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True Cost Of Twin Ownership
A friend and I are considering purchasing an airplane sometime in the
next year or so and we are looking at high performance singles and light twins. We're pretty much up to speed on the ownership costs of a Saratoga or similar, but we're not real clear on what a light twin like a Baron or 310 would cost to operate, specifically maintenance. I've been told that the maintenance costs on a twin are four times what they are on a similarly powered single. Is that accurate or an exaggeration? Are there any really bad maintenance hogs that we should stay away from? Any other advice? TIA! -m -- ## Mark T. Dame ## CP-ASEL-IA, CFI-A, AGI/IGI ## insert tail number here ## KHAO, KISZ "Genius is perseverance in disguise." |
#2
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True Cost Of Twin Ownership
On Jul 2, 8:50*am, "Mark T. Dame" wrote:
A friend and I are considering purchasing an airplane sometime in the next year or so and we are looking at high performance singles and light twins. *We're pretty much up to speed on the ownership costs of a Saratoga or similar, but we're not real clear on what a light twin like a Baron or 310 would cost to operate, specifically maintenance. I've been told that the maintenance costs on a twin are four times what they are on a similarly powered single. *Is that accurate or an exaggeration? *Are there any really bad maintenance hogs that we should stay away from? *Any other advice? TIA! -m -- ## Mark T. Dame ## CP-ASEL-IA, CFI-A, AGI/IGI ## insert tail number here ## KHAO, KISZ "Genius is perseverance in disguise." I would say that in general basic twin maintenance costs are probably 2.5 to 4 times a complex single, unless that single is a P210 and the twin is a Seminole. At the very least a twin is never twice what a single is in terms of maintenance costs. The problem with a lot of twins is that they were bought by people who didn't consider all the costs involved. They quickly realize they are close to being in over thier head and try to cut costs as much as they can. Invariably useage and maintenance suffers and the next owner ends up paying the bills. As with any aircraft acquisition a thorough pre purchase inspection by a kowledgeable mechanic will be worth the cost even if you pay for two of them before finding the right airplane. Better to pay now for a regularly flown and well maintained plane or I would also expect to spend two to three years getting the squawks worked out before maintenance costs fall to a regular number. Aircraft to consider staying away from, turbocharged and pressurized types, they are always more maintenance intensive often because access to the interior is inhibited by all the openings being smaller and fewer than a regular version. Anything with geared engines as well; parts and knowledge base on the geared engines are getting few and far between. The Piper Seneca has the advantage of being basically twin engined Saratoga so there is great system and parts commonality and it is not that great leap in terms of maintenance. John Dupre' |
#3
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Quote:
The 310 burns 25 gallons an hour in cruise. At today's prices that's $125 per hour in fuel, so multiply it times 4 and you get $500/per hour. I would say that would be a good ball park figure to work on. |
#4
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True Cost Of Twin Ownership
Mark, if ya gotta ask - ya can't afford it! Last year, my twin cost ~$300 an hour to fly, all up.... I'm working that figure down this year by trying to fly more hours... Hope ot get it to $180, or so... denny |
#5
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True Cost Of Twin Ownership
Denny wrote:
Mark, if ya gotta ask - ya can't afford it! Yeah, I know. But truly, I don't think many of can afford flying these days, but we rationalize it anyway and pretend we can. Last year, my twin cost ~$300 an hour to fly, all up.... I'm working that figure down this year by trying to fly more hours... Hope ot get it to $180, or so... What kind of plane? How many hours did you fly last year? -m -- ## Mark T. Dame ## CP-ASEL-IA, CFI-A, AGI/IGI ## insert tail number here ## KHAO, KISZ "When you write a program to put a new user on the system, whether you call it ``newuser'' or ``adduser'' isn't really important, as long as you don't call it ``whiffenpoof''." -- Unix System Administration, Fiedler and Hunter |
#6
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True Cost Of Twin Ownership
"Mark T. Dame" wrote in message
... A friend and I are considering purchasing an airplane sometime in the next year or so and we are looking at high performance singles and light twins. We're pretty much up to speed on the ownership costs of a Saratoga or similar, but we're not real clear on what a light twin like a Baron or 310 would cost to operate, specifically maintenance. I've been told that the maintenance costs on a twin are four times what they are on a similarly powered single. Is that accurate or an exaggeration? Are there any really bad maintenance hogs that we should stay away from? Any other advice? I've got a buddy that has a Twin Comanche. I'm not really sure what his operating expenses are, but I know he burns about 8gph per side @ about 160kts. Comparing that plane to a complex single equal in speed such as something like a 182 RG and I can't imagine the operating expenses being anywhere close to 4x. 2x maybe. |
#7
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True Cost Of Twin Ownership
On Jul 2, 5:50*am, "Mark T. Dame" wrote:
A friend and I are considering purchasing an airplane sometime in the next year or so and we are looking at high performance singles and light twins. *We're pretty much up to speed on the ownership costs of a Saratoga or similar, but we're not real clear on what a light twin like a Baron or 310 would cost to operate, specifically maintenance. I've been told that the maintenance costs on a twin are four times what they are on a similarly powered single. *Is that accurate or an exaggeration? *Are there any really bad maintenance hogs that we should stay away from? *Any other advice? Call your broker and ask about the insurance rate. That may make up your mind right there. -Robert |
#8
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True Cost Of Twin Ownership
Robert M. Gary wrote:
On Jul 2, 5:50 am, "Mark T. Dame" wrote: A friend and I are considering purchasing an airplane sometime in the next year or so and we are looking at high performance singles and light twins. We're pretty much up to speed on the ownership costs of a Saratoga or similar, but we're not real clear on what a light twin like a Baron or 310 would cost to operate, specifically maintenance. I've been told that the maintenance costs on a twin are four times what they are on a similarly powered single. Is that accurate or an exaggeration? Are there any really bad maintenance hogs that we should stay away from? Any other advice? Call your broker and ask about the insurance rate. That may make up your mind right there. (-: That's definitely a factor, however, the whole point of going with a twin is for extra comfort when flying IFR that if I loose an engine I've got some better options than with a single. Otherwise, a twin doesn't really make any sense. -m -- ## Mark T. Dame ## CP-ASEL-IA, CFI-A, AGI/IGI ## insert tail number here ## KHAO, KISZ "I've got a very bad feeling about this." -- Star Wars: Han Solo |
#9
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True Cost Of Twin Ownership
" when flying IFR that if I loose an engine
I've got some better options than with a single" the accident data does not support that.... On Jul 7, 8:18*am, "Mark T. Dame" wrote: Robert M. Gary wrote: On Jul 2, 5:50 am, "Mark T. Dame" wrote: A friend and I are considering purchasing an airplane sometime in the next year or so and we are looking at high performance singles and light twins. *We're pretty much up to speed on the ownership costs of a Saratoga or similar, but we're not real clear on what a light twin like a Baron or 310 would cost to operate, specifically maintenance. I've been told that the maintenance costs on a twin are four times what they are on a similarly powered single. *Is that accurate or an exaggeration? *Are there any really bad maintenance hogs that we should stay away from? *Any other advice? Call your broker and ask about the insurance rate. That may make up your mind right there. (-: *That's definitely a factor, however, the whole point of going with a twin is for extra comfort when flying IFR that if I loose an engine I've got some better options than with a single. *Otherwise, a twin doesn't really make any sense. -m -- ## Mark T. Dame ## CP-ASEL-IA, CFI-A, AGI/IGI ## insert tail number here ## KHAO, KISZ "I've got a very bad feeling about this." * * * -- Star Wars: *Han Solo |
#10
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True Cost Of Twin Ownership
~^ beancounter ~^ wrote:
" when flying IFR that if I loose an engine I've got some better options than with a single" the accident data does not support that.... Attributions should be left in when you edit. The twin accident statistics are one thing. An individual's skills, judgement and training will cause a specific outcome that may or may not follow the statistics. |
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