What is listed

As of August 2026, PlaneFox lists 176 Robinson R44s and 53 R66s. Across the brand there are 301 Robinson listings, 195 with a published asking price, a median of EUR 347,000 and a middle half from EUR 197,000 to EUR 580,000. Typical build years run from 2001 to 2026.

106 of the 301 Robinson listings carry no published price at all, so expect to ask for the number on about a third of what you find. The brand median covers the R22, R44 and R66 together, so use the individual model pages before reading it as a price for either aircraft.

Robinson's own operating cost figures

Robinson publishes estimated operating cost sheets for both aircraft, which makes them directly comparable on one basis. The 2026 sheets give:

Both sheets assume a pilot with 200 logged helicopter hours including 40 hours in command in type, holding a Robinson safety course certificate.

Fuel is not where the gap sits

The R44 burns 15.0 US gallons an hour of avgas at USD 6.51 in Robinson's 2026 sheet, which is USD 97.65 per hour. The R66 burns 22.0 gallons of jet fuel at USD 6.27, which is USD 137.94. The turbine burns 47 per cent more volume at a lower unit price, so the fuel difference is USD 40.29 an hour.

The real gap is elsewhere. Overhaul reserve is USD 76.32 an hour higher on the R66, and fixed annual cost is USD 19,803 higher. Insurance accounts for most of that fixed difference, because hull cover scales with a machine that costs 2.75 times as much new.

Overhaul structure

Robinson's R44 maintenance manual schedules a 2200-hour, 2400-hour or 12-year inspection, the 2,400-hour figure applying to the Cadet, alongside a long list of components carrying their own 12-year service. Robinson's 2026 R44 sheet prices the hour-driven side as a USD 91,900 engine overhaul on exchange, a USD 207,200 airframe overhaul parts kit and 225 man-hours of labour at USD 130 per hour.

The R66 is structured differently: a 2,000-hour airframe overhaul parts kit at USD 125,000, separate 4,000-hour components at USD 146,482, the same 225 man-hours of labour, and the engine's own periodic maintenance intervals alongside.

On both aircraft the calendar side catches private owners. Flying 100 hours a year, an R44 reaches 12 years with about 1,000 of its 2,200 hours unused, and the 12-year work falls due regardless. Ask for the calendar due date as well as the hours remaining.

Low utilisation changes the answer

Robinson's totals assume 500 hours a year, which almost no private owner flies. Spread the same fixed annual cost across 100 hours instead and the numbers become USD 445.73 an hour for the R44 and USD 754.48 for the R66. The gap widens from USD 150.32 an hour to USD 308.75, because the R66's larger fixed cost is now divided across a fifth of the hours.

Run this calculation with your own realistic annual hours before choosing. Below roughly 150 hours a year the fixed cost dominates and the piston aircraft wins comfortably.

When the R66 is the right answer

The R66 carries five seats against the R44's four, uses jet fuel that is easier to source in parts of the world where avgas is scarce, and offers turbine reliability and hot and high performance the piston cannot match. Business passengers, high density altitude and long legs are the reasons to pay for it.

If the flying is training, local touring or occasional transport at low annual hours, the R44 is cheaper on acquisition, on reserve, on insurance and on total hourly cost.

Compare live inventory on Robinson R44 listings, Robinson R66 listings, the full Robinson range and the wider helicopter market, where the median asking price is EUR 320,000 across 413 priced listings.

PlaneFox figures were taken on 7 August 2026 and are asking prices, not transaction prices. Operating cost figures are from Robinson Helicopter Company's published 2026 estimated operating cost sheets.