Medium twin helicopter · operating costs
Bell 212 Operating Costs and Cost per Hour
A Bell 212 costs about $7,110 an hour to operate at 200 hours a year: $862,000 a year fixed plus $2,801 per flight hour, itemised with sources.
CRAFT estimate, fuel priced October 4, 2026
At a glance
- Per flight hour at 200 hrs a year
- $7,109
- Per year at 200 hrs
- $1,421,750
- Fixed costs / year
- $861,550
- Variable / flight hour
- $2,801
- Jet A, $766/hr today
- Fuel burn
- 100 gal/hr
- 2 pilots, paid
- Crew assumed
- 2 crew
CRAFT estimates in USD for a U.S.-based aircraft. How we estimate them is below; every line has its source.
What a Bell 212 costs per hour
The Bell 212 is a medium twin helicopter with 14 seats, burning 100 gallons of Jet A an hour. In our estimate it costs $2,801 for every hour it flies and $861,550 a year whether it flies or not. Spread over 200 hours a year, that is about $7,109 a flight hour; over 100 hours, $11,417; over 400, $4,955.
The estimate assumes a paid crew: 2 pilots. The largest single cost at 200 hours is crew salary, at $448,220 a year.
Bell 212 cost calculator
Bell 212 annual cost
$1,421,750 per year
$861,550 fixed + $2,801/hr × 200 hrs ($766/hr of it fuel: 100 gal at $7.66). About $7,109 per flight hour with the fixed costs spread over the hours. Bell 212, CRAFT estimate.
Fixed costs
What the Bell 212 costs a year before it flies an hour.
| Fixed costs | Per year | How it is worked out |
|---|---|---|
| Crew Salary | $448,220 | 1 captain at $190,440 (BLS 75th percentile, commercial pilots), 1 first officer at $123,220 (BLS median, commercial pilots), plus 43% for benefits and payroll costs (BLS Employer Costs for Employee Compensation, private industry, June 2026).Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 (released May 15, 2026); BLS Employer Costs for Employee Compensation, June 2026 (released September 9, 2026) |
| Crew TrainingEstimate, $40,000 to $80,000 | $60,000 | Recurrent training each year for 2 pilots, at $20,000 to $40,000 per pilot for a medium twin helicopter. CRAFT estimate. |
| HangarEstimate, $27,660 to $78,000 | $52,830 | From Concord-Padgett's large-aircraft hangar rate ($2,305 a month) to an AW139 footprint (55 ft long, 45 ft rotor) at Naples' $1.85 a square foot, with room around it ($6,500): $2,305 to $6,500 a month. Big-city airports cost more, a tie-down much less.Source: Published airport hangar and tie-down rates (Concord-Padgett Regional, City of Concord NC; Naples Airport Authority FY2026) (read October 15, 2026) |
| InsuranceEstimate, $108,000 to $215,000 | $161,500 | Liability of $8,000 to $15,000 a year plus hull cover at 1% to 2% of a hull value of $10,000,000, a typical value for medium twin-engine helicopters, CRAFT estimate (no published price for this model). Liability starts from BWI's published helicopter figure and rises with the higher limits a two-pilot passenger helicopter carries; hull at 1% to 2% of value is a CRAFT estimate, lower as values rise. Midpoints used; pilot experience moves it a lot.Source: BWI Aviation Insurance, "Helicopter insurance cost" (January 28, 2020) |
| ManagementEstimate, $60,000 to $108,000 | $84,000 | A management company's fee of $5,000 to $9,000 a month for a medium twin helicopter (crew, maintenance tracking, compliance and billing). CRAFT estimate.Source: Business Jet Traveler, "Is a management company right for you?" |
| Miscellaneous FixedEstimate, $40,000 to $70,000 | $55,000 | Navigation databases and charts, weather and flight planning, maintenance tracking, connectivity and office costs: $40,000 to $70,000 a year for a medium twin helicopter. CRAFT estimate. |
| Total | $861,550 |
Variable costs
What each flight hour adds. Fuel is priced at $7.66 a gallon; every dollar a gallon moves the hourly cost by $100.
| Variable costs | Per flight hour | How it is worked out |
|---|---|---|
| Fuel Cost | $766 | 100 gallons of Jet A an hour (USDA Forest Service, Helicopter Services Hourly Flight Rates, Fuel Consumption, and Weight Reduction Chart (CWN/Exclusive Use contracts awarded 2013-2017, effective 2019-02-16), USFS contract fuel consumption figure for helicopter '212/212HP' (gal/hr), used by the agency to compute load and fuel reimbursement; a government planning figure for typical operation, not a POH cruise table) at $7.66 a gallon, our estimated U.S. average FBO price for Jet A on 2026-10-04.Source: USDA Forest Service, Helicopter Services Hourly Flight Rates, Fuel Consumption, and Weight Reduction Chart (CWN/Exclusive Use contracts awarded 2013-2017, effective 2019-02-16); CRAFT jet fuel price data |
| MaintenanceEstimate, $600 to $1,100 | $850 | Scheduled maintenance, parts, labor and unscheduled repairs for the airframe and avionics: $600 to $1,100 a flight hour for a medium twin helicopter. Older aircraft sit at the top of the range. CRAFT estimate, checked against the USDA Forest Service's contract flight rates.Source: USDA Forest Service, Helicopter Services Hourly Flight Rates, Fuel Consumption, and Weight Reduction Chart (contracts awarded 2013 to 2017, effective February 16, 2019) |
| Engine OverhaulEstimate, $350 to $600 | $475 | An hourly reserve for the next engine overhaul: $175 to $300 per engine per hour for a medium twin helicopter, for 2 engines. No published overhaul price for this engine, so a CRAFT estimate. |
| Rotor and Drive ComponentsEstimate, $250 to $500 | $375 | Life-limited rotor blades, gearboxes and drive-train parts, reserved by the hour: $250 to $500 a flight hour for a medium twin helicopter. CRAFT estimate. |
| Crew/Landing/Handling FeesEstimate, $150 to $350 | $250 | Landing, ramp and handling fees and crew travel: $150 to $350 a flight hour for a medium twin helicopter. CRAFT estimate. |
| Miscellaneous VariableEstimate, $50 to $120 | $85 | Cabin supplies, cleaning and catering: $50 to $120 a flight hour. CRAFT estimate. |
| Total | $2,801 |
Annual cost at 100, 200 and 400 hours
| Hours a year | 100 hours | 200 hours | 400 hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fixed costs | $861,550 | $861,550 | $861,550 |
| Variable costs | $280,100 | $560,200 | $1,120,400 |
| Total a year | $1,141,650 | $1,421,750 | $1,981,950 |
| Per flight hour | $11,417 | $7,109 | $4,955 |
Bell 212 specs
- Class
- Medium twin helicopter
- Engines
- 2 × Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6T-3/-3B Twin-Pac
- Fuel
- Jet A
- Fuel burn
- 100 gal/hr
- Seats
- 14
- Cruise
- 100 kts
- Range
- 237 nm
- Max takeoff weight
- 11,200 lb
Specs: Wikipedia, Wikipedia (Bell 212).
The Bell 212 compared with similar aircraft
Same method, same fuel prices, at 200 hours a year.
| Aircraft | Per hour | Per year | Fuel burn |
|---|---|---|---|
Bell 212Medium twin helicopter | $7,109 | $1,421,750 | 100 gal/hr |
 Airbus H155Medium twin helicopter | $7,071 | $1,414,150 | 95 gal/hr |
 Bell 412EPMedium twin helicopter | $7,186 | $1,437,150 | 110 gal/hr |
 Sikorsky S-76C++Medium twin helicopter | $7,032 | $1,406,350 | 90 gal/hr |
 Sikorsky S-76DMedium twin helicopter | $7,029 | $1,405,750 | 89.6 gal/hr |
 Sikorsky S-58TMedium twin helicopter | $7,224 | $1,444,750 | 115 gal/hr |
How we estimate these costs
Every aircraft on our operating cost calculator is costed the same way: fixed costs a year plus a cost per flight hour, from public inputs. Crew pay comes from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, hangar rates from published airport schedules, insurance from a broker's published guidance, fuel from our fuel price data, and the fuel burn from USDA Forest Service. Lines marked “estimate” are the midpoint of a stated range for medium twin-engine helicopters, not a quote. Nothing here comes from another cost calculator or a broker's budgets.
- Not included: the purchase price, financing, depreciation, sales tax, upgrades and paint or interior work, and any rental or charter income.
- What moves it most: hours flown (fixed costs spread thinner), the fuel price, where it is hangared, the pilot's experience (insurance) and the aircraft's age (maintenance).
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Frequently asked questions
How much does a Bell 212 cost per hour?
About $7,110 a flight hour flown 200 hours a year, in CRAFT's estimate: $2,801 an hour in direct costs (fuel, maintenance, engine and parts reserves, fees) plus $861,550 a year in fixed costs spread over the hours. Flown 100 hours it is about $11,000 an hour; flown 400, about $4,950.
How much does it cost to own a Bell 212 for a year?
About $1,422,000 a year flown 200 hours: $861,550 in fixed costs (crew salary, crew training, hangar, insurance, management, miscellaneous fixed) and $560,200 in hourly costs. The purchase price, financing and depreciation are not included.
How much fuel does a Bell 212 burn?
100 gallons of Jet A an hour (USDA Forest Service, Helicopter Services Hourly Flight Rates, Fuel Consumption, and Weight Reduction Chart (CWN/Exclusive Use contracts awarded 2013-2017, effective 2019-02-16)). At $7.66 a gallon, the estimated U.S. average FBO price for Jet A on October 4, 2026, that is $766 a flight hour. Every dollar a gallon moves it by $100.
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