Over the years, calculating the cost to own an airplane is one of the most often asked questions I receive. There are a lot of different cost factors that go into owning an airplane. The buy price is just one piece of the entire cost of the airplane ownership pie. Other pieces consist of taxes, hangar or tie down costs, fuel, oil, insurance, ramp fees, machine reserves, disposition maintenance, inspection items and subscriptions to name a few. The following report will help you decree what costs are complicated in owning an airplane and how to plan your finances accordingly. Keep in mind the following report offers a generic appraisal on how to infer the ownership costs of most piston airplanes.
First, we will divide the total cost of ownership into two sections; the first section will be the indirect cost, and second section direct cost.
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Indirect Costs
Indirect costs are the costs that you will pay either or not the airplane flies. These expenses consist of the buy price of the airplane (or monthly payments), insurance, tie down or hangar fees, subscription fees, taxes, and tax benefits.
Let's start with the first indirect cost I mentioned, buy price or capital cost. This is one of easiest expenses to calculate. If you finance the airplane, get a quote from the bank on the down payment required and interest rate. Currently, rates are approximately 6% with a minimum of 15% down and 20 year financing. As an example, if you put 20% down on a new Da40Xls priced at 0,000, your monthly payment would be just over ,000 a month over 20 years.
To infer insurance fees, call your insurance agent and get a quote for the airplane you are considering purchasing with your experience level.
Hangar fees and tie downs are self explanatory. Call the airport or Fbo where you want to base your airplane and ask what options are available. Normally there are about four choices: tie down (leaving your airplane exterior in the elements), covered (airplane is exterior in the elements but has a shade covering), hangar in base (airplane is constantly moved colse to in a large hangar shared with any other airplanes), and finally an individual or T hangar. At many airports hangar space is scarce so don't be surprised if you end up on a waiting list. Hangar prices vary agreeing to your location. My T hangar in Concord, Nc costs just north of 0/month while that same hangar in Fort Lauderdale would cost well over ,000/month. If you keep your airplane outside, please be sure to at least cover it. It will safe the interior and the avionics. Also, keep in mind that some insurance clubs will lower your excellent if you can hangar your airplane rather than keep it on tie downs.
Subscription services may not apply to you. If you own a J-3 cub, you can skip to the next paragraph. approximately all aircraft artificial after the early 1990s offer an Ifr Gps. If you have an Ifr Gps, you will need to subscribe to a monthly modernize to keep your database legal to navigate solely by Gps and shoot Gps approaches. If you have Xm weather, you will pay colse to /month for the basic subscription or /month for the full package. The winds aloft highlight on the full holder is more than worth the added cost to get it. Xm radio is additional. If you own a glass panel airplane, you may opt for Garmin's safe taxi charts and/or advent plate services. Visit http://www.mygarmin.com for cost information. Jeppesen also offers advent plates for glass cockpit airplanes. This aid requires an initial upfront cost to setup and a higher monthly payment, compared to Garmin's advent plate services.
Unfortunately taxes do not disappear with airplanes, with the irregularity of tax exempt corporations (see an aviation tax counselor for more facts to see if you qualify). Taxes vary from state to state. In Florida, it is 6% of the buy price. In North Carolina it is a flat tax of ,500. North Carolina, however, charges asset tax which varies by county and by city. Where I live in North Carolina, the airplane asset tax rate is colse to 63 cents per 100 dollars, and I have a city tax of 42 cents per 100 dollars. If you use the airplane for business, you may be able to depreciate the use and cost of the airplane which benefits your estimated cost of ownership. Please consult with an airplane tax scholar to decree your individual situation.
Direct Operating Costs
Calculating the direct operating costs is a diminutive trickier. There are different ways of calculating what it will cost you each hour to fly. My recipe is just one method, but it works. Here you need to decree on how many hours you plan on flying a year to make an every year base budget.
Let's start with the basics. Most pistons engines will need an oil turn every 50 hours. Depending on where you live, a appropriate oil turn will cost between 0 to 0. Call the local mechanic on the field and find out what he charges. If you plan on flying 100 hours a year, the math is simple.
Fuel consumption varies agreeing to different aircraft. You can Normally visit a manufacturer's website or consult the Poh to get the cruise fuel burn. If you are flying an aircraft with a worn out engine, reconsider the published fuel burn to be the best case scenario (which often is not the case). Find out what avgas costs at your local airport and do the math. Keep in mind avgas prices vary
Engine and propeller reserves are calculated into the equation even if you own a low time or new airplane that you plan on selling long before overhaul. You can Normally get a quote from a local Faa machine repair station on the cost of overhauling your machine or on the cost of installing a premise remanufactured engine. Take that price and divide it by the hours remaining till Tbo and you will get an idea of how much you need to put away each hour. If you plan on buying a twin, duplicate the fuel, machine and propeller costs.
Scheduled maintenance is an additional one cost worth planning for. Every year your airplane will be due for an inspection. Again, prices will vary depending on where you do your inspection. Shop rates in South Florida midpoint /hour, while in North Carolina they are colse to /hour. Call a aid center familiar with your airplane and see what they charge for a appropriate every year inspection. Keep in mind that the price they quote you doesn't consist of squawk items, airworthiness directives, aid bulletins or regulatory change items. These are extra costs. If your airplane is still under warranty, then you shouldn't expect any surprise repair bills when you pick your airplane up. A safe bet for budgeting added expenses for an airplane out of warranty is to duplicate the price of the every year inspection fee; this budgeting will cover approximately any unexpected surprises that may occur during the year. You may also reconsider a support for paint, interior, and avionics upgrades in which case you will want to put away a diminutive extra.
Finally, you will need to decree what your airplane will be worth if and when it comes time to sell it. Airplanes typically stop depreciating after 5 years. Like cars, their depreciation rates vary. clubs such as Vref and Aircraft Bluebook offer retail pricing and trade-in pricing.
Calculating Airplane ownership Cost
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