'Pawn Stars' boss Rick Harrison spends $10,000 on a badly damaged helicopter — it was totally worth it

"Pawn Stars" is one show that doesn't simply stick to dealing in antiques and collectibles. Instead, almost anything from guns concealed in crutches to old video games is bought and sold by pawn shop boss Rick Harrison and his partners. Schweizer helicopters are best known as 'training' machines due to their lightweight structure, compact interior, and safety features. The S300 pistol-powered helicopter series was a very popular military grade model produced by Schweizer Aircraft Corp since 1992. However, the company changed management in 2012, and the production unit was shifted to Fort Worth, Texas, under Schweizer RSG since 2018. Hence, when Rick Harrison had the chance to salvage an A-grade stealth craft, he did not think twice. 

Harrison was contacted by helicopter pilot and collector Shawn to take a look at the mangled remains of a Schweizer helicopter. "I know you said it was in a crash, but you didn't tell me it crashed and burned," the famed pawn dealer joked when he saw the badly damaged craft. "I'm a helicopter pilot myself. I purchased this helicopter from an insurance company with the hope of trying to rebuild it. With the tough times I'm having right now, I'm just trying to get my money back out of it," the aviation enthusiast revealed in a shocking twist. Harrison kept looking at the "piece of junk" with contempt as if he had made a grave mistake by visiting the hangar. "It was just involved in a hard landing," Shawn tried to explain.

Shawn went on to reveal that he was stoked to receive the unique piece and had a vision to recreate it from scratch, but unfortunately, he lost his job, and now the mangled craft was starting to rust. Harrison then got his good friend, Larry, chairman of the board for LJ Air Corporation, to deal with his initial speculations. "We're one of the largest fleet owners of Schweizer's in the southwest," Larry confessed after being instantly put off by the damaged craft on site.

Larry reveals the twist, "This aircraft was originally designed for the military about 1967, and they did all of the flight training in the army with this. But it was actually designed to crash and be able to be fixed in the field there, instead of having to take it back to a factory." The chairman discloses that even though badly damaged, the craft's engine and components were in mint condition. Although an upfront $100,000 would be needed to rebuild it within a time frame of 2-3 weeks. "The retail value of this is about $150,000. So there's a $50,000 gain right away," he added. Shawn chimes that he salvaged the parts from the insurance company for roughly $10,000. "All right-- $10,000. It's a deal, man," Harrison caves in. 

"I feel good about buying this. Because, like Larry said, even if I don't fix it up, I can always sell it for parts, and I can make like $5,000. But if there's more to be made, maybe I'll end up fixing it up," he explained. After making the cheap deal and a massive gamble, Harrison, with the help of Larry, rebuilt the craft to its original self. And since he used reconditioned parts instead of new his gamble paid off. "It'll probably sell for about $160,000 to $175,000," the LJ Air Corporation chairman concluded while showcasing the rebuilt craft. "I'm really happy the way this thing turned out. We sell this thing and make a profit, because we've got a lot of money tied up," Harrison said before he tested out the Schweizer S300.