I can add some data points for our aeroclub’s aircraft ARC.
Please mind that this is for the ARC only, and that each and every task that can be legally done as pilot/owner maintenance is done as such.
For those tasks that cannot be done solely under the pilot/owner privileges we try to send someone to assist the Part 145 company.
For the TMG, a new ARC is 250€.
The rest of the planes averages out at 1500€ per ARC. This is for a fleet of ten planes ranging from a L18C to a FWP-149D (1,8t retractable), including three C172 and two A210.
As another data point, we once asked for a quote for a regular 100h-inspection of an A210. The treasurer wanted this info so she could value our own maintenance work.
The quote was 2500€, just for the inspection, no ARC. 100h is the base interval of the A210, the plane has no 50h checks unless you run it on leaded fuel. This wasn’t our regular company that does the ARC, though. Needless to say we opted to continue to do the regular checks ourselves.
Hope that was helpful.
A standard annual for my Arrow 200 including standard consumables like filter etc + required documentation is 2300 euros. It is done at a part 145 organisation.
That is if there nothing to fix or to renew which is almost never the case. So I always account for 4000-6000 euros a year for 100hr / annual inspection.
I do the 50 hour inspections myself and fix everything the regulations allow me as owner which helps with the costs. Otherwise 50 hr inspection would probably add another 1000-1500 euros on top.
Owner assisted annuals always help cut the costs as:-
(a) the owner can remove all of the inspection panels/ cowlings/ wheel pants/ change the oil/ clean, test and gap the plugs. Do the brakes, wheel bearings and much more. Then put everything back again after the inspection
(b) means you know exactly was was inspected and can only be billed for time spent – although when you have found a good engineer this isn’t an issue in any case.
So for a PA28 181. 100- 150 hours per annum. My cheapest Annual was £ 1,200. A normal Annual is circa £ 2,500. The most expensive Annual I ever had was £ 3,700 and that was the one I did not help with and I was least happy with.
I don’t consider a recent re-spray and 2 years ago re-skinning one panel as “Annual” work. This has substantially improved the Aircraft – ie when I bought it I had 7/10 paint. Now I have 10/10 paint and virtually zero corrosion. I can’t decide if replacing my Mags for new ones well before IRAN time is Annual work or improvement.
My Aircraft is maintained well above the standard of most I see.
Good Q. I reckon my scheduled maintenance spend is around 10-20% of my annual flying costs, which are dominated by avgas.
2019 has been a bit more because I did a precautionary swap of various accessories, and just spent ~1k on doing a cylinder.
IMHO if someone is spending say 50%+ on maintenance, they will soon lose the will to keep flying.
It’d be interesting to list what percentage of the annual operating costs the annual inspection represents. Mine’s around 15% (for 130 hours this year, light twin, no surprises except for a blown up alternator but that was covered by Hartzell’s warranty and 2 dead cylinders but all the ECis are dead to me anyways).
I have a lot of sweat equity in the plane too, I suspect that it makes a huge difference.
$200 to the A&P for the basic inspection, $400 last year because we removed and replaced the main gear, plus elevator pivot bearing replacement. The total might get over $1000 all told, some years. This coming year I’ll be replacing the heated pitot, already purchased and expensive (I forget the the exact amount) plus I plan on removing the canopy to have some paint work done. The latter could be between $500-1000 so if included in Annual (which is probably not reasonable, it’s nothing to do with airworthiness), the total cost might be over $1500.
On a Cessna 150 that does 450 hours a year I bank on
£500 for a 50 hour check
£1500 for a 150 check
£6000 for an annual.
Although I have had annual bills double that before.
I would also add I feel the quality of the work is poor. Far worse then the maintenance done on my permit aircraft by a fellow aircraft owner who is car mechanic qualified.
Invest in good hangarage to reduce the volatility of the expense.
If you go retractable stick to well maintained tarmac. Operating off dirt/mud increases wear and tear but also the risk of a gear malfunction and then the cost/write off of an aircraft that landed gear up.
A simple study of schools operating RG aircraft off grass may prove this thesis.
+1 for proper retractable gear maintenance
From our experience of operating an Arrow on a grass field with sandy ground I recommend cleaning, greasing and lubricating at every 50h inspection, as opposed to at the 100h checks the MM recommends.
It’s cheap to do, and given the state of the grease I see leaving the bearings, should help a lot. Sand and grease together form a nasty paste. I can imagine neglect to become quite costly over time.
I also do not find the task too hard, but I’m also rather short and can sit comfortably under the wing and in the wheel well. Having a second person holding the connector in place while pumping helps, though.
What makes the answer so variable is the frequency of different inspections. This year, our hoses (engine and airframe), heater and props all fell into sink and the bill was ginormous. In other years it is probably one third of this year. Then there is the stuff they find – a worn bearing here, a fluid leak there – and that adds a lot of noise.
It’s just unknowable. And the more systems you have (engines, gear, CSU, hydraulics, de-ice, pressurisation etc) the more unpredictable it becomes.
