When will the cost of flying go down?
- Thread starter stesta5074
- Start date
stesta5074
Well-Known Member
Okay well new motto I guess:
If its spent on airplanes, its not a waste of money!
Thank you for your responses.
If its spent on airplanes, its not a waste of money!
Thank you for your responses.
nkoenig
New Member
Probably more than you think.
surreal1221
Well-Known Member
Or, more retrospective of our own community, you can not afford the $250/mo crashpad expense.
Nihon_Ni
Well-Known Member
When I started flying in 1983 it took me 15 hrs at my minimum wage job to earn the $50 I needed to buy an hour in a C-150. Today 15 hrs at minimum wage will net you about $100, which you can still trade for an hour in a Cessna 150 (if you can find one). The cost of flying is still about the same, it has a different dollar figure attached to it.
stesta5074
Well-Known Member
True that...
I've known a few adults with good jobs who rent their friends guesthouse so they can afford to own a plane.
That said, the cost of everything seems to have exceeded the cost of what people can pay for it - so they accumulate huge debts to do it. Maybe a credit crunch will be a good thing to realign these forces.
Thanks for that
mooneyguy
been around forever
Cost have gone up period. Today the fuel alone for the skipper would be more then $25 an hour, or more. 100ll 10 years ago was running $1.50 a gallon. I remember when around 99/2000 it jumped up to a little over $2 a gallon and the guy i rented from was complaining.
Take into concideration maintenance. the engine alone will require $7.50 per hour. now your
fuel $29 hour (cheapest fuel in my area, 3.50)
$2 per for an annual (figure 30 hours per month on the plane, and a cheap $1000 dollar annual)
insurance $14 per hour (same 30 hour usage a month)
another $2 per hour for oil changes (based on every 25 hours double that if you are paying some one to change the oil)
now we are up to $54.50 and we have not put in fixed cost like facilites, preventive maintenace, repair work.
and what about "profit" for the business? you dont go into business to NOT make a profit.
The cost are unbelievable. I just changed a prop control cable in a mooney m20j $500 just for the cable!
The hardware for an exhuast system (bolt rusted through) Clamp, 3 bolts three springs and a couple other SMALL pieces $400. Because the Government has to bless evey piece(and we really want more government in our life...ok, i will save that for the lav).
I wish there was a 25hr plane to be had.
Timbuff10
Well-Known Member
You mean like "Gold Kit on a Tahoe and Call it an ESCALADE"?
One day, actually, I'd like to buy a share of an airplane. But even that's cost-prohibitive for the most part
Yeah, your average high end SUV like that goes for $60K plus. No reason a solid massed produced airplane can't be put together for that much. Honda can mass produce a Civic that never breaks down and still feels sold after 100,000 miles why can't they throw some wings on something like that?
R
Roger, Roger
Guest
FAA certification. It gobbles money.
drunkenbeagle
Gang Member
Gliders are still pretty cheap. It has been working out to around $25/hour for me.
Better for the environment too
Timbuff10
Well-Known Member
Well yeah, that is kinda what I was getting at. The price of making the plane is probably 25%
of the price they actually end up charing because of all the other paperwork/insurance things that are involved. I am thinking there has to be a way to eliminate all of that stuff and just pay for the plane.
gomntwins
Well-Known Member
Until people stop sueing cessna for crashing their own airplanes, even if the pilot is at fault and found at fault by the FAA, I doubt costs will be going down too much in the near future.
Barty
Well-Known Member
Maintenance and insurance (primarily due to our sue happy society) are probably the biggest two. Fuel hasn't gone up quite enough to cause the huge leap in rental costs that have occurred over the past 10 years.
One thing the FAA could do is streamline the certification process and/or make parts substitution easier, particularly for older aircraft. It is absolutely ridiculous that a part for a certified airplane costs 2-5 times as much as the EXACT same part as someone would install in an experimental. There is just absolutely no excuse for it except that the guys selling the certified parts have a legally protected monopoly and that the FAA and Congress won't do anything to reign in our badly broken tort system.
Barty
Well-Known Member
I was paying $48/hr for a 150 back in 2002. I agree though, it has become next to impossible to find anyone renting a 2 seat airplane anymore, unless it is a DA-20 or other similar new or nearly new airplane.
I don't really care about the age of the airplane as long as it is maintained well and is safe. That's why I don't really understand why some of these schools and clubs just fall all over themselves to buy these new airplanes. IMHO, they're just limiting their overall market, driving people such as myself to seek out clubs offering more affordable aircraft.
PGT
Well-Known Member
Half-yes.
Not everyone in the country is paying $145/hr for a 172. In fact I paid $145/hr for a Piper Lance.
Inverted25
Well-Known Member
Before I even say it I know what JHugz is going to say.. but at skypark you can still rent 150s for around 49 a hour wet.. so there are still deals out there.. as far as owning airplanes... build yourself a experimental.. you cant beat the cost.. we own both cherokee 140 and KR2 built by my uncle.. the KR2 burns around 5 gallons a hour crusing around 160mph.. you cant beat that.. and it is dirt cheap to operate since we built it we can do all the maintence on it.. with the help of a family friend who is a A&P.... so there is still ways to keep cost down.. i'm all for experimental homebuilts.. i would never consider buying a factory airplane again.. you cant get the same bang for the buck
