Posted by David Sheman on Sunday, October 12, 2003 at 4:25AM :
In Reply to: I seriously doubt posted by Paul(in NY) on Saturday, October 11, 2003 at 5:16PM :
My knowledge of helicopters is pretty limited, but I vaguely recall hearing that the ones the loggers use cost around $1000/hr to operate, most of which is maintenance since helicopters take several hours of maintenance for each hour in the air. Obviously if you're hauling something in/out of a very remote spot, a couple thou for a helicopter might still be cheaper than hiring a pack string and wranglers for a week, or it might be the only way if there isn't even a decent pack trail. Either the $9800 is inflated and it's an example of why we can't trust FS bookkeeping, or it's actual and it's an example of why they are wasting our tax money.