I know this topic has tons of variables but has anyone used the AOPA operating calculator and found it to be in the ballpark?

Who actually wants to KNOW what it actually costs to operate a general aviation airplane?

Unless you're using it primarily for business, I'd do like the rest of us and just rationalize rather than mathematize....

MTV

I used both Trade-A-Plane and AOPA last April in valuating a 1967 Piper Cherokee(2003 National Cherokee Flyin Best of Show/2006 Best Paint) that me and my partners bought. Both give you roughly the same price. But, throw those numbers out the window(sort off). The plane is worth what someone will pay for it and what the seller will take. Our plane was valued somewhere around $80-90K...we paid $60,000. In this economic environment those numbers are inflated...big time!

The operating cost calculator defaults are way low-balled. Gas and oil are calculated at 2.50 a gallon and 2.50 a quart. Engine reserve is half or less of a realistic figure. But you can add your own - its a simple calculator. Shows my 182 to cost about $130 an hour, which is what my costs pencil out to when I get myself drunk enough at the end of every year to divide the amount gone from the airplane account over the year by the Hobbes time.

Even more interesting is the minimal cost savings from having a partner for a small plane- insurance goes up, maintenance goes up, The net $2300 a year I would save is substantial, but nothing compared to the peace of mind I get to have a well-maintained, competently used machine.

The costs of having a partner run the elevator into a girder in the hangar on a slippery day, or bending the door latch, or the cost of replacing jugs because he insists on running right at peak EGT all the time to save gas, the costs of taking off with an oil cap left off, the costs of a firewall inspection due to a hard landing seem to be my fate with partners. Sharing hangar, annual, maintenance, and a slight insurance savings simply didn't add up to a hill of beans.

lesuther wrote:when I get myself drunk enough at the end of every year to divide the amount gone from the airplane account over the year by the Hobbes time.

You've got to drinking alot and hiding those numbers from anyone in your life who is responsible

I'd have to burn the paper I did the calculation on when I was done.

I have found it pretty easy to calculate operating costs. If you know what your insurance is gonna cost you, and the fuel burn of the airplane, the only unknown is repairing stuff when it breaks or comes up as a squawk during an annual. Everything else can be pretty easily estimated. The main thing is how many hours are you gonna fly-- all your per-hour fixed costs (hangar, insurance, annual) go down the more you fly.
Example for a simple 150-horse airplane:
hangar $3K/year
insurance $1K/year
annual & maintenance $1K/year
fuel $6 per gallon x 8 gph= $48/hour
oil/filter $60 every 30 hours = $2/hour
engine reserve $20K/2,000 hours = $10/hour
So per hour costs are about $60/hour. Now let's say you fly 100 hours a year,with $5K of fixed costs that works out to about another $50/hour, making a grand total of $110/hour-- $100/hour if you don't count the deferred cost (engine reserve).
Holy crap, I'm selling that bank-breaker & buying me a Harley!!!

My last post was wrong. Thought you wanted to know the best way to value the plane.

Anyway....this is my 2nd plane. My 1st was a Cessna 140. We all paid cash. My experience is that it's the small things that add up. I am extremely lucky to have an A&P as one of my partners. He said the same thing. It's the small things that will add up. Since we purchased(1967 Cherokee 180)the plane last April....a meticulously cared for plane...almost like new, we still have had some small things that would have been costly if we had to pay labor. The A&P found a clamp on the rotating beacon had cracked...had to be replaced. Carbon monoxide warning buzzer came on for a short period. The A&P had to take a off the cowling, inspect the firewall and heater shroud, etc. Pull the wing tips and inspect since the guy that has the tiedown next to us thought he heard birds chirping inside wing! etc, etc.

Monthly expenses for each of the 3 partners:

$30 a month for insurance,
$10 a month in a reserve account for unexpected expenses
$70 hangar

Hourly :

$20 for engine reserve.

We each pay for our own gas... filling to the tabs after each flight.

We change the oil/filter after 25 hrs..send out for analysis.

All that adds up. But, the key is to find partners you trust and become friends with...if you go the partner route.

As an extra thought. I think in about 5 years the cost of gas will come down dramatically and the cost of older planes will go up. I think the pendulum will have swung the other way in terms of domestic energy production...think North Dakota!

Thanks for some insight. I'm totally aware that owning an airplane is not about math but because you want. Just wanted to get an idea or ballpark it. Definitely a partner or two can cut the cost but also add some financial liability.

Like mentioned above. I'm another one that doesn't really care to know my operating cost's first hand. Up until my last annual (over a year and a half ago ), I was just able to makes things happen to be able to continue flying my plane until I was hit with what I call a major repair. I should have enough money next spring to get my 58 Skylane back in the air , just before the JC Fly In!!

In the mean time, I have the plane payment, insurance, hangar fee, etc............ oh wait, I said I didn't want to know

After thinking through this a little more. I probably shouldn't even be thinking about ownership until I'm spending close to this kind of money on rentals. Not because it would be cheaper to own then rent but I shouldn't buy until I'm willing or able to put this kind of cash towards the aviation category in the budget.

Titus577 wrote:... owning an airplane is not about math but because you want. Just wanted to get an idea or ballpark it......

FYI, just for ballparking purposes, I have spent about $26K operating my current airplane for 3.5 years & about 500 hours. That works out to about $7500 a year & just over $50 per hour. No major repairs or upgrades in that time, except for $3K worth of new propeller. I burn ethanol-free mogas, do my own maintenance as well as owner-assisted annuals, & my condo hangar costs me about $60 a month. These figures do not include any deferred costs such as "engine reserve".
When asked how much money it costs to fly your own airplane, some people will tell you "all of it". Sometimes there's a lot of truth to that.
Hope this helps.