chemgeek
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chemgeek
As a rule of thumb, that will put you in the ballpark for total operating cost, not including purchase price or financing. The more you fly, the more maintenance costs you will accumulate. You can make it a lot more complicated by breaking down fixed and operating costs, but it will still be the same order of magnitude. You can reasonably predict your fixed costs (hangar/tiedown, insurance, applicable taxes) but it is more difficult to accurately predict your operating costs (fuel, maintenance/repair, upgrades). When things are going swimmingly, you can seemingly operate for much less than 4X fuel, but that feeling doesn't last long when you need to do a major avionics upgrade, ADS-B compliance, autopilot repair, cylinder replacement, etc. etc. Annual inspection and repair costs are predictable until they aren't. Periodically, something significant will come up, and you have to be prepared to assume that cost. There is a reason that airplane rentals cost what they do.
Some ownership choices are deceptive: for example, it is cheaper to tie down outside instead of renting a hangar, but you will pay for it in increased avionics and instrument repair due to heat and moisture damage. I've done it both ways, and the hangar is actually much cheaper, and results in less down time. I was grinding through radios, indicators, and basic instrument overhauls when I was tied down outside, even with a plane cover. Never again.