The Weiss Family wrote:

I know this has been asked a million times, but I have to ask just one
more time. I would love to know your real-world costs of ownership for
your fixed gear single. A 172, cherk 180, etc. I'm trying to figure out
how much renting I have to do before it becomes plausible to own. Any
advice as to insurance, fixed and variable costs, etc.

I bought my own airplane in December 2002, so I'm still a fairly new owner.
You've already had lots of good replies about costs, though I'd caution you
that you'll probably need to plan on paying at least double your average
yearly cost the first year, mostly in parts and maintenance: you'll be
flying the plane differently (causing some borderline parts to fail sooner),
you'll have a fresh mechanic looking at the plane, and you'll have different
needs (such as a second nav radio that actually works).

The main point, though, is that there's no point comparing the costs with
renting, because the renting and owning are entirely different. Renting is
for flying local flights, same-day cross-countries (say, to have lunch or
shop in another city a couple of hours away, or visit a friend), and the
occasional overnight trip. Depending on an FBO's policy, longer trips (say,
a week in Florida) are either forbidden or highly inconvenient, requiring
booking weeks in advance (maybe months in advance for the summer) and paying
for a few hours every day when the plane is on the ground.

Owning gives you the freedom to fly where you want, when you want, but also
the responsibility for taking care of the thousands of individual (and
expensive) parts that people screw and rivet together to make airplanes. If
you plan to fly mostly cross-countries, especially longer ones, there's
really no option: you have to own. If you want to be able to decide on
Friday that you're going away for a weekend in the summer, you have to own.
If you want to have some control over the safety of the airplane (say,
using better quality oil hoses that won't melt and start a fire, or
replacing the muffler before the shroud corrodes through and starts sending
CO through the heating system, etc), you have to own.

That said, if you're not going to be flying enough hours to justify sole
ownership, you can go in with a partner or two and massively reduce your
fixed costs. For example, if you're paying $1,000/year parking, $2,000/year
insurance, and $3,000/year parts and maintenance, you can pay all $5,000
yourself, pay $2,500 with one partner, or pay $1,670 with two partners.
Partners can also share the large amount of work involved in owning.

Personally, since I fly an inexpensive plane (a Piper Warrior II) for well
over 120 hours/year I am a sole owner, but I am very open to joining a
partnership if I start flying less often or if I need to move up to a bigger
or faster plane. Just having someone else to take turns cleaning and waxing
the plane sounds like a nice idea ...


All the best,


David