Question for you real life pilots

[Clay1582]

I've been doing some research on getting my pilots license, and I've seen that alot of you guys fly.  One thing i haven't seen many posts on is plane maintenance and storage or whatever you'd call it.  About how much does it cost to properly maintain a single engine airplane each year?

[Golfer]

There are a LOT of variables that go into that.  Age and type of aircraft, availability of parts, etc.

Some folks use 10% the value of the aircraft for Mx which gets you pretty close in most cases of airplanes.  Hangar storage varies widely throughout the country depending on where you live, hangar availability, ramp/tiedown space and even more things.  Insurance is another hurdle, engine overhaul and propeller overhaul reserves.

If you pay $50,000 for a 172 the 10% rule would mean budget $5000 on maintenance costs throughout the year for unforseen, annual and 100 hour inspections if you do them (a good idea).  Some times you'll come in under others you'll go over...

Leaseback of a trainer to a flight school is a popular option to help offset the costs of ownership however the airplane will get "beat up" more than it would if you, the owner, were the only one to fly it.

AOPA has many resources to help you with this.  There are many here who will be happy to help as well but that's not their primary dealing.  Good luck getting your airplane and remember...if it float's, flys or fornicates it's going to be cheaper to rent

[Serenity]

It costs us... well, NOTHING to store ours. Because we know the right people. Out here, the wait-list for a hangar is decades long. So, people sign up, and dont buy a plane until they get the hangar. Sometimes, due to a financial situation, they cannot afford a plane by the time they get the hangar. So, they let people use theirs for free so they dont lose it, while they try to get their plane. Its VERY common out here. As far as maintenance, it costs us $40 to maintain the plane for ever hour we run the engine.

[Maverick]

If you are thinking of owning a plane I strongly recommend you NOT do a lease back. If you do decide to look into it read the contract very very carefully. You may end up paying more in maintenance costs than you make on the deal. I've seen it happen more than once.

As far as maintenance costs are concerned like Golfer said it depends on the plane, it's condition and the number of hours it has on it. Not to mention the hourly rate for the shop doing the work.  Figure on putting money away for an overhaul for each hour you fly. Don't plan on going all the way to TBO, if you do make it there, fine but it is not guaranteed to make it.

Storage. Call the local airports in your area and ask about monthly hanger, shade port or open tie down. Don't forget the cost of insurance. It will cost more for a leaseback since the plane will be doing commercial work.

FWIW when I had my Commanche I did the work on the annuals and a buddy of mine (IA) did the inspection. Later I ended up working for him after my A&P.  My annual cost of ownership was about $3600.00 for shadeport, annual (my labor) plus insurance and that was about $1400.00 a year. That's if I didn't fly a single hour other than the trip to and from the annual.

The average cost of a NO SQUAWK annual ranged from $800 to $1200 for a Cessna 172. Any squawks, and there usually were some and the costs went up depending on what was wrong. Now keep in mind that this is back to the latter part of 03 so costs might have gone up by now.

[LePaul]

Lots of good advice here.

One thing I was wondering, what type of insurance do most get?

As for hangaring, the only problem with one flying club i was in was hangar rash.  We had a full hangar and student pilots who were a little quick on shoving airplanes in and out.

[Maverick]

Type of insurance you get depends on what plane you have, how many assets you have and if you have a family. If you are a bachelor, have no family and no assets other than your plane then you can have little insurance since you have nothing to have taken from you, assuming you survive the the incident to be sued.

If however you have assets and a family you will want plenty of liability coverage (used to be a million smooth was common, liability and medical plus death benefits) as much as you can afford.

Since you have a plane it is a common misconception that you are therefor "rich" and a high visibility target for a suit even if not at fault. You will be viewed as having "deep pockets". In short whether you survive or not everything you own will be up for grabs and your family will come second. A very distant second.

You need to talk to a broker who can talk to the underwriters to get you the most preferred insurance coverage at the best rates. There used to be many insurers, now there are less than 10. When I had my bird I was told there were only 6 not including the insurers who wrote secondary coverages on the primary insurer's policy.

As a low time pilot the insurers will look at you the same way a car insurance company looks at a 16 year old riding a lexus hot rodded up. In other words, extremely high risk. Oh and BTW they do not HAVE to insure you either. They can all turn you down. They may tell you to come back after you have 500 hours, an instrument ticket and maybe they will look at you again.

If you have a lien on the plane (loan) the insurer will require a policy for their own loan coverage which won't cover you a bit.

Talk to a broker and ask them what their success rate is for getting insurance for pilots in your category and aircraft. Don't give your info like N number or pilots certificate as some of the insurers take a dim view about surfing for rates since there are so few of them they can keep a record of your info if it comes in from more than one broker. If you are going to buy coverage, stay with one broker for the same reason. Multiple years of coverage without a claim makes the insurers more likely to "deal" on your premium. It's not fixed rates, it's what the market will bear and you're "rich" remember.

The more performance or complex the plane is, the more it costs to insure.