Aircraft Ownership/Operating Costs Calculator (online)

I have a pretty good actual spreadsheet I use for running #'s. maybe it's not so good since I think it gives a true representation of how much $ it costs to own. but, I definitely STOLE this off the internet, and then tailored some things that I thought needed updating. if u PM me an email, aggie, I'll send it to you. might need some brief explanation on what it's doing but once u get the hang of it I find it very useful.
 
FIXED COSTS
Hangar or tie down
Insurance
Annual (inspection and signoff only)

HOURLY COSTS
Fuel
Oil changes
Maintenance

Then there are engine reserves, and other types of depreciation.

The ones you don't know accurately are maintenance and depreciation. The other costs are fairly accurately knowable. As a guideline, you can use the same hourly rate for maintenance as fuel. But really, until you sell it, you wont know your maintenance or depreciation very accurately. They vary a lot.
 
eman1200 said:
I have a pretty good actual spreadsheet I use for running #'s. maybe it's not so good since I think it gives a true representation of how much $ it costs to own. but, I definitely STOLE this off the internet, and then tailored some things that I thought needed updating. if u PM me an email, aggie, I'll send it to you. might need some brief explanation on what it's doing but once u get the hang of it I find it very useful.
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Share it here as an attachment for all.
 
nah, then everyone will make fun of my 7th grade excel skillz.
 
SoCal RV Flyer said:
Don't keep track of the costs at all (unless you need to for business)...you'll enjoy flying more that way!
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I agree. But I still refer to sheets like this to determine if I could even afford to own the aircraft.
 
Meh, I put fuel in and go, fix anything I notice, and pay my hangar, doesn't really debt my wallet and it's mostly all written off.
 
simtech said:
Yep like SoCal I do not track the cost. It would depress me, I just blindly write checks and life is good.
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James331 said:
Meh, I put fuel in and go, fix anything I notice, and pay my hangar, doesn't really debt my wallet and it's mostly all written off.
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^^^^^^
THIS!

I'm not wealthy, but thankfully I am able to fly my plane where I want, when I want without having to pinch pennies. I paid off the plane 11 years ago, and I own my hangar, so I've got that going for me. I don't know why so many people ask me what it costs per hour to fly. I tell them, "don't make me do the math, let's just go flying".

By the way -- Pat Brown is one of the nicest guys you'll ever come across. He worked for a drumstick company for years, and has all kinds of interesting stories about famous musicians. He's an excellent flight instructor, and now he's an AOPA ambassador. I've known him for almost ten years, and am proud to call him my friend.
 
AggieMike88 said:
I agree. But I still refer to sheets like this to determine if I could even afford to own the aircraft.
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"...afford to own the aircraft" :eek: :confused:

Now there's an interesting theoretical concept for me to try to get my head around. o_O :D

[I am in the fortunate position that on those occasions when Mrs. GRG55 asks "can we really afford your airplane?" I can respond "can we really afford all your horses?"]
 
GRG55 said:
"...afford to own the aircraft" :eek: :confused:

Now there's an interesting theoretical concept for me to try to get my head around. o_O :D

[I am in the fortunate position that on those occasions when Mrs. GRG55 asks "can we really afford your airplane?" I can respond "can we really afford all your horses?"]
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As far as yearly costs, women have typically cost me more per year than my plane and cars and bikes combined.
 
simtech said:
Yep like SoCal I do not track the cost. It would depress me, I just blindly write checks and life is good.
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This is my MO. I do not track my costs. If I did, I'd prolly stop flying. I'm not trying to write anything off and it's no different than a Harley, boat or sports car to me; toys.
 
Unit74 said:
This is my MO. I do not track my costs. If I did, I'd prolly stop flying. I'm not trying to write anything off and it's no different than a Harley, boat or sports car to me; toys.
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Why not?

It's much more patriotic and serves america much better if you give the fed and state as little as possible, starve the beast.
 
There is no possible way to write off a hobby aircraft without ending up with a trip to the iron bar hotel. I don't fly charity, earn money with it, provide community service with it and so on. It's a toy.


Find me that tax code if I can.
 
Unit74 said:
There is no possible way to write off a hobby aircraft without ending up with a trip to the iron bar hotel. I don't fly charity, earn money with it, provide community service with it and so on. It's a toy.


Find me that tax code if I can.
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I thought you were a CPL/CFI, ether way just saying if you have the ability to use it for profit, or fly for a living, claim whatever you can, give the government as little as possible, every dollar you give them is just forging another link in the chain of your bondage, and I'm not talking he kinky kind ;)
 
I used the calc and for a 172 in my area with a hangar it was about $7500 a year. That's not including the costs to purchase the air plane and based off of 60 hours.

It's about $1500 cheaper to rent at the local FBO for 60 hours, but $1500 a year is a small price to pay for your own plane.
 
GRG55 said:
"...afford to own the aircraft" :eek: :confused:

Now there's an interesting theoretical concept for me to try to get my head around. o_O :D

[I am in the fortunate position that on those occasions when Mrs. GRG55 asks "can we really afford your airplane?" I can respond "can we really afford all your horses?"]
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"Neigh."
 
midcap said:
I used the calc and for a 172 in my area with a hangar it was about $7500 a year. That's not including the costs to purchase the air plane and based off of 60 hours.

It's about $1500 cheaper to rent at the local FBO for 60 hours, but $1500 a year is a small price to pay for your own plane.
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Don't think I pay that much for my 185
 
Mine came out to $23,000. :(

I wish I'd never used that damn calculator.
 
James331 said:
I thought you were a CPL/CFI, ether way just saying if you have the ability to use it for profit, or fly for a living, claim whatever you can, give the government as little as possible, every dollar you give them is just forging another link in the chain of your bondage, and I'm not talking he kinky kind ;)
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No Comm rating here. Been kicking it around. But there is no money in it for me. I can make much more with less work a my current job.

I'm all about keeping green backs in my possession, not supporting the bloat-spending machine. But trYing to write off my AC expenses would certainly end up in foul territory.
 
I don't keep a tally of operating costs. It is what it is.
 
midcap said:
There was a lot of assumptions built it, like reserves for avionics and overhaul.
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That makes sense, I don't play the reserve game, it's kinda like reading tea leaves for pt91.

Using that math you probably can't afford to drive you car ether.
 
James331 said:
That makes sense, I don't play the reserve game, it's kinda like reading tea leaves for pt91.

Using that math you probably can't afford to drive you car ether.
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What you said makes a lot of sense. One day, I'll buy a 172 and I am not going to budget for an OH because I'll sell it before I'd overhaul it, since I ultimately want a faster plane, hopefully by then I have a lot of time in the log book.

I would really like to know the # of engines that needed new cam/cam bearings and/or crank/crank bearings if they weren't making metal but the cylinders were low in compression.
 
midcap said:
What you said makes a lot of sense. One day, I'll buy a 172 and I am not going to budget for an OH because I'll sell it before I'd overhaul it, since I ultimately want a faster plane, hopefully by then I have a lot of time in the log book.

I would really like to know the # of engines that needed new cam/cam bearings and/or crank/crank bearings if they weren't making metal but the cylinders were low in compression.
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How do you know it's going to make it to TBO?

How do you know it won't go way past TBO?
 
James331 said:
How do you know it's going to make it to TBO?

How do you know it won't go way past TBO?
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I was a little vague with that post.

If it's making metal before tbo, I would sell it.

If it's not making metal and at tbo, i'd run it until it started to make metal.

Also, if it was at 500 hours before tbo and had low compression and never made metal, i'd just throw a jug on it.


I guess my point being, before I spent 30k on an overhaul, I'd much rather sell the plane with the TBO cost factored in and then buy a timed out plane that was mush faster than a 172. My thinking is that, if I am going to spend 30k I might as well spend that money in a plane which I would keep for a long long time.
 
I don't reserve for TBO either. I'll cross that river when I can see it.
 
$128/h for our Mooney, assuming $20/h for engine and airframe maintenance and no loan / capital employed costs. Based on 120 h/yr what is quite a bit too low.

Not bad, considering that we had to pay monthly dues of $240 (wife and me combined) plus $114/h for an Archer in our former flying club.


James331 said:
Meh, I put fuel in and go, fix anything I notice, and pay my hangar, doesn't really debt my wallet and it's mostly all written off.
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Exactly. The hangar is charged to the credit card, annual inspection and insurance are due only once per year and quickly forgotten. From a psychological perspective, flying only costs us fuel. :D


Unit74 said:
I don't reserve for TBO either. I'll cross that river when I can see it.
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We also don't specifically save for TBO - we just keep some money on a savings account for general SHTF expenses, like a broken furnace, problems with the car or an unexpected expensive repair of the plane. Plan will change as we get closer to TBO or if the engine starts showing signs of weakness.
 
I try to keep it simple. The plane is paid for, so no worries there. I just put enough money into my flying account each month to ensure that I can fly a few times per week, and pay for all the little stuff. I also put $1k extra in there each month, which is more than enough to cover my annual and any repairs needed. I'm not going to play the reserve game either. I plane to sell the plane at TBO and take a loss, as I step up. If I change my mind at overhaul time, I can take a personal loan to pay for it, just like I did to pay for the plane.
 
The calculator showed pretty much exactly what my own estimates show, so it seems pretty good for simpler planes. For what it's worth, it came up with $41.50/hr. I fly a very basic 150, do most of my own maintenance minus the actual annual inspection, and own my hangar and runway. I don't set aside money, just cash flow as stuff comes up, and don't have an engine reserve figured in. I have a 500 gallon fuel tank at home and buy fuel at wholesale, so that saves usually about a dollar a gallon off the local FBO prices. Just goes to show that ownership doesn't have to be super expensive, but it depends so much on location (hangar and fuel costs) and type of flying you want to do. I'd like to add something faster with 4 seats some day, but will always have a cheap 'flivver' for just getting up in the air for a few minutes/dollars.

Patrick
 
... it is priceless to open the hangar and it's your plane sitting inside... :D:D:D
 
Gave up tracking costs ,after my first Cessna 172. If you have to track the actual cost ,you can't afford the airplane.
 
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