First Year Cost of Ownership: C182

[Tj1376]

On another note, it's funny how a guy can talk about his first 12 months plane expenses and it turns into a 100+ posts debating its merits.

Can someone summarize it? Cliff notes version? I'm interested in the topic but after reading the first twenty posts, I'm done. Lol.

Does it really only cost 85 bucks/hr for a 182? I rent a 172 for more than that.

TJ


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[Henning]

Can someone summarize it? Cliff notes version? I'm interested in the topic but after reading the first twenty posts, I'm done. Lol.

Does it really only cost 85 bucks/hr for a 182? I rent a 172 for more than that.

TJ


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

No, it costs considerably more when you add in the reserves for the big ticket items that will need to be done like $30k for engine overhaul, $7500+ prop, and other larger maintenance expenses that will appear; then there is also the opportunity value of the capital, or the interest if you borrow.

 

[EdFred]

Air cooled aircraft engines are much more vunerable to failure than a car engine . Not only are they revved to extreme rpm much more often , they are also much harder to cool correctly for obvious reasons. There is no comparison between replacing, or repairing the average car engine compared to an aircraft engine .

You have no clue what you are talking about. Every ground vehicle I have turns WAY more RPM than my airplane, and hit those numbers way more often.

 

[James331]

20k every 10-20 years is cheap compared to what people spend buying a new car every 3 years. Buy a car at 40, sell it 3 years later a 25. Do that 4 times in 12 years that is 60k. Meanwhile the plane you replace the interior for 10, paint for 10, 10 in avionics, and 30 for a new engine. Same 60k.

My point is, people don't count the replacement loss/cost of cars into their cost per mile, but they do it religiously with planes.

It is funny how many posts ended up on this thread

Exactly.

 

[coloradobluesky]

Buy an airplane for 100k. Put 2000 hours on it and spend 200k doing that. Sell it for 80k. Typically the 20k you were out in purchase-sale is dwarfed by the other costs.

 

[hindsight2020]

The math is $$$ to overhaul/TBO. The math does not change as it becomes applied to the resale value nearly perfectly prorated. The only way the formula works out to advantage is buying at "run out" value, fly it free from significant repair costs (there is no return on investment on repairs, only overhaul, and that does not include the R&R labor) and selling for the same run out value xxx hours later.

Yep, that's what I did with my warrior.Bought it with a runout engine. Flew the snot out of it in one year (265 hours), sold for 3.5k less than I bought it for. Compared to an engine overhaul of any consequence, plus the value I placed on airplane access 24/7, I basically stole the hours lol.

Buy low sell low isn't for everyone, but some of us catfish at the bottom of the totem pole make mighty cheap wine with it.

 

[MikeTuggle]

Terrific thread!!!

Thanks to everyone that posted....

Before I build my own spreadsheet for a T182T, based on the original post (tweaking it to include some of the variables folks talked about), does anyone already have one (a template) they are willing to share?

Thanks!

 

[JoseCuervo]

Can someone summarize it? Cliff notes version? I'm interested in the topic but after reading the first twenty posts, I'm done. Lol.

Does it really only cost 85 bucks/hr for a 182? I rent a 172 for more than that.

TJ


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

The first post shows my ACTUAL operating costs for the first year of ownership for a mid-60's 182 based on the number of hours I flew. (I gave estimates on average fuel costs as I didn't track actual purchases each time I bought 15 gallons of gas. I don't find saving receipts to be an especially rewarding use of my time.)

I could certainly change the costs by flying more (or less) hours, moving back out of the hangar, or deciding my time is not worth lugging MoGas around. All choices I made yen Year 1. Your mileage may differ, based on choices you make.

The imaginary costs that extended the thread are just that: imaginary. And they are the result of personal accounting choices people make based on whatever imaginary voices in their head tell them to make.

Here is an example of an imaginary "un-cost":

I made one 8 hour round trip flight with 4 people for a vacation. If we had bought airline tickets it would have been $500 rt X 4 for a $2000 airfare purchase. I flew 4 hours each way.

Should I count the "imaginary" $1400 savings into my formula? That would lower my operating costs 15-20 for the year.

 

[JoseCuervo]

No, it costs considerably more when you add in the reserves for the big ticket items that will need to be done like $30k for engine overhaul, $7500+ prop, and other larger maintenance expenses that will appear; then there is also the opportunity value of the capital, or the interest if you borrow.

Or does it cost less? See earlier post that shows the example purchase scenario that will come out with a much different number than your imaginary numbers.

Again, all the imaginary numbers are unique to each individual person and transaction.

Question: if I was able to discount the purchase of the plane by $30k, would you still amortize the $30k imaginary replacement?

 

[JoseCuervo]

Terrific thread!!!

Thanks to everyone that posted....

Before I build my own spreadsheet for a T182T, based on the original post (tweaking it to include some of the variables folks talked about), does anyone already have one (a template) they are willing to share?

Thanks!

If you haven't noticed, there is a shocking lack of math beyond the first post......

I would suggest you do like the OP, but with 3 sections to your spreadsheet.

The DRY costs of insurance, annual, tie downs, etc that hit you every year, without starting the motor.

Then, do a section with the actual WET costs that would include gas and oil.

Then do an IMAGINARY section with whatever numbers you need to feel like you are tracking. Based on your unique methods of managing your personal finances, risk tolerances, and unique insights into the future.

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And, if you are about to be buying, keep in mind that the single biggest driver to profits/losses, or controlling costs on these types of things is during the purchase process. If you pay too much, you have a cost that won't ever come back. And a $10k-30k difference in price would go a long way to making the imaginary math prohibitive to purchase a plane.