"Eastward Bound" wrote in message
om...
|
| What are the true costs of owning your own airplane? How risky is the
| flight from Maine or West Virginia to Alaska? How about from LA,CA to
| Maine?
|

We will assume an airplane such as the Cessna 182 Skylane as an example.
There are both variable and fixed costs. Variable costs are those that can
be directly related to an hour of flight, such as fuel, oil, some kinds of
inspections, maintenance, and a reserve for overhauls of engine and
propeller. These variable costs for the Skylane are usually between $35 and
$45 an hour, depending on such things as how you fly, how old your airplane
is, etc. The turbocharger increases your variable costs significantly and
reduces the payload of your airplane.

Fixed costs are items such as insurance, parking, and annual inspections.
You can figure on between $2,000 and $3,000 a year for insurance, between
$45 and $500 a month for parking depending on whether you hangar or leave it
outside, and about $2,000 a year for inspections. Acquisition costs are
limited to your loan costs. The terms of aircraft loans are similar to those
for buying a house, but you may need a larger down payment. Older aircraft
don't depreciate much and may even increase in value over time. New
airplanes typically lose about 10% in value per year for the first three to
five years.

Add in the costs of recurrent training, aircraft publications, charts,
flying clothing, miscellaneous fees, etc., and you can count on another
couple thousand dollars per year. Aviation is the Barbie doll of hobbies.
You always need more accessories.

The risk of flying a small aircraft is directly proportional to the time
spent in the air. Overall, flying a small plane is about as risky as riding
a motorcycle. The difference between a small plane and a motorcycle is that
motorcycle riders are largely dependent on the driving skills of others
while around 90% of all airplane accidents are caused by the pilot. As a
pilot, you choose your own level of risk. Flying at night and in bad weather
increases that risk. Flying over mountains or long distances over water
increase the risk as well. Flying low, low level maneuvering such as buzzing
your friend's house, flying when you are sick or tired, flying because you
have to get there even when you know you should not fly, etc. all increase
your risk.

| Don't Turbochargers shorten the life span of the Engine?

It depends a little on the turbocharger and how you fly.

Is it noisy
| inside the cockpit of a cessna?
|

Yes, very noisy. Wear a good headset and it will not bother you.

| Approx how long is the flight training to get your license to fly one
| of these?

You can figure it will take you between 40 and 60 hours of training and this
usually takes people anywhere between six months to a year.