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Bo 105 & Bk 117


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If your are considering operating it in Canada in the utility market you may be in for some heartache.

 

I flew a BO105 for a little over 5 years, what do I think;

 

Performance - consider it a single engine, as the performance OEI leaves ALOT to be desired.

 

Maintenance cost - our 212's were apparently 30% cheaper to operate the the 105

 

Advantages - very few....NONE! Unless you are working of ship, it will take a pounding on moving decks.

 

Disadvantages - has no gas to go anywhere without LR tanks, if LR tanks are installed you may be able to carry, yourself, your paperwork and maybe three ideas. It is relatively slow if decked out with gear. Very heavy MTW. Engineers dispise them.

 

Ohhh.....there is one nice thing........they are a real blast to fly. I had the opportunity to try the 117 also, and it was a hoot to, but the same concerns as the 105 according to the operator.

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well 'dude.....you have two options, call someone from Stars who is operating 117's and get their opinion. they've increased their fleet over the years, they obviously work for them. You could also call the coast guard, but they're governement, I'd be surprised if you ever got a straight answer out of them.....

You can look at alot of US operators, they are quite popular down there for many operations, and are being replaced with newer euro products every day, so there are many on the market I presume, which as T-rex suggested = low price.

Support for these a/c would most likely be stateside for some of it (AEC carries a sh*tload of spares because of the volume down there), but Transmission and Hydraulic work is done at the Fort Erie operation, and they do high quality work.

 

Elvis is somewhat of the guru on the components and has been around a coons age, basically since they entered canada. Talk nice to him, he'll be helpfull. Ask him about the LS model.

 

You can't go wrong with the aircraft, do your homework and see if they fit your operation.

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Depends on what version BK-117 you are looking at. The B2 & later versions have AUW of 3350kg, cruise at 130kt TAS with LTS 101-750 engines. Excellent OEI capability (approx 6000' PA). Very sporty and great to fly (once you get used to it...). Require some TLC, but not overly complex depending on the configuration. The CSAS (which I heartily recommend!) can be difficult to troubleshoot when angry, overall a great A/C depending on what you are doing with it.

 

Cheers!

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