Ball park figure for ownership costs

Impossible to say due to the maintenance unknown. In Europe, I would say mx can go from a low of 1000 euros to anything up to 30000 a year (but of course, after one of those 30000-euro years, the next ones should be rather low). On a 10 year average (thus taking into account any major overhauls, ADs and compulsory avionics upgrades), I would say something like 5000. But even this can vary a lot; the main variables being 1. how "lucky" you are with the particular airframe and it's equipment that you happen to buy 2. your attitude towards any squawks 3. the details of your maintenance scheme 4. your work input and 5. how "maintenance savvy" you are (the savvier you are, the less you will be screwed by maintenance companies).

4 grand

The issue of the Cessna SIDs is not completely resolved yet for EASA registered aircraft...

There is no way to calculate yearly maintenance costs, too many things can happen that cost you a lot of money. My C172M just had a €5000 annual that was not expected.

Just when you think you got things under control, there will be an AD retiring your crankshaft because the engine maker used cheap steel to increase their profit and now make even more money by having the FAA/EASA force you to buy another crankshaft!

I know almost nothing about this aircraft type but a good friend of mine used to look after one operated by a large syndicate (about 20-30 people who were basically looking for the cheapest possible way to do a local burger run) and the Annuals were running around £7000, IIRC i.e. about 2x more than it costs to maintain my TB20.

That was probably a bad example of a plane which was shagged initially, was continually shagged by operations, and was maintained to (I guess) the lowest legal standard.

Above that level you are going to get various graduations...

Some comments I think I can make about aluminium aircraft generally:

• Airframe parts are always expensive e.g. an aluminium bracket containing a bronze bush for some shaft, might cost £1000, so it is in your interest to keep that bush well greased, but "grease" means "labour" (because you have to dismantle the thing; you can't just squirt some liquid in there, and there are NO spray/liquid lubes what will hang around adequately from one Annual to the next). The extent to which this is an issue is very previous owner attitude dependent.

• Large airframe parts are always really expensive e.g. £10k for an elevator, and heavy corrosion (or indeed any significant corrosion in the wrong places) will scrap such a part

• On a plane which is at least 30 years old, there is no limit to the possible downside, especially if parked outdoors

• Some window crazing which people are happy with is in fact not legally airworthy (I dare say one could say that about lots of things!)

You need to get the prospective purchase prebuy checked by a specialist on the type, who is working for you. It's the usual list: full visual check, AD check (assume the logbooks may be, ahem, incomplete), a flight test to make sure all the "bits" (radios etc) work.

Finally, if this is your first plane, my suggestion would be to not buy an absolute wreck no matter how cheap it is. I've had my TB20 for 11 years and know about about the type to be able to buy an absolute wreck (say £40k) and treat it as a "project" and £100k later end up with something really nice, but if you are new to ownership (which is a steep learning curve on a number of fronts) then try to go for something in a good condition even if it costs more and perhaps needs more members to make it possible.

Some window crazing which people are happy with is in fact not legally airworthy...

That reminds me of the days when I had a 1/3 share in a Piper Seminole... Some idiot thought that the best way to clear snow and frost from the windshield was by scaping it off with his credit card. That was an expensive repair! The scratches could not be polished out, but the windshield had to be replaced completely. And as we rented this plane to different people it could not be proven who it was (although we all knew) and the repair was on us - as usual.

Regarding the ballpark figure: Use the highest value that comes up in this thread and then double it. This will be more or less what the plane is going to cost you on average. And the more people you allow to fly it, the more expensive it will get.

If you can manage without night and IFR flight, you could save a lot with a permit aircraft. Our mainntenance for a Jodel DR1050 (same O200 engine as the C150) dropped dramatically when we went on a permit. A new exhaust cost nothing for labour to fit last year. And we've replaced cylinders under supervision of a retired A&P.

As stated here the pre-buy is important. Its extent depends upon the age and condition of the aircraft but for one as old as the C150, I would suggest getting an annual done, particularly if one is due soon anyway. Agree that the seller must fix any airworthiness items (ie things which would cause an annual to be failed).

Get it done by someone who knows the type and not the normal maintenance organisation who may have been signing off rubbish for years.

How many hours are you doing per year?