5 Of The Cheapest Helicopters That You Can Actually Buy & Fly

Helicopters have been used for nearly a century by both civilians and military personnel, for everything from cargo and medical transport, to search and rescue, and even combat. In general, these aerial vehicles are used by an organization of some sort. However, it is not only possible to get a personal helicopter, but rather easy if you have enough money. Usually, all you need is a pilot's license and you're good to go. 

The problem is that helicopters tend to be very expensive. In fact, even militaries continue to use very old helicopters, rather than replace them. Price tags in the millions are common and even smaller helicopters in the used segment still cost half a million or more. Thus, it's not an easy hobby to get into. Even if you do find one on a budget, you're very unlikely to get one of the fastest civilian models. 

With all of that said, it is possible to get yourself into a helicopter for a comparatively reasonable price. Some companies even specialize in building reasonably affordable helicopters for enthusiasts who only want to fly short distances. Just keep in mind that the most affordable helicopters are limited in functionality, often can barely carry more than the weight of the pilot, and are often considered less safe.

The AK1-3 Sanka is one of the most affordable two-seat helicopters that we were able to find. It features a single main rotor with a secondary tail rotor that is powered by a four-cylinder Subaru EJ25 engine that makes up to 156 hp. For the record, that's the same 2.5-liter boxer engine that Subaru puts into many of its vehicles, and the boxer engine is known to be fairly reliable. It can handle about 500 pounds when loaded with fuel, so this little guy is mostly best for transportation and not for cargo or any actual work. 

For its price, it's reasonably well put together. It has an official range of 217 miles, which is enough to get from Columbus, Ohio to Cleveland and about halfway back before needing to refuel. It has a maximum fly time of around 2.6 hours and a top speed of roughly 110 mph. So, not a heavy hitter in any specific category, but still reasonable enough to use often. Per the company, the number one use of this little thing is for flight schools as the controls are easy enough to translate to virtually any other type of helicopter. You may have even flown one while getting your pilot's license. 

These go new for around $180,000, and even less used, making them among the more affordable options on the market. In addition, since it uses a car engine, it can also use car fuel, which is wildly cheaper than aviation fuel. 

The Safari 400 is one of the smallest helicopters we've ever seen and it's also one of a few kit-built helicopters on the list. That means you can buy the kit online and then assemble it in your garage, or wherever else you might be able to fit a helicopter. This is similar to the factory kit Shelby Cobra you can buy if you don't want to fork out the money for an original. In any case, the Safari 400 is a reasonably inexpensive helicopter that will get you in the air. 

The charm of the Safari 400 is that all the pieces come to your door and all you need are hand tools to put it together. All of the welding and fabrication are done at the factory, so it's just screwing everything together. As you would expect, it's otherwise fairly small, fitting two people at most with almost no room for cargo. This is a true-blue enthusiast aircraft for short jaunts and the joy of flying. You won't be doing much else with it. 

In terms of price, you can get the Safari 400 for under $200,000 if you don't mind assembling it yourself. The kit runs $142,000 and you can have it constructed at the factor for a final total of $183,200 as of this writing. The number of helicopters you can buy for under $150,000 is surprisingly short, and the Safari 400 is on it, albeit just barely. 

The Robinson R22 is another small helicopter that's been around for a while. First flying over 40 years ago, Robinson continues to make and sell these helicopters to this day, although they have been upgraded since the 1970s. Like the AK1-3 Sanka and the Safari 400, it's a two-seat helicopter of small stature that can fly for a while but isn't designed to do any actual work. It's also powered by the same Lycoming O-360 engine that powers the Safari 400, so the two share many of the same performance metrics. 

When it comes to capability, it's not half bad. Its maximum range is rated at around 285 miles with a maximum altitude of 14,000 feet. That means you can very nearly make a full trip from Columbus to Cleveland, Ohio and back again as long as the wind is friendly. On the downside, it only supports up to 389 pounds once the fuel tanks are full, which is barely enough for two people, let alone baggage. So, for the most part, this is arguably best used as a solo helicopter, but it can fit two people in a pinch. 

For price, the Robinson R22 has been around for a long time, so you can easily find it on the used market. Brand new ones can range north of $350,000, but we were able to find used ones fairly regularly for under $100,000. That's not bad for a helicopter with 40 years of history behind it. 

The Helicycle sounds like something out of a sci-fi movie, but it's really just an ultralight kit helicopter. Much like the Safari 400, you can buy this thing in pieces, have it shipped to your house, and assemble it yourself with a decent set of mechanic's tools. With some modifications, you can even make this one light enough to fly without a license, but for the sake of safety, we recommend you get a license anyway. 

While it is mostly like the Safari 400 in terms of buying experience, under the hood is quite a different story. The Helicycle uses the Solar T62 engine, a small gas engine that was originally built as auxiliary power for ground power units and adapted for use in ultralight helicopters like the Helicycle. However, the engine seems to do pretty well. One person even used the Helicycle to fly cross-country, although it took him many fuel stops to do it since the Helicycle has a range of about 160 miles on a good day. 

As you can probably see, as we get cheaper and cheaper, things like range and weight start to suffer considerably. With that said, you can get all the Helicycle kits necessary for flight for $75,500. That makes it one of the few helicopters in the world that you can buy new for under $100,000, but there are some sacrifices to be made getting the cost down that far. 

The Mosquito XE is one of the least expensive helicopters you can buy reasonably easily. There may be cheaper ones, but we haven't been able to find them. The Mosquito XE is exceptionally light at just 298 pounds, and its max gross weight is 610 pounds. Per Composite FX, that means the max weight of the pilot is 240 pounds. Therefore, we recommend the more rotund among us probably stick to a helicopter with a higher weight rating. Other than that, it appears to be, by all accounts, a fun little helicopter. 

As the least expensive helicopter on the list, its specs are the least impressive of the lot. It has 1.75 hours of flight time and a max altitude of 8,000 feet. Its max range is about equal to the Helicycle at 160 to 180 miles depending on the weather. So, this is a helicopter specifically for solo joyriding as it's not particularly useful enough to do much of anything else. The good news is that enthusiasts often don't care about that and just want something that can fly. 

As for pricing, one of these can be had for as little as $53,000 as a kit or $68,000 if you let the factory put it together for you. There are three other models as well, including the XEL, XE 290, and XET. They are all more expensive than the Mosquito XE, but still fall under the $100,000 price range, even if constructed at the factory.