SE Piston MX reserves?

slushie

F2TH C56X C500
I'm still trying to gather info on a 1980's c172.
Anyone willing to share their invaluable knowledge on reserves?
I know I would need to have $15k ready to go by TBO.
That makes it $15/hr on a mid-time engine.
But how much would an annual cost? How much should I save per hour for avionics and airframe, etc?
Someone told me fuel flow x2 is a good number for total mx reserves, but I'm sceptical.

I've been google-ing and clicking links for a couple hours here to no avail.

thanks
 
An annual can run anywhere from $1500-3000 depending on ADs, ect. As for keeping a mx fund, I'd advise you to put away about $50 per flight hour in addition to fuel and preventative mx. That is what I did and it worked out pretty good.
 
meritflyer said:
An annual can run anywhere from $1500-3000 depending on ADs, ect. As for keeping a mx fund, I'd advise you to put away about $50 per flight hour in addition to fuel and preventative mx. That is what I did and it worked out pretty good.
$50/hr?!?!?!? :eek: on a 172? I'm certain that would leave you enough money for every aspect of mx, but that's a lot... to me.

See part of this info is for a businees plan I have to put together for a class.
If I was leasing it to a school, I don't think I could get much more than $60/hr rent if they paid for gas/insurance.

A very conservative point though, and thank you. Maybe I can make something close to that happen.
 
Maybe not $50 on a 172. I save $50 a flight hour on my PA-28 because I also have a constant speed prop and gear to overhaul and fix.

Also keep in mind, airplanes break. My MAP indicator went out.. $900 for the overhaul and re-installation. My baggage compartment had a small crack.. $650 for the repair. My DG went out.. $1125 for a new one with installation.

Your annual may present alot of unschedules surprises. My very best friend has a '56 182 conversion. At his annual, he had major front gear and engine mount issues. Re-build.. $15,000.

Better safe than sorry.
 
meritflyer said:
Maybe not $50 on a 172. I save $50 a flight hour on my PA-28 because I also have a constant speed prop and gear to overhaul and fix.

Also keep in mind, airplanes break. My MAP indicator went out.. $900 for the overhaul and re-installation. My baggage compartment had a small crack.. $650 for the repair. My DG went out.. $1125 for a new one with installation.

Your annual may present alot of unschedules surprises. My very best friend has a '56 182 conversion. At his annual, he had major front gear and engine mount issues. Re-build.. $15,000.

Better safe than sorry.

As part of the business plan, I will have about $10,000 in reserves from day one to cover those expenses that happen before I have enough ready. Hopefully I can get this in the form of a line of credit instead of including it in the loan. Thanks for your input. I've heard the mantra "Airplanes are money pits" so many times. But I guess you never really know until you have to pay the bill.
 
H2AD engine in the 1980 isn't approved for autofuel. Get a 1976 or older M model and you can save money buy burning autofuel. I had a 75 M model, 150hp, burn autofuel in it for 2000 hours and it ran great.
 
DE727UPS said:
H2AD engine in the 1980 isn't approved for autofuel. Get a 1976 or older M model and you can save money buy burning autofuel. I had a 75 M model, 150hp, burn autofuel in it for 2000 hours and it ran great.

You really ran mogas for 2000 hours?

we put that stuff in our 150's every now and then and they seem to run a bit fudgy. Also, it seems to burn more gal/hr on mogas, which starts to eat up the savings. I just want to be familiar with every possible aspect of this venture so I can be confident in my numbers.
 
Back
Top