Crew,

Lately I've been looking more and more into the 205/206 types. Fear of complex annuals kind of scares me.

What do you typically see for annual inspections and regular annual expenses? Fuel burn?

There's been a couple of nicer 205's on the market that are kind of prompting this post.


Thanks!

My expenses (1973 TU-206) will be on the high side due to the Turbo. I figure $30/hr engine reserve. Average 18 gph fuel burn (cruise 15 gph). Annuals average 800/yr. Insurance 2200/yr. The plus side is an airplane that has a 1600 # useful, wonderfully spacious cabin and great short field capability. Here in So Colorado the turbo is a must. Timed climb the other day leaving Marble around noon: 8000 msl to 12,500 in 4.5 minutes. That was four adults and our camp.

My 206 is a ’76 F model, normally aspirated (U206F). The annual, of course, is just an inspection, so the cost isn’t much more than the 182. Insurance is more because of 6 seats--a little over 2k/year. I try to get $1 million smooth because I like to take friends along and sometimes mere acquaintances.

There are more things to replace on the 206 than on the 172/182, and it's more complicated. It’s not just a big 182 from a mechanical standpoint. The 205 is a fixed gear 210 (actually the model number is 210-5), so maintaining one is like maintaining an old 210, minus the gear headaches). The 206 is its own separate design and type certificate, not a 182 on steroids. I’ve found it to be significantly more expensive to own than the 182 and the 172.

For example: air box/plenum on the IO520 (AD—it cracks, then chunks of it FOD your engine—a couple of us here have survived that), McCauley wheels for the oversize main gear (AD for cracks—replace wheels and brakes with Clevelands), forged oversize nose gear collar (cracks), foam-filled trailing edge of elevator and trim tab (AD for corrosion), cylinders more expensive than the O470 and less reliable, electric boost pump and mickey-mouse two stage throttle microswitch for same, 3 blade prop is more expensive than 2 blade, starter adapter (very expensive and doesn't play well with fixed magnet starters), outboard flap tracks on the 206 are prone to wear (replace with roller kit from McFarlane before you have to do open heart surgery on the wings), exhaust seems more prone to leakage (replace with Leading Edge or Knisley) etc. Factory reman was 30k. Prop was 10k. That’s in addition to all of the regular crap you have to deal with on most legacy Cessnas—fuel bladders, seat rails etc.

Also, the IO520F must have 100 octane fuel. I’ve been burning 16 gph at 65% power (23”/2400) during summer months to keep #5 CHT under 380 degrees. True airspeed for that power setting ranges from 138-142 KTAS, according to my Garmin, varying with altitude and temperature. Considering fuel prices, GAMI injectors should pay for themselves.

So, it’s a hair faster than the 182, carries a lot more, and costs more. If you need the carrying capacity, the 206 is a great plane. If you don't really need it, save your money.

My $.02
CAVU

Timed climb the other day leaving Marble around noon: 8000 msl to 12,500 in 4.5 minutes.

Oh, I'm a bit jealous of that climb rate. It took me close to 45 minutes (no "point") to get to 14,000' so that I could skate just north of Longs Peak. But then I was burning only 10.8 gph.

Cary

I like to rationalize it. 10.8 gph works out to 5.4 per pax. 4.5 gph/pax for me...........

Thanks guys!

Your real-world numbers are curbing my appetite. I appreciate that for sure - it's definitely too much airplane for us right now. Back to dreaming of more affordable airplanes...

You're right. There have been some good deals on 205s out there and, with a 1500# useful load (although most are in the 1400s), its a more affordable option as they are sleepers on the market. I've had mine for 9 months and the numbers are spot on what I was told to expect. Running at 22" and 2200 rpm I burn 9.7-10.3 depending on altitude, 130 mph TAS. ROP, 13 and change per hour with 150 mph TAS. I've taken off at 8K DA 150# under gross in 1,400 ft and climbed at 400 fpm.

Recently you can pick decent ones up for anywhere between $50-65K. I just did my annual yesterday for $350 plus a $17 airfilter and oil. We had recently done the wheel work and gascolator, so that saved us some time. Insurance is $1,100 per year for six seats.

These are great planes with a lot of performance for much less than 206s. It also has commonality in parts with 210s, 206s, 207s, and 310s.

As mentioned, there is a big difference between a 205 and a 206. As grass mentions, it can be had reasonably...however a 205 is elusive. A few on the market right now and all of them I have passed on.. I owned a 59 182 and want to replace it. 205 is on the list because I can get the same fuel burn/etc -- and it has room for a few bikes and a few dogs. I don't need the gross, just the space.

206 and 210 (proper ones) are out of the question for me.

Might wind up with a maule

He's right. It seems like feast or famine. I had watched Controller and Trade a Plane for the better part of a year prior to being serious about buying with only a few coming on the market. Ten, as luck would have it, within a week or so of getting the green light, 11 of them dropped on the market. I believe time of year plays a big part. This was in the fall when people find they didn't fly as much as they thought they would and came to the realization that it was time to put them up for sale.

Have patience and some good ones will eventually surface.

I think another piece of the pie to consider is, what is your real mission--not your hypothetical "I'd love to be able to do this" mission, but your real mission. There is no doubt that a 6-seater, whether a 205 or 206, is a superbly capable airplane--but how often do most of us really need that capability? Once a year? Twice a year? Or do we really need it at all?

The fewer hours per year that you fly, the more it costs per hour, because there are many fixed costs, such as insurance, hangar or tie-down, annual inspection, which are the same, whether you fly 100 hours or 10 hours each year. Conversely, more hours means more fuel, and that's a big expense, no matter what you fly. When an airplane gets only 12 or 14 mpg and fuel runs close to $6/gallon, you can't go very far without spending a lot on fuel--and that doesn't vary a lot whether the seats are full or mostly empty, unless you can split the costs among all of the occupants of full seats.

All of us who own airplanes know that they all cost a whole lot more than we wish they did. Sure, you can have the annual which is nothing more than a thorough inspection. But more often there's some expensive glitch to fix, of time to replace wear-out items like tires, brakes, etc.--or the opportunity to add something that makes the airplane better or more comfortable, like a panel update--and it all costs money. I've had the rare annual that was only the inspection cost--and I've had an annual that cost 5 or 6 times that much, when I decided that it was time to have the airplane re-rigged. My first panel upgrade, in which I replaced the illegal 360 channel radios with a pair of 720 channel versions, ran over $4,000 9 years ago, and my relatively simple panel upgrade a couple of years ago to a 430W and better audio panel cost $16,000.

Not trying to be a wet blanket here, but in many respects, if you have to ask "how much?", you can't afford it.

Cary

Well, I can only speak for myself and my mission, but we definitely need the room 90+% of the time I fly! . Luckily the plane fits the backcountry aspect of the mission too.

Get the fuel flows set properly and learn to run those engines, and they won't be any more expensive to run than a 182.

GAMI injectors allow you to run LOP, and these engines. Do well there....13 to 14 GPH LOP.

Great airplanes, but find a mechanic who isn't afraid to set the engine up to run some fuel....the Cessna recommendations are too low. And pay him or her what they're worth.....

MTV

Agree on setting max fuel flow way above the book spec. My A&P buddy jokingly told me to tape over the fuel flow gauge so I couldn't see it on takeoff. 30 gph was too traumatic, even for him. GAMI injectors are a great idea, and a good investment, but they're not free, and neither is the engine monitor and fuel totalizer needed to run LOP. (That fuel totalizer comes in real handy, too, because there is no "both" setting on 206s--you have to alternate L and R tanks. It helps to know exactly how much you've used when switching tanks, in addition to estimating based on time.)

182s don't need GAMI-jectors, and they don't need fuel flow or engine monitors. Yet they still turn out a dependable 135 KTAS on a Fred Flintstone carburator and intake, and a single probe EGT running ROP. I've had more cylinder trouble with the 520F than I had with the 470 or the 360. Maybe it's just poor workmanship (bad exhaust valve guides), but I've grown suspicious that the 520 cylinders are fussier and/or take more of a beating than the others due to the higher redline (2850 rpm), high compression (9.5:1) and the longer stroke of the 520 compared to other engines.

The best advice is to find someone else to buy and maintain the airplane at their expense. Failing that, make it a part of a legit business, get a good tax accountant and write it off.

CAVU