Hi All,
Can I just check some research into ownership costs, that I have done. I am looking at the regular costs, as I know one-offs can always hit you.
For a CofA (C172/PA28)
Fixed Costs
Insurance ca. €1500 pa
Hanger ca. €2000 pa
Annual ca. €3000 pa
Licences ca. €500 pa (Radio Licence, subscription Skydemon etc.)
Hourly Costs
AVGAS ca. €80 (30 litres per hour @ €2.75)
Engine Fund ca €10
Then for a PtF Homebuild (Europa for example)
Fixed Costs
Insurance ca. €1200 pa
Hanger ca. €2000 pa
Annual ca. €500 pa
Licences ca. €500 pa (Radio Licence, subscription Skydemon etc.)
Hourly Costs
AVGAS ca. €30 (15 litres per hour @ €2)
Engine Fund ca €10
Do those sound reasonable?
Thanks
Jon
Do those sound reasonable?
It’s never reasonable to own a plane. (You never know what surprise your mechanics or EASA will have for you anyway)
I don’t know how much my plane cost and I don’t want to.
It’s never reasonable to own a plane.
Probably true. I have done a spreadsheet on the CofA costs, and PtF costs, against my current rental rates. The CofA at the moment is just over 100 hours to break even, but the PtF is surprising at about 35 hours to break even.
I am flying about 25 hours per year at the moment, and I know that would go up a bit if I had my own machine as I would tour and camp under the wing, so a PtF is starting to make some sense…
But basically, I am hoping to tap into experience on here and fact check the costs I have used to validate my thoughts.
Our PA28-235 cost us €12000pa before we went flying
Wow Peter…. where is the main difference in my figures to yours. I have come in about 5k lower
What you have forgotten is oil changes and repairs/parts that Are required in the course of the year. Also, nowadays, you need an avionics/EASA brainfart fund (even if it’s just a VFR bird).
That said, if you don’t have any IFR ambitions, and you are happy with two seats, I would indeed consider the ULM/experimental/motorglider/vintage route.
avionics/EASA brainfart fund
I might adapt that and use that in work tomorrow… 
if you don’t have any IFR ambitions
Well, you say that… I might soon be able to fly IFR in an experimental on my jaunts back to the UK 
You do also need to take the capital cost into account. Either you will be using savings, or taking out a loan, so there is either loss of income from the savings or loan interest to pay. Unless you can just pull the cash out of your wallet, of course. Normally an aircraft would be a wasting asset, but not inevitably. If you are lucky and buy a cheap aircraft that later becomes a desirable collectors item you might find yourself not actually losing your money when you sell. If you can bear to sell your baby, of course. The insurance figures seem fairly low, have you actually got a quote or is it an educated guess? The cost for third party only doesn’t change much for a given weight, but hull will change depending on your experience level, as well as the excess you choose to carry, and how many people are on the insurance. For a cheap aircraft you could consider third party only.
The insurance figures seem fairly low, have you actually got a quote or is it an educated guess?
educated guess at the moment. Based on googling around, so there is the “moustached twat in the airport bar” factor still in there :)
but hull will change depending on your experience level
approaching 250 Hours TT
For a cheap aircraft you could consider third party only.
I would ideally prefer a homebuild, I think and therefore I could repair myself.
loss of income from the savings
Can I have the name of your bank? Mine pays the square root of F/ALL at the moment.
The other thing to consider is whether the maintenance cost of an aircraft on which you can do your own maintenance assumes the labour is valued at zero. Usually it is, which is the main reason homebuilts are so much apparently cheaper to run than CofAs.
Our PA28-235 cost us €12000pa before we went flying
I would very much like to that itemised. I bet it was a shagged old dog, neglected for years beforehand and probably neglected afterwards.
