Thread: Hourly costs

For you guys who have been flying the CTsw for at least a couple years, what do you figure your "fully loaded" hourly costs are? By fully loaded, I mean all fixed and variable costs.

Depending upon the cost of fuel, mine is just a hair under $60/hour, but we didn't finance the purchase of the plane.

I've been interested in putting together my costs to figure hourly costs. I'll publish when I have the results.

Mine are so completely dominated by insurance and hangering that I've never bothered to add them up.

In 36 years of owing airplanes I have never worried about or tryed to justify the cost. Once I made the decision that I would own an airplane, nothing else mattered and I made sacrafices in other expenditures. Since I never tried to write off any associated costs I never really kept track. It is what it is. If and when I get to the point where I can't afford to keep it, then it will have to go. Besides, if my wife ever found out what it really costs I'd be in trouble! As long as she doesn't feel my airplane deprives her of what she wants, I'm good to go. It does deprive me of things I think I want, like that new Corvette, but that's my choice and my problem.

yes ,these two takes the major part of cost.
My self , I don't take hull coverage and have no hangaring cost.
So, my hourly cost are low..~ $20/hour for fuel and oil change ...and ~ maybe $5-7/hr for short and long term maintenance which I do myself

So, let’s get this right, if we add the price of the plane with the price of my hangar and the cost of insurance/running costs and divide by the number of hours flown I’ll get the answer. Hmmm. Sounds far too cold for me and would miss the point of actually owning a plane.
I much prefer the idea that I can go fly when I want, where I want and as often as I want … now that’s priceless.
I’m 62 next Wednesday and right now my mission in life, now that I’m retired, is to spend as much of the next generations inheritance as quickly as I can before my legs go wobbly and the teeth fall out and some Matron of an old folks care home decides everything I’ve saved and worked for should pay for my old age diapers. I will leave enough for a good Wake and I hope the boys that’ll be carrying me out of the house have sore heads the morning after the funeral.
I spent 30 euro (about 40$) for 5 a gallon drum of fuel yesterday for a local flight and enjoyed every second. Besides, I knew I was helping to pay for the gold plating in the bathroom of some zillion foot high hotel in the Middle East and also helping to keep those poor Penguins warm in the Antarctic. For that inner feeling alone it’s worth every penny.

CTCW, you've got to stop holding back and let us know what your true feelings are!! I couldn't have said it better, especially regarding your comments about the gold plated bathrooms.

I'm kind of a numbers guy, so I probably would keep up with the costs anyway. (Sharing them with my wife, who loves to fly with me, is a different story.) Since we also have a part-owner of the plane, we have to keep up with the costs more closely to make sure they are allocated accurately between the two of us. Once we pay the ante of our fixed costs (primarily insurance and hangar rent) to get into the game, our variable costs of operating the plane day to day are about $40/hour. The variable costs are fuel and maintenance cost put-aways, which vary from month to month based upon the usage.

Don,
I sent you a PM on this topic.
Tip

Wlfpckers,

If I leave out the expenditure of the plane and hangar and just look at the annual (permit to fly and check flight) plus the hourly running costs I would imagine that I’m looking at about 30 euro (40 $) an hour. As you are aware we can do or own maintenance over here so other than buying the oil filters/plugs etc. we haven’t got the labour cost of fitting them. My single biggest cost is insurance, £1200 sterling, which is something I’m not prepared to stint on.

Mac