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#1
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Piloting a Cessna & owning
Hi people I need some help.
Airplanes are not my forte. Automobiles I know a lot about but I know about as much about airplanes as I do about trains and so my knowledge is very limited. I do know that a Cessna can be had for the price of a BMW which is not bad, not bad at all. Some even have turbochargers on them and you have your choice of fixed gear or those water floats to land in water. I had a dream that I had condos in Maine and West Virginia but owned land in Alaska. I had my very own cessna which made it possible for me to gain access to all of these places and I was very happy. 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? Don't Turbochargers shorten the life span of the Engine? Is it noisy inside the cockpit of a cessna? Approx how long is the flight training to get your license to fly one of these? |
#3
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"Eastward Bound" wrote:
What are the true costs of owning your own airplane? For a decent Cessna 172 that costs what a BMW costs (say, $50,000), figure $60-$80/hr based on 100 hrs/yr. How risky is the flight from Maine or West Virginia to Alaska? How about from LA,CA to Maine? The fatal accident rate for personal flying is at least seven times higher than the rate for driving. Your personal skill and judgement have some influence on your individual risk. Don't Turbochargers shorten the life span of the Engine? It seems so. Careful operation and maintenance are more critical with a turbo'd engine. Is it noisy inside the cockpit of a cessna? About a hundred db in mine. Noise-canceling headsets take care of that. Approx how long is the flight training to get your license to fly one of these? Takes about 4-8 months and 50-70 flight hours for most people. -- Dan C172RG at BFM |
#4
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"Larry Dighera" wrote:
How risky is the flight from Maine or West Virginia to Alaska? Probably about as risky as automobile travel along that route. Larrreeee! You're kidding, right? -- Dan C172RG at BFM |
#5
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"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. |
#6
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On Sat, 20 Dec 2003 07:54:04 -0600, "Dan Luke"
wrote in Message-Id: : "Larry Dighera" wrote: How risky is the flight from Maine or West Virginia to Alaska? Probably about as risky as automobile travel along that route. Larrreeee! You're kidding, right? Have you driven the Alcan Highway? |
#7
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"Larry Dighera" wrote: Have you driven the Alcan Highway? No. It must have a prodigious accident rate. |
#8
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I fly my Skylane around 50 hrs/yr. Fuel, oil, hangar, annual, and
maintenance run around $4500/yr. That is $90/hr. You need your own numbers for insurance, loan payments. Setting aside reserves for prop overhaul ($1500est), engine overhaul ($15-$18,000est) and/or, paint and interior ($12,000est). This works out to be about $11,000/year plus reserves to own your airplane. Of course, you need to buy the airplane right. Expect to need some $$$ no matter how pristine the airplane is Kevin "Eastward Bound" wrote in message om... Hi people I need some help. Airplanes are not my forte. Automobiles I know a lot about but I know about as much about airplanes as I do about trains and so my knowledge is very limited. I do know that a Cessna can be had for the price of a BMW which is not bad, not bad at all. Some even have turbochargers on them and you have your choice of fixed gear or those water floats to land in water. I had a dream that I had condos in Maine and West Virginia but owned land in Alaska. I had my very own cessna which made it possible for me to gain access to all of these places and I was very happy. 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? Don't Turbochargers shorten the life span of the Engine? Is it noisy inside the cockpit of a cessna? Approx how long is the flight training to get your license to fly one of these? |
#9
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C J Campbell ) wrote:
The risk of flying a small aircraft is directly proportional to the time spent in the air. Huh. I figured the risk would be inversely proportional to the time spent in the air. The less time in the air, the less proficient a pilot is and therefore the greater the risk. -- Peter ----== Posted via Newsfeed.Com - Unlimited-Uncensored-Secure Usenet News==---- http://www.newsfeed.com The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World! 100,000 Newsgroups ---= 19 East/West-Coast Specialized Servers - Total Privacy via Encryption =--- |
#10
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That much for a turbine? Expensive dreams : )
-lance smith tony roberts wrote in message news:nospam-B75342.17572020122003@shawnews... I had a dream that I had condos in Maine and West Virginia but owned land in Alaska. I had my very own cessna which made it possible for me to gain access to all of these places and I was very happy. What are the true costs of owning your own airplane? In my dream it's about $5.00 per hour |
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