Hire & Fly And Building Hours

At ATS Helicopters we receive numerous enquiries about the cost of Hire and Fly on Helicopters in order to build the hours from PPL towards CPL.

It is true that this seems expensive and students tend to shop around for the cheapest hours. Understandable!

The following criteria are necessary to keep in mind when you want to hire a helicopter to build your hours.

INSURANCE:

The insurance on a helicopter is crucial. When an owner completes the questionnaire regarding the insurance of the helicopter and the helicopter is only used for owner flying, the insurance is much lower than for a training school where the helicopter will be used for hire and fly purposes.

Because ATS helicopters maintain a very high standard of training, we do a dual check with the pilot every three months, our insurance is quite reasonable and therefore we can give the hire and fly rates through to our clients.

It is very important that the insurance is well aware of the type of usage of a helicopter and you as a client must also make sure that you will be covered in case of an incident or accident.

Always ask the following questions to the owner/operator of a helicopter:

1. What is my excess payment in case of an accident or incident? The excess is normally 10% of the full value which can be R250 000 if the helicopter is worth R2,5 million.
2. Does this include or exclude VAT?
3. Does the owner indemnify me against any claims in case of an accident or incident?
4. Am I a named pilot on the Insurance or not, if not, what does the OPW, (open pilot warranty) specify?
5. What does the passenger liability specify in case of an accident or incident?
6. Will the third party insurance pay out in case of an accident or incident? The question will be asked by the insurers if you have complied with the specifications of the Insurance policy.
7. Am I indemnified against loss of income in case of an accident of incident which renders the helicopter unserviceable?

8. If any clause of the Insurance is not complied with, the pilot in command at the time of the accident will be held liable for damages which can in certain cases ruin you financially.

source: http://www.atsheli.co.za/news/jeanne/hire-and-fly-and-hour-building.html