Helicopter appraisals require specialized knowledge and experience because they are uniquely different from fixed wing aircraft. Unlike pressurized airplanes and jets that have a finite useful life, helicopters can have unlimited life. As long as the aircraft is properly maintained and operated, it can fly. Which is why helicopters tend to hold their values well and in some cases even increase in value. An airplane is made up of a fuselage that support the wings that provide lift, engines, and then minor assemblies. Helicopters do not have wings. They have main rotor blades that provide lift. The rotor blades have a drive system that provides the rotive power to turn those blades. The drivetrain is made up of major assemblies such as the engine(s), main transmission, main rotor head, main rotor mast, the swashplate (which allows variable pitch settings for direction as well as vertical ascents and descents), tail rotor drive shafting, tail rotor gearbox, and tail rotor blades. Many people have described a helicopter as “a collection of very expensive parts flying in close formation.” An airplane’s fuselage may be 65% of the value of the aircraft. A helicopter’s fuselage only makes up 20-25% of the value of a new aircraft. The major assemblies and components of a helicopter are much more valuable on a relative basis than that of an airplane. This is why knowledge of the new, overhaul, and retirement costs of these components is critical to the valuation process of a helicopter. Over our forty year history, HeliValue$ has cultivated relationships with various resources such as original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), overhaul facilities, and many operators. These connections have aided HeliValue$ in building and maintaining an extensive database of new and overhaul component costs which is one of the vital elements of the proprietary algorithms that make up our appraisal programs.