wanttaja@ssc-vax.UUCP (Ronald J Wanttaja) (04/05/85)
I've been doing some serious figuring the last couple days as to what
it actually costs to own my aereoplane. Thought I would share these figures
with the net; if you aren't interested, just hit the 'ol break key...
TYPE/YEAR OF PLANE: 1965 Cessna 150E
In retrospect, a very good choice for a first airplane. Mechanical everything
(flaps, starter (pull cable type)), and my A&P says 150s are the cheapest
planes to annual and maintain. It is a minimal aircraft, even Cubs and Champs
cost slightly more to annual. The '65 is the last year of the straight rudder,
so it doesn't look like a newer model, but I like the look of the straighttails
(which, besides, are more effective than the swept rudder).
PURCHASE COST: $6000
A tad higher than average, perhaps, especially for so old an airplane. The
engine has about 1450 hrs on a 1800 TBO reman engine. A bit high, but
compression is good, and the TBO is a recommended value; no problem
remaining in service as long as it runs good and the compression is up.
Might hurt a bit at resale time, though. In balance, however, is a
three-year old Imron paint job... non-pilots are astounded to find the
plane is 20 years old. My A&P says, "Take care of it, and you'll have no
problem getting your money back."
MISC. PURCHASING EXPENSES: $750
This included state taxes, registration, and a couple of little things I
wanted corrected from the start, such as checking the rigging. One thing I
should have got was a pre-buying inspection by an A&P. I was new to
aviation here, and didn't know where to go. The A&P I found later charges
$50 for such an inspection; it would be well worth it.
So all in all, I paid a tad less than $7000 for a $6000 airplane. I didn't
have to worry about finance costs (long-time readers of net.micro.cbm might
guess why...), so this was just an immediate out-of-pocket expense.
OPERATING COSTS
ACTUAL:
I'm going to go through my actual costs, then go thought a minimum-cost
optimum case.
Maintenance: $500.00 (annual, a solenoid, new plugs, some other minor
stuff at the annual)
Insurance: $520.00 (Full coverage; liability and hull, air included)
Tiedown: 432.00 (12 mos. at $36/month - Auburn Muni A/P)
State Reg. 55.00 (B*stards have their thumbs in everything... but
$50 of that is deductable)
------
TOTAL FIXED: $1507.00 (yearly non-flying costs)
Flying costs: Didn't keep receipts, 60 hrs @ 7 gal/hr (including taxi,
etc), avgas at $1.75/gal (Crest Airpark)
TOTAL FLYING: $ 735.00
TOTAL= $2242.00
Per Hour (60 hours flown)= $37.36/hour
Now, I should add $5/hr to that for a maintenance kitty... but I don't do
it for my cars, and if the engine breaks, I'll sell the plane and take the
loss.
Now, the 152s around here rent for about $30/hour... So I pay about $8 an
hour for being able to go ANYTIME I want, stay as long as I want, and for
the privledge of sitting in the cockpit making engine noises if the
weather's bad :-).
Now, eagle eyes out there may have noted that I used AVGAS in my operating
costs... note that, using Autogas (I have the STC) the total flying cost
would have been $525 (assuming $1.25/gal). BUT the total hourly rate would
have dropped only slightly; to about $34/hour. At the number of hours I
fly, the gas cost is not a major factor!
LOW COST METHOD!
Maintenance: $200.00 (Annual and one or two little things)
Insurance: 198.00 (liability ONLY! Actually, I've found an insurer
that costs only $420 for the same coverage as last
year)
Tiedown: 276.00 (12 months at $23/month, in the weeds at Crest)
State Reg: 55.00 (Earlier comments apply...)
------
TOTAL FIXED: $729.00
Operating expenses, 60 hours/year: $525 (using autofuel)
TOTAL HOURLY RATE: $20.90/hour!
This is probably as sharp as anyone would dare cut it. I hope to match the
maintenance cost shown, though (my A&P was thorough this year, so should
only have to worry about solenoids and oil changes), and I definitely
will go with the cheaper (full coverage) insurance. I won't change
locations (Airports are equal distance from home) as I like Auburn far
better than Crest from the safety standpoint- Crest is a runway surrounded
by trees and powerline, Auburn is in open farm country. And at Auburn, I'm
tied down on asphalt, with a security fence and security patrols.
Ownership has been a real eye-opener (not to mention a blast...) and is
probably less expensive than a lot of vices I could develop.
Comments?
Ron Wanttaja
(ssc-vax!wanttaja)
P.S. Right back at Norm... Gee, just take the spinner off, get the
mechanic to install extra-long prop studs, then go to the lawn-mower
place and buy one of those ropes with a handle...aaronf@azure.UUCP (Aaron Friend) (04/10/85)
I would like to figure your hourly costs a little differently. Minimum maintenance cost only occurs when zero wear and tear has been placed upon the aircraft (ie zero hours). Also the investment costs should be considered as part of the ownership costs. Total initial cost 6750.00 675.00 @ 10% interest Tiedown 36.00/mo. 432.00 State reg 55.00 55.00 Insurance 420.00 420.00 Maintenance (zero hrs) 200.00 200.00 ------------------------------------------------ Total fixed anual cost 1782.00 Fuel costs 735.00 Maintenance (flying time) 2.50/hr 150.00 ------------------------------------------------ Total annual cost 2667.00 Cost/hr (60 hrs/yr) = 44.45 When the usage goes to >100 hrs/yr then: Total fixed anual cost 1782.00 Fuel costs 1225.00 Maintenance (flying time) 2.50/hr 250.00 ------------------------------------------------ Total annual cost 3257.00 Cost/hr (100 hrs/yr) = 32.57 As you can see I included 675.00/yr as interest on your investment. This is reasonable since you could take the $6,750 and get at least 10% from a bank on a TCD. In order to justify owning it is necessary that well over 100 hrs/yr be put on the aircraft. I am sure that the $30.00/hr local rental rate can be reduced by purchasing block time from the FBO. I not knocking owning an aircraft, rather I think that the justification should be that I have one because I want one and no other reason is necessary. Flying is a sport and when you try to justify the expenses of your sport your in trouble. The cost of venision for hunters has been estimated to run around $250.00/lb, the cost of trout for fisherman is over $30.00/lb.
djmolny@wnuxb.UUCP (DJ Molny) (04/11/85)
The enjoyment I get from flying is enough to justify the costs to me, but banks and spouses often demand a more detailed accounting. As Aaron Friend suggests, it is important to consider the opportunity cost and variable maintenance costs to derive the true price of flying. I ran a similar set of calculations while daydreaming about owning a Piper Arrow. The real killers are the fixed costs, including tie-down, insurance, annual maintenance, and opportunity cost. The cost of fuel, engine overhaul, and 50- or 100-hour inspections pale by comparison. The real trick is to amortize these costs over more flying hours. I've been using the following model: cost/hr. = fixed costs / hours flown + variable costs fixed costs = maintenance + tie-down + opportunity cost/person + insurance * people variable costs = fuel + engine overhaul I glossed over the issue of variable maintenance costs, and decided to lump it in with the overhaul reserve. I also made the glib assumption that insurance costs were $400/person/yr., regardless of the number of partners. I'd like to hear more realistic numbers from aircraft owners in the audience. Using the data: overhaul = $5.63/hr. tie-down = $480/yr. (Aurora Muni., IL) maintenance = $1000/yr. (taken from Aviation Consumer Magazine) opportunity cost = $35000 * 8% fuel = $18.50 (10 gal./hr. * $1.85/gal.) With these numbers, I figure a cost of $82.17/hr. for 1 person flying 80 hours, which drops to $30.98/hr. for 3 people flying 240 hours! You can't rent a beat-up 172 for that! Moral of the story: GET PARTNERS! Obviously, there is a trade-off in availability, but it shouldn't be too bad with 3 congenial co-owners. I invite comments on this formula, either by mail or to the net, since it's a subject near and dear to my heart. Regards, DJ Molny