AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2013 - 82

P&E

OWNERSHIP

COMPARING OPERATING COSTS
Matthew Peacock’s Cessna 150L:

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Discount applies to base rate only. Up to 25% discount applies to participating locations.
Discount varies by rental date, location and vehicle type. Taxes, other governmentally-authorized
or imposed surcharges (including GST), license and concession recoupment fees, airport and
airport facility fees, fuel, additional driver fee, one-way rental charge and optional items (such
as LDW up to US $30 per day) are extra. In the US check your insurance and/or credit card for
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advance reservation required. May not be combined with other discounts. Availability is limited.
Subject to change without notice. Unlimited miles offer available only at participating locations.
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Rental aircraft: $100 an hour (wet)

Rent: Total cost of 70 hours
of rental | $7,000

Own: Total cost for 100 hours over
a year | $6,600*

Rent: Total cost of 100 hours
of rental | $10,000

* presumes no opportunity or financing costs under the assumption that an airplane such
as a Cessna 150 can be sold within a year for about what it was bought for if used for about
80 hours of flight training time.

it would be worth today. Like starter houses,
starter airplanes will always be in demand.
For other models, the market is too hard
to predict. In general, an older light single-engine will retain most of its value over
the time it takes to earn a pilot certificate.
Peacock also paid cash, thus saving the
financing fee. Even if he had financed—at,
say, 5.5 percent for 15 years with a 15-percent down payment, the monthly payment
would be only $153.79, or $1,845 a year.
There are many other variables, some
of which the owner has little control over.
Unscheduled maintenance is a big one. “I’ve
been lucky,” says Peacock. “The biggest
expense I had was replacing a magneto.”
The fact that he purchased the airplane
sight unseen on eBay makes him even luckier. A solid prepurchase inspection can
help prevent surprises, but something can
always crop up. If that does happen, you
have to work at controlling costs. Peacock’s
mechanic is a friend, and Peacock sometimes helps with the work. He also controls
his fixed costs. Hangar rent is $100 a month
and his annual and insurance are about
$600 each. Keeping the airplane in a hangar in other parts of the country could add
another $400 or $500 a month. Tiedowns
often are less expensive, and shopping
around for maintenance, performing an
owner-assisted annual, and all sorts of other
tricks can add up to save a lot each year.
82 | AOPA PILOT May 2013

The irony of all this is that money didn’t
matter to Peacock. That’s not to say he
could have purchased anything he wanted.
Working as a nurse and being a single dad
resulted in certain constraints. Buying was
much more about access to the airplane
than it was the prospect of saving money.
“I liked the idea of flying my own airplane
and flying it when I wanted to fly it,” he says.
That, combined with the state of his available rental airplane, convinced Peacock to
buy. He now uses the 150 to fly all around
the country, including when he travels
around the region for his job.
Shari Meyer didn’t have many rental
options when she purchased her first airplane 23 years ago. Meyer bought a Mooney
252 with exactly one hour in her logbook.
Today she owns a very light jet. “I did not
feel rental was an option as I was taking
lessons at a very small, Podunk airport that
only had a 152 and 172 to rent,” she says.
“They were extremely old and I didn’t
feel safe in either. Besides, I felt if I spent
money on an airplane, that would guarantee I would stick to the entire flying goal.”
Money may be the root of all evil, but
saving it is the route to a better training
aircraft, a stronger connection to aviation—and in many cases, some advanced
training.
AOPA
EMAIL ian.twombly@aopa.org

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AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2013

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2013