Flying a general aviation aircraft, whether a single engine airplane or helicopter, costs money! Yes it does, it certainly isn't free, and it shouldn't. Haven't you ever heard: "The best things in life aren't free"? Did I get that right by the way?

However, I have noticed that many people (some pilots, but mostly non pilots) perceive flying your own airplane as expensive, maybe even prohibitive. I think it is time to shake up some of these misconceptions and introduce some relativity.

Whether you have the desire and/or need to buy your own aircraft or rent someone else's, you will face the same two types of cost. In the first case you will probably factor in fixed costs and variable costs, whereas if you are renting, you need only worry about the all inclusive rental rate.

So how much does it really cost?

Owning your aircraft

Well, as I mentioned before, there is the cost of ownership (fixed costs) and the cost of operation (variable costs).

Fixed Costs

They include the cost of owning the aircraft, hence all the payments that will have to be made irrespective of whether you fly the airplane or not. This includes principal payment and interest if you are financing the aircraft, parking (tied down at the airport's general aviation ramp or hangared), an annual inspection to keep the FAA happy, and insurance to cover for both liability (damage you might do to others) and hull (damage you might do to the airplane).

Principal and interest

First things first! How much cash do you have at the bank? That might be all you need to buy the aircraft of your dreams. I was speaking to a pilot who visits our Albuquerque shop on a regular basis, and his dream was to own a Piper Pacer (high wing, taildragger, cruises at 100mph). He found one for sale for $10,000. It required a bit of work, approximately $3,000, but bottom line is that for less than $15,000 he is now a proud airplane owner. By tayloring the airplane he wanted to the amount of cash he had, he also saved on interest costs of financing, which at the time of writing this article, oscillate between eight and twelve percent.

That translates into saving between $80 to $150 per month in interest over the first two years for a purchase of $15,000.

There are several good reasons to finance your aircraft. The most common one is that you don't have the cash available. Most aircraft loan companies require at least a 10% downpayment. This is pretty standard, the more you increase that percentage the lower your interest rate will be, of course. Another good reason to finance, other than the obvious, is that perhaps you are lucky to get a better return on your money than the cost of the interest rate.

There is a consequence to financing, other than interest costs, and that financing your aircraft ties you down to getting it fully insured, as required by lenders.

Insurance

There are two components to insurance, liability and hull. Liablity coverage insures damage you do to others or things. For example, your are maneuvering your airplane into a shared hangar and you damage someone else's airplane, this would be covered, same if you did an emergency landing and you mowed down a field of wheat. This component cost depends very much on pilot's experience and qualifications as well as the aircraft's track record. If you are inexperienced, flying an airplane reputed to be difficult to fly, then you are probably heading for high premiums and may even be turned down altogether. Mooneys and Bonanzas are commonly referred to as Doctor Killers, because they are faster, higher performance airplanes, that are attractive to doctors and lawyers who have just finished learning to fly. Motorcycles are the same way. If you are 18 and want to ride a 1,000cc bike, you can either expect an exhorbitant premium or simply that no one will insure you.

Liability typically costs under $2,000 a year, but you really need to speak to an insurance broker before. By the way, never give the tail number to them. Just tell them the type and model. I have heard that if you give them the tail number, the underwriters set that quote in stone for some while, making it difficult to shop around as there are very few competitors in the market.

Hull is a different story. I have heard as high as 4% of the hull value per year, for aircraft that are being operated as rental aircraft, but typically it is lower for aircraft not being used within that context (i.e. 5 pilots or less flying the aircraft).

The funny thing is, that legally you don't need to have insurance. Unlike motor vehicles, it is not an obligation. Hence, if you feel lucky, competent, or you can afford the consequences, then this is definitely a way of bringing down the costs of flying. You should speak to your lawyer about these things, but it is my understanding that if you have all your assets in a trust and if you set the aircraft up to be owned by an Limited Liability Company, then you have more or less reduced liability in the event of something catastrophic. And regarding hull, well you might consider you are simply willing to take the risk and figure out the most likely things you are going to break in the event of a hard landing or some other incident. Good landings are ones where you walk away from the aircraft, excellent landings are where you walk away from an unscathed aircraft. The whole idea is appealing, but in reality it is an irresponsible option. What if, for instance, you hurt someone and they suffer a terrible injury. They would need to sue you, even if they still like you, to recover costs entailed by their injury. These costs would normally be covered by liability insurance, but if you have none, you might not have enough assets personally, or in the company owning the aircraft, to foot the bills. And as much as I hate frivolous litigation, which has overall increased the cost of insurance, I don't feel right about potentially maiming someone and not taking responsibility for my actions. So not taking out hull insurance is one thing, you just lose your investment, but not taking out liability is in my opinion a selfish thing to do.

So to sum up insurance, if you are a low time pilot, better to stick to what you know, to an aircraft in which you have already accumulated some hours. Still if you insist, you can expect the insurance company to tell you that they want you to get ten to fifteen hours of flight training in the model you are interested in flying. Assuming that you haven't chosen a rare type of bird, then your additional costs will be the instructors time ($30-50 and hour). This obviously adds to your initial costs when you factor in instructor time, getting to the instructor or getting the instructor to you, and the operating costs of flying the aircraft for 10 - 15 hours.

Maintenance

Once a year, if you are not renting the aircraft, you need to have an Airframe and Powerplant (A&P) mechanic give your flying machine an annual inspection as required by the FAA (a good idea in my opinion). It's like going to the doctor for a checkup, you know everything is working, then as you get closer to going, you think everything is ok, then when you actually visit the doctor, you wonder what isn't working. Same with an annual inspection for your aircraft. Every year it's an anxious moment, but if you have taken good care of it, you have no reason to be alarmed, you just need to be more vigilant as the aircraft gets older and/or if it gets a lot of use.

An annual usually varies. I have seen $150 for a glider to $5,000 for a helicopter. Needless to say there are a variety of prices, not all linked to the quality of the annual. Of course, it is also a great time for your mechanic to tell you about everything you should have fixed, and as much as I believe in preventive maintenance, I do think it is always necessary to get a second opinion if possible. Obviously a relatively new airplane will not need much extra maintenance. It is important though to shop around, and establish which mechanic you want to take care of your baby.

Parking

Sorry to tell you some bad news, but unfortunately, you are going to have to pay for parking. In Albuquerque, tie downs, where you simply tie down the airplane to some metal hooks or rings with rope or chain, only costs $50 a month. Whereas, a T shaped hangar will cost around $300 to rent. If you have a precious plane, then you need to protect your investment. If you have a beaten up Cessna 150, with paint chipping off, then you don't need a hangar, tie down is probably sufficient. I would rather invest in a good aircraft cover and keep it outside, but then the worst we get here in Albuquerque or Phoenix, is high winds, we don't get hurricanes, tornadoes and not much hail. If need be, I might just ask the local FBO to put me in a shared hangar for the duration of the storm.

Variable Costs

Fuel and Oil

Most small aircraft typically burn avgas, which is a high octane gasoline. Fuel, in other words power, is indispensable. So, how much is it going to cost?

Most single-engine aircraft, burn approximately 8-10 gallons per hour. At today's prices of $3.50 per gallon, you are looking at $28 to $35 per hour in direct operating costs. If you own an aircraft that flies at 150 mph, then you are looking at 23 cents per mile, an a gas mileage of 16 mpg. So these figures sound pretty familiar and comparable to SUV type of operation. The great news is that these performance figures are average and that there are a number of aircraft that burn 4-5 gallons per hour for the same speeds, though they might not be able to carry as many people. Also, new engines already in the market, boast even higher performance, such as diesel engines. However, for the purpose of this article, lets stick with a Cessna 172, a high wing fixed gear, 130 mph airplane, burning 7 gph at 10,000 feet. This translates into 18.5 mpg and a 19 cent per mile cost. Still think flying is expensive?

One of my favorite trips is going back and forth between Phoenix and Albuquerque. The straight line distance is in the region of 320 miles and the fastest route by car calculated by my car's navigational GPS gives me 490 miles. My car an SUV advertised at 19 mpg on the highway, typically gets 18 mpg on the highway. In other words if I owned a Cessna 172 and flew it to Phoenix, it would take me 2.5 hours of cruise flying plus 0.5 hours of take off, approach and landing. So for a total of 3 hours flight and $73 in gas I can be at any of Phoenix's airports. In my car, 7 hours later (assuming I average 70 mph) and after having spent $81 on gas, I can be anywhere in the Phoenix area.

Ah ha, but what about flying an airline like Southwest?! Well, just checked an advance purchase fare, $80 one way, including taxes. Pretty good price and I have seen lower for some special promotions. Only one hour and ten minutes from take-off to landing. Here is the catch I have to make my way to Phoenix International and mess around there, and then arrive in Albuquerque and mess around there. So the one hour in ten minutes is misleading, but isn't that the purpose of this article, to route out misconceptions. Of course the time involved in getting to the airport, checking in, going through security, getting on the airplane, stowing your oversized carry on in the overhead compartment, the average delay, the duration of the flight, getting off the airplane, retrieving your luggage, finding transportation, and finally, making your way to your final destination, means that an hour flight can quickly turn into a 4 hour event. The other bummer is that routes leading and leaving major airports are typically very congested. Murphy's law means that it is always when you are needing to get to the airport that traffic congestion is worse.

Funnily enough, the Cessna 172, not only sounds like a lot more fun, but is also cheaper than driving your car. So when comparing to flying Southwest, it is just as timely, and actually becomes much cheaper if there is more than one person along for the ride. Did I mention it is also a hell of a lot more fun to fly in a Cessna 172 than in a cattle herding Beoing 737?

Wear and Tear

Main things that wear and tear: tires, engines, propellers. Land smoothly and take it easy on the breaks, and you won't be needing new tires every month.

An engine is a different story. Each engine that the FAA approves for certified aircraft is given a TBO, a sort of life expectancy. TBO translates into To Be Overhauled. A lot of aircraft for sale ads will read either TBO, TT Total Time, SOH Since Over Haul. These all express limitations to an engine's life. They simply can't go on running for ever, though some are better than others. As long as the aircraft is not being operated commercially, then the engine can exceed its TBO for as long as it is safe to do so. This implies, that a number of things are done to ensure that the engine is still operating normally. A common thing is cyclinder compression checks. Anything lower than 70, would indicate leaky seals, damaged cylinder heads, you name it.

Having your engine overhauled, isn't typically something you do litterally, it usually involves getting a new engine or overhauled engine, to replace your current engine. Actually the cost between overhauled and new engines is only 10-20%, but they have the same lifespan. What is usually replaced on an overhauled engine are the cylinders a number of other parts.

Well, if you consider a Cessna 172 running with a Lycoming O-360 carburated 160 hp engine, you are probably looking at $20,000 to replace the engine. This type of engine, depending on model, has a TBO of around 1800 to 2000 hours. The hours are measured by a tachometer (compulsory to have this item in your aircraft). A tachometer records one hour for each hour the engine is used and full power (this varies on the engine). This means that one "tach" hour can equal 1.2 real hours if you run the engine 15-20% below 2400 rpm (the green line upper limit). This is why when the engine is running idle, the tachometer is very slow. Your tach consumption, wear and tear on the engine, can therefore vary depending on how you fly. Are you going to push the throttle to full power all the way, or are you going to throttle back, to be more fuel conservative and wear the engine less. If you consider that it costs $20,000 to get 2,000 hours out of an engine, then your cost per tach hour is $10 for that engine. Obviously, you won't have to disburse $10 after each flight, but many operators do allocate those funds to a reserve to anticipate the engine replacement. So by taking it easy on the aircraft you will burn less and decelerate tach consumption. I do consider an engine reserve as financially conservative as parties involved might be able to get a better return on their money than by depositing into a reserve account.

The same principals apply to the propeller.

Renting

Well renting gives peace of mind or does it? It gives peace of mind in the sense that when you rent you are not having to concern yourself with any of the above. You just rent, for whatever rate. It is a particularly easy choice, if you do not fly often. I have heard that break-even is 100 hours of flying a year. Less than that and it's not worth owning your own airplane. Though I disagree, and believe, that this figure varies from aircraft to aircraft, and really comes down to whether the type of aircraft you want to fly is available for rent and at what rate. Helicopters are good examples. R-22 rent for around $200 an hour, burn 10 gallons of fuel ($35), so where does the rest go? Well rental insurance, that allows companies to rent aircraft is more expensive than for owners. Maintenance is more expensive, but also, rental companies will figure out the number of hours they can rent in a market and that will determine their prices. For instance, in a busy market like Phoenix, aircraft rent for less than in a smaller market like Albuquerque. It is not uncommon to get rental rates $10-20 less an hour in Phoenix. Yet you would think, the opposite, because Phoenix is bigger and hence must have more people who want to fly. It also means that there is more competition and that aircraft are getting utilized more. The more hours an aircraft is flown, the more of a base there is to spread the fixed costs.

However, I want to rent a Mooney, efficient and fast, great performer over decades, yet I cannot find one for rent. In this case I will have to get my own.

Rental companies typically impose rules. For example, if I fly to Albuquerque from Phoenix, there is a minimum 3 hour daily rental, i.e. I have to fly 9 hours if I keep the airplane 72 hours. I have known some operations to be flexible. However, I would typically not want to make a Phoenix round trip just for a day or two. So again, here I am in a scenario where I would want my own plane, simply for the purpose of flexibility and freedom to undertake a flight at any give time.

In terms of cost, well the Cessna 172 I mentioned earlier rents for around $89 wet (fuel included) in Albuquerque. 3 hours of flight each way and my total cost for the flight has turned into nearly $540. Obviously, it is not an interesting option, except if there is more than one person, in which case it starts to be competitive with airlines where you haven't purchased a ticket in advance. Realistically, you wouldn't want to be more than two onboard in the summer, due to reduced aircraft performance (combination of heat and altitude here in New Mexico), so the best you can do is $270 per person for a stay of 2-3 days only.

Cost of flying vs. boating, golf, etc.

Here's the thing, we all want to do fun stuff in life, going waterskiing, boating, play golf, drive a nice car, live in a nice house, go skiing. All these activities cost money.

When you consider the amount of satisfaction you get out of these different hobbies, my personal feeling is that flying produces a greater return. It produces a sense of achievement, exhiliration, requires and refines skill, judgement and discipline. Flying makes you feel better about yourself, about life, and definitely gives you extra perspective when you are flying a mile high.

Now when you can justify flying for the purpose of traveling for business or pleasure, to make that trip to visit your loved ones or a business prospect, then flying is just bliss!