RWS 85 – Buying a Helicopter with Stephen Boyce

Rotary Wing Show - Interviews from the Helicopter Industry

Stephen Boyce has been marketing and selling helicopters since 2011 leveraging his own wide industry experience in the process.

In the market for a helicopter or just want to know some of the ins and outs of the process? Stephen Boyce has been working in helicopter sales since 2011 and flying them since 1994. Helicopters are high cost purchases and almost always a case of buyer beware. Should you buy new or used? How do you determine what models hold their value? How does buying for private use differ from a commercial business case? Some of the things that Stephen talks about in this episode.

Stephen’s helicopter career has seen him collect commercial licenses under 5 different regulators, 18 different type ratings, 7500+ hrs, VFR, IFR, Multi-engine experience and time in the Arctic. You can see some more of Stephen’s background on his LinkedIn profile.

Growing up Stephen’s Dad was a fixed wing pilot and the family lived in PNG for a number of years with Stephen riding his bike on the local runway between flights.

One of the stories that Stephen talks about in this interview is how he came to land a job in the Arctic flying a Bell 214ST in support of US early warning radar bases pointed over the North pole towards Russia.

For most of the interview though we get into some depth on the different considerations and steps that go into buying a helicopter. This is a really good primer on the topic and includes discussion on foreign currency rates, different models, contracts, pre-purchase inspections, inclusions, finance gotcha’s for helicopters out of country, shipping and more.

Stephen Boyce with a Bell 214ST at Resolution Island – remote north east Canada

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Heliskiing, off-shore, medivac, vertical reference, environmental surveys, fire ops, tourism – some of the operational experiences that Stephen has had in his career and allowed him to collect a number of different type ratings.

Have a comment or feedback about Episode 85? Maybe you have some great tips of your own that others can benefit from. Be part of the conversation by leaving a comment below.

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