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Any airplane owners out there?

RedlegRedleg Member Posts: 417 ✭✭✭
edited October 2001 in General Discussion
Hey, y'all! If there are any plane owners out there, I would like to ask you a few questions about plane ownership. Thanx!Brian
Crush your enemies, drive their horses before you, hear the lamentation of their women.--Genghis Khan
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    v35v35 Member Posts: 12,710 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Not currently, but I have owned airplanes for 15 years. What's on your mind ?
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    timberbeasttimberbeast Member Posts: 1,738 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    My brother-in-law has a few. Some kind of turboprop single seater, a T-34 and a bigger plane that seats about 30. I could relay a message and ask him what you are wondering about. And, yes, he is rich. He's trying to find a Mustang now.
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    AlerionAlerion Member Posts: 61 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    I'm on number 4... currently a Mooney.Tom
    Nothing is foolproof to a sufficiently talented fool.
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    RedlegRedleg Member Posts: 417 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    I am looking to buy a plane in the next 2 years...probably a Seneca II. My question is, what do you pay yearly on taxes, maintenance, hangar fees, insurance, etc. If I buy a plane for $100K, how much am I really going to end up paying? Thanks!Brian
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    gunpaqgunpaq Member Posts: 4,607 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    Have owned and operated C-180 and C-182 Cessnas several years ago. Unless you are putting that aircraft to work you must have a lot of discretionary income to burn. Buy real estate not airplnes. Interesting though, I just bought a new truck that cost more than my C-182(old and used of course).
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    AlerionAlerion Member Posts: 61 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    Wow!I really can't answer any of your questions because of all the variables involved but I can give you a few guidelines.Taxes are probably the easiest part because they're directly based on the value of the plane. The problem is that they vary wildly based on where you live. In my case, I pay about $2K/year on a Mooney worth about $70K.Maintenance depends entirely on the plane. A plane with a low time engine, all AD's complied with, and in generally good overall condition will probably get buy with little more than the cost of an annual, figure $500. Keep in mind that anything found wrong in the annual that affects airworthiness WILL have to be fixed. The plane will be grounded until repairs are made. If you can find labor rates under $100/hr for a mechanic you're doing well.If you're going to keep a plane long term, remember to figure an overhaul into your operating costs. At about $25K for a six-cylinder Lycoming and 2000 hrs TBO that figures out to about $12.50/hr. Add about $1.50/hr onto that for routine maintenance (oil changes and such) and you're at about $14.00/hour before you start burning any fuel. An alternative plan is to buy a plane with a low-mid time engine, fly it a couple hundred hours (3-5 years for many pilots), and then sell it while its still got 500+ hrs left on the engine. The only drawback to this plan is if something major breaks before TBO.Insurance is going to be all over the board. First factor is your experience. Low time equals high rates. Same goes for any accidents/incidents. Then there's projected use, planes that spend a lot of time in the air (especially IFR) pay correspondingly more. I won't even mention what happens if you're planning to do a leaseback to a flight school.Next factor is the plane itself and the Seneca may send you running away screaming. The largest factor is retractable gear. The combination of retractable gear, *, and a CS prop makes the plane "complex" and the insurance goes up by 150-300% depending on your experience in type. Anything over 200 HP is "high-performance" with another rate jump. Even the safety record of the airframe itself is a factor (at least the Seneca has that in its favor!) For a low-time pilot, insurance pretty well limits a person to a 160-200 HP, fixed-gear bird. Hanger fees vary based on location and services. You can get a tie-down in a rural area for $50/month. You want a hanger at O'Hare... fuggeddaboutit! I hanger the Mooney at a county airport (no air carrier service) for $200/month but that's actually a subsidized rate based on volunteering myself and the plane for organ transport flights. (Plans? What are plans?)So, after all that, I'd suggest that you sit down with an insurance agent and discuss any planes you're considering buying. Then have a talk with your FBO about maintenance/hanger fees/fuel etc. Tom
    Nothing is foolproof to a sufficiently talented fool.
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    RedlegRedleg Member Posts: 417 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Thanks, everybody. Some food for thought....I appreciate it!
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