Lease out your helicopter — turn idle hours into revenue

If your helicopter is flying below its economic utilisation, leasing the spare capacity covers fixed costs and protects asset value. ChopperSwap lets you list dry or wet lease availability in minutes — free first listing, zero commission, global lessee reach.

A privately-owned single flying 80 hours a year leaves more than 1,500 productive hours on the table annually. Leasing even a fraction of that capacity to a Part 135 operator, tour company or flight school covers hangar, insurance and inspection costs — and keeps the airframe exercised, which protects resale value.

ChopperSwap's helicopter listing wizard supports lease-out intent natively: pick "Available for lease" alongside or instead of "For sale", set dry vs wet, day-rate vs hourly, and minimum term. Lessees searching by your model and region see your listing immediately; lessees with active Wanted posts get matched automatically.

Steps

1. Open the helicopter listing wizard — Sign in and click "Create listing" → "Helicopter". Mark "Available for lease" in the intent step (you can offer for sale and lease simultaneously).
2. Set dry vs wet basis — Dry lease: airframe + insurance, lessee provides crew, fuel and maintenance under their own AOC. Wet lease / ACMI: you provide aircraft, crew, maintenance and insurance for an all-in hourly rate.
3. Set rate and term — Dry lease typically priced as monthly day-rate plus per-hour overage. Wet lease priced per flight hour with minimum monthly guarantee. Choose minimum and maximum term.
4. Add availability calendar — Blocks of dates already booked vs available. Lessees see real availability before contacting you.
5. Document and insurance pack — Upload maintenance status, insurance certificate, AOC (if wet lease) and recent logs to the document vault. Released to verified lessees on request.
6. Publish and respond — Listing is live and matched to active Wanted posts. Lessees inquire through the platform; you negotiate terms and sign the lease offline.

Why ChopperSwap

Lease and sell on the same listing

You don't have to choose. Mark the aircraft for both — the right lessee or buyer self-selects.

Free first listing, no commission

List for free, keep 100% of the lease revenue. Flat-fee premium placement is optional.

Global lessee pool

Tour operators, Part 135 carriers, flight schools and corporate flight departments search ChopperSwap by model and region.

Matched to active Wanted posts

Lessees with open Lease Wanted requests get auto-notified when you publish — instant demand-side surfacing.

Frequently asked questions

Dry or wet — which is easier to lease out?

Dry leases are easier for owners (no operating burden) but require the lessee to hold their own AOC and insurance. Wet leases reach a larger lessee pool but require you to operate under your Part 135 / AOC.

What's a typical dry-lease rate?

Indicatively: R44 $8–