# The world's cheapest helicopter **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 14, 2015, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-cheapest-helicopter/722474 "2015-06-14T00:34:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2015, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-cheapest-helicopter/722474/1 "2015-06-14T00:34:51Z")
[Afalina](http://rt.com/news/266872-afalina-helicopter-cheapest-russia/) It has a maximum speed of about 134 kts, and a payload of 396 pounds. (I’m not sure if that’s with full fuel, or if fuel weight needs to be deducted.) The payload suggests a seat weight of 200 pounds. If that’s right, I’m too fat for it. But $120,000 is a good price for a new aircraft. ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2015, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-cheapest-helicopter/722474/2 "2015-06-14T00:42:15Z")
I know enough about engineering and aviation that I’d catch a ride on a Space Shuttle or a Russian Rocket way before I’d start tooling around on a cheap assed, light assed helicopter. ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2015, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-cheapest-helicopter/722474/3 "2015-06-14T17:24:40Z")
it is a pretty little thing isn’t it? but…suspiciously cheap. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2015, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-cheapest-helicopter/722474/4 "2015-06-14T17:31:53Z")
Why _2_ seats? Are there a bunch of 95lb heli pilots around? Ditch that second seat, and maybe me and Johnny can get our fat asses off the ground! Looks like a toy. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2015, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-cheapest-helicopter/722474/5 "2015-06-14T17:45:31Z")
> [@Novelty\_Bobble](#): > > it is a pretty little thing isn’t it? but…suspiciously cheap. > [@Gatopescado](#): > > Why _2_ seats? Are there a bunch of 95lb heli pilots around? Ditch that second seat, and maybe me and Johnny can get our fat asses off the ground! > > Looks like a toy. When I said ‘seat weight’, I meant per seat. The payload is 396 pounds. You really need two seats, even if you fly solo. You never know when you might want to take someone up. That’s why you don’t see any single-seat production airplanes anymore. There are single seat heli kits like the [Helicycle](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eagle_Helicycle) and the [Mosquito](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mosquito_Aviation_XE), but the most popular kit-built helicopter seems to be the [Rotorway Exec](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RotorWay_Exec). As for the cost of the Afalina, it does sound cheap. But then you can buy your own MiG-21 for the same price or less, so… In any case, much of the cost of factory-built aircraft is certification. The FAA and the aviation agencies of many other countries want to ensure that machines are as safe as possible. The Afalina is being made in Russia, which might have looser standards. ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2015, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-cheapest-helicopter/722474/6 "2015-06-14T18:19:20Z")
The Yugo\* of helicopters? Somehow I don’t think I would be confident riding in a #cheap #Russian helicopter. Two strikes is two too many. \*I know Yugo was not a Russian car. Just go with it. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2015, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-cheapest-helicopter/722474/7 "2015-06-14T22:00:04Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > … But then you can buy your own MiG-21 for the same price or less, so… … A flyable one? ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2015, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-cheapest-helicopter/722474/8 "2015-06-14T22:00:13Z")
I don’t know a lot about planes or helicopters, but it says it can carry a 180kg payload, 396 lbs as the OP says. How does that differ from the weight of the pilots, and does that not include the weight of fuel? How big is the fuel tank on a helicopter like that? When describing an airplane or helicopters payload capacity it is common to not include the weight of fuel and/or to distinguish the weight of people vs the weight of cargo (meaning is there a difference between a 300 lb pilot vs a 150 lb pilot and 150 lbs of cargo)? ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2015, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-cheapest-helicopter/722474/9 "2015-06-14T22:00:55Z")
It makes a Robinson look substantial, and the idea of a home-built helicopter is a bit unnerving. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2015, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-cheapest-helicopter/722474/10 "2015-06-14T22:03:57Z")
> [@Novelty\_Bobble](#): > > it is a pretty little thing isn’t it? but…suspiciously cheap. This is how the flying car of the future should look. And that’s about the right price for it too. It will really be sad when half the new owners end up dead. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2015, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-cheapest-helicopter/722474/11 "2015-06-14T22:14:52Z")
This seems to be the [manufacturer’s website](http://www.heliwhale.ru/index.php/en/razrabotki/afalina.html) – interesting mix of Russian and English languages. Just by the quality of their English writer(s), I would not buy the thing. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2015, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-cheapest-helicopter/722474/12 "2015-06-14T22:17:28Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > A flyable one? I don’t see any MiG-21s for sale at the moment, but there’s a MiG-15 in in Illinois in ferry-able condition (it flies, but it’s out of annual) for $55,000. When I see MiG-21s for sale, they’re typically in the $90,000 - $120,000 range. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2015, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-cheapest-helicopter/722474/13 "2015-06-14T22:25:08Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > I don’t know a lot about planes or helicopters, but it says it can carry a 180kg payload, 396 lbs as the OP says. How does that differ from the weight of the pilots, and does that not include the weight of fuel? How big is the fuel tank on a helicopter like that? When describing an airplane or helicopters payload capacity it is common to not include the weight of fuel and/or to distinguish the weight of people vs the weight of cargo (meaning is there a difference between a 300 lb pilot vs a 150 lb pilot and 150 lbs of cargo)? One definition I found is: Payload usually refers to how much you can transport from one place to another. Often in this regard, the pilot is added to the empty weight and considered part of a basic operating weight, then fuel is added, what is left over is the payload. I’ve never heard of including the pilot being included in the basic operating weight. As I understand it: Payload equals gross weight minus empty weight minus fuel weight. But I said I wasn’t sure in the OP because I didn’t actually look up the empty weigh, gross weight or fuel capacity of the helicopter, and then see how that jibes with the stated ‘payload’. For all I know, they could be saying ‘payload’ and meaning ‘useful load’. ---
**Author:** ![Battle\_Pope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@Battle\_Pope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Battle_Pope)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2015, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-cheapest-helicopter/722474/14 "2015-06-14T23:56:38Z")
This will open up a whole new world of Russian dashcam videos on youtube. ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2015, 8:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-worlds-cheapest-helicopter/722474/15 "2015-06-15T08:53:00Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > This is how the flying car of the future should look. And that’s about the right price for it too. It will really be sad when half the new owners end up dead. I wonder whether we’ll only get a true personal flying vehicle once we’ve sorted out and accepted autonomous ground vehicles.