuckMK23

ChuckMK23

FERS and TSP contributor!
pilot
DanMa1156 said:
Dang. Even on the low end at 50 GPH that's almost 2x as hugh as the 57. I can't imagine though that gas is the highest cost here, is it? It's gotta be how often parts need to be replaced, how time intensive the inspections and overhauls are, and the supply chain that makes said parts readily available at reasonable prices, no? Obviously, fuel is a cost, but is it the biggest driver?
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True but both have engines operating well over 2X the SHP of the mighty TH-57 and its 250-C20 motor

and..

all 3 contenders have few life limited parts and a lot of "on condition" in lieu of TBO or fixed life limits.
 
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