Right now I’m not paying anybody because I can’t afford to!
@AdamFrisch You are paying someone to have all the fun on your planes, don’t you?
I stopped keeping costs once we got past the budget number. Once we did the annual inspection we found more things to do, as a totally independent Cessna specialist went through it. That’s it’s current stage. You definitely could spend much much more on it if you wanted to embody every Cessna service kit etc the manufacturer made. The three nylon bearings on eccentric cams that each control column slides on are 6x €221 new for example. Today a new fuel pump and all flexi hoses so kiss €2k good luck. I didn’t cut many corners, put huge amount of my own time in but it will be comfortably sitting at 2x what we planned last year. It’s hard to account for your own time, to get new piece of interior plastics to fit right you could loose 3-4 hours. Getting access to contract labour is tougher and tougher, the closer it gets to flying the less of a priority you are. If you want me to sanity check your numbers I will.
Once it’s flown 20hrs I’ll take the old avionics looms out from behind the panel and start over on that. Avionics not really a priority beyond a 430/ads-b box for me. I’ve already changed all old co ax for rg400 and sorted antennas.
WilliamF have you created a spreadsheet for your 206 rebuild? It would be interesting to get some idea of the detailed cost estimate needed on one of these projects?
Yes, contrary to popular belief, light aircraft are mechanically and structurally simple devices to maintain. It’s one of the attractive things about owning them.
@WilliamF, your stabilator bearing example is right on cue… I’ll be doing that job soon on my plane. The job for yesterday was a fancy $10K borescope inspection of my O-320 cylinders and valves, we also polished the haze of corrosion off the valve springs before it could turn to pits. My exhaust valves slide freely in the guides at 1000 hrs since new, there were few deposits to be seen in that area. There was some corrosion visible in the bores, which not withstanding reasonable oil consumption and good compression may I think mean new cylinders some day ($4K). The engine has never been apart since 1970 or 71!
Take a seemingly big and difficult job on a plane. Say changing the bearings, hence removing on the stabilator of a T-Tail Arrow. You’d think this is going to be a nightmare. Well with two guys working, by the time you get to eat a sandwich at one o clock, the tail will be off everything cleaned and old bearings out. By five o clock the the aeroplane is all back together. A day makes a big dent into most jobs. I could have picked a dozen other examples – changing a fuel cell/removing landing gear/leading edge repair/changing cylinders etc etc. Point remains same. One full day does alot of work. Try ten full days (10X8hrsX€40ph) and a whole aeroplane can look much much better.
The good thing about rebuilding a plane (any plane) is that you start off with a known quantity – particularly if you also get the engine/prop overhauled at the beginning.
Too often people sell a plane for the same reasons they sell a car (it is filling up with worms 
) and this way you can get something which is definitely in a good condition.
However – depending on the condition – you also need a suitable regulatory regime to make it worth doing. If you start off with an airframe which e.g. has the control linkages caked with rust or with push-fit bushings worn out, then you could be looking at 10k (on a plane worth maybe 20-30k) to replace these, whereas if you can recondition or remanufacture them you save lots of money.
@Silvaire I agree if you were doing all the work yourself then you could work on low value simple aircraft. However if you are paying for labour you can quickly end up in a corner spending close to or more than the aeroplane is worth. I did a Taylorcraft and it ended up like that. This Luscombe pretty much the same. I end up feeling like I didn’t create much value.
It’s nice at the end of it, if it’s standing you less than the replacement cost of a similar aircraft. That’s a target I set.
WilliamF wrote:
I’ve a Luscombe here and no love for it. Still have to hang the wings on it. A battery for a cheap airplane is the same price as one for a 206, same goes for rivets/metal/shop labour. You might aswell fix up a more capable higher value one.
The battery for many Luscombes is free, weights nothing, never discharges and lasts forever 
That’s an example of why rebuilding a simple plane can also make sense… especially if your labor and the necessary A&P sign offs are free or almost free too. Inspection and sign off costs are more often limited on a simpler plane, in what seems to be a form of “social justice”… developed and applied in no nonsense, independent A&P style.
Otherwise, I agree that fiddling with or rebuilding planes is lots of challenging fun… at least for some. My retirement won’t involve doing nothing, it’ll instead be spent solving the problems I want, not doing what other people direct, then using and taking pride in my low cost results.
@AdamFrish I’ve a Luscombe here and no love for it. Still have to hang the wings on it. A battery for a cheap airplane is the same price as one for a 206, same goes for rivets/metal/shop labour. You might aswell fix up a more capable higher value one. I’m not sure I’d take on a twin. There’s a mighty sad E90 I used to help with, and I think that’s too big for an individual to take on. I think the happy balance is a rare late model low time single.
The guy that’s with me on the tools rebuilt a C208 that went through a hedge. He repaired the horizontal stab in a week working solid. That was a 70k part from Cessna. Good help makes the difference….
