I am considering picking up a new SR20 and was curious if anyone here could clue me in on what I could expect in annual upkeep/maintenance costs.
This will be my first plane, so before diving head long into this I am really just trying to get my bearing straight on all the additional expenses this will bring aside for the purchase price.
-Ethan
We have had the plane almost 2 years and 240 hours we have spent $38,000.
Insurance $14,400
Hanger $8000
Hanger repair $2500
Fuel $4900
Inspections, repairs, misc $8200
In addition we have a reserve fund of $6000 for TBOs (oil, engine, and prop). That works out to $180 an hour (not including the cost of the plane).
Here’s what has for me worked out to be a fairly thorough list of actual expenses by category. While I don’t own a Cirrus, these would likely approximate costs for an SR20, except that fuel would be about 65-70% of what I state here, and the cost of an annual would likely be ~70% as well. I’m assuming 200 hr/year flight hours. Please forgive the odd arithmetic error…
Fixed costs
Insurance 260K hull, $3M smooth $5800
Parking $1300
Wash & detail 900
Annual inspection 2700
Unanticipated MX 1500
Database & chart subscriptions 600
Property tax 1200
Total fixed costs $14000
Per hour 70.00
Operating costs
Fuel @ 13 gph, $2.60/gal $6760
50 hr inspection (2) 850
Oil changes (3) 600
Total operating costs $8210
Per hour 41.05
Reserves (or ~depreciation if you sell early)
Engine overhaul @$20/hr $4000
Avionics @$2000/yr 2000
Interior @$1000/yr 1000
Paint @$1500/year 1500
Prop @$5/hr 1000
Total reserves $9500
Per hour 47.5
Subtotal $31710
Per hour 158.55
Capital
Income not earned on capital investment
$260K @3.0% (after tax) $7800
Per hour 39.00
Grand Total cost $39510
Grand Total cost/hr ~ $198
When you include everything, the cost of ownership is eye-popping. I could rent an SR20 for $20-30/hr less at West Valley Flying Club, or an SR22 for $20-30 /hr more, and when I park it and hand in the keys, it would be someone else’s concern. I may yet decide to go back to renting!
But on the other hand, I wouldn’t have the personal satisfaction and flexibility of owning. Each person has to calibrate for themselves what the latter is worth.
Like most panels, filled with varioius goodies, I average one instrument/nav “tweaking, repair, nuisance” per year. What has been the maintenace/cost experience with the Avidyne(or other)screens. Once they are out of warranty,expected costs? It is easy to pop out a nav/com/gps unit out of the center stack. Primary flight instruments are tougher with labor costs, but you can often still fly VFR without them all.
Does the Avidyne(or any of those large MFD’s/flight directors) have to be “popped out” to be fixed? If so, sounds like the plane is grounded if there is not an overnite turnaround exchange unit available.
thanks for the info.
When considering the ownership costs discussed here remember that the cost of the money is a substantial expense of airplane ownership. Many of the examples here are about planes covered under warranty for a good part of the period for which costs are presented. Mason Holland has created a great spreadsheet that is useful for projecting costs. You can plug and chug your own “cost of money” with the spreadsheet.Clark
Thanks for the quick reply. That gives me a good idea. I am getting ready to buy a new house (spring), and if it really costs basically $800 for a hanger I think I could buy the extra land, set up my own strip and hanger and roll it into my mortgage for less than $800/mo! Is it super difficult to get approved for your own small airstrip? I assume you would have to go through the FAA?
I’m already used to storing various fuels in 55 gallon drums around my garage for my race car, so storing jet fuel wouldn’t bother me a whole lot, and I could move my other fuel to the hanger too!
Thanks again for the reply.
-Ethan
.
How about you hire me to pave the runway and I can pay for all my flying for ayear on the profits from that. Thanks remember where dago we go. LOL Don
Yeah, I thought about that right after I posted and realized how ignorant tha post was but didn’t know how to edit posts on this board:)
Oh well!
-Ethan
Bill,
I was wondering who’d be the one to tell him… you were on my short list! [:)]
In reply to:
didn’t know how to edit posts on this board.
Ethan,
Open the post you want to edit. Next to the Reply button is an Edit button. [;)]
I see the light! This board is just set up quite a bit different than every other board I am on… Most of the boards I am on or moderate show all the posts at once under that specific topic, so you would have to click on that one specific post to bring up the edit function…
Sorry again, but it doesn’t negate the original question! Anyone else have experience they would like to share as far as annual upkeep goes?
-Ethan
In reply to:
Anyone else have experience they would like to share as far as annual upkeep goes?
Ethan,
Sure - I can give you data from almost 3 years of SR20 ownership… Numbers are annual.
Insurance** - $ 4,000
Hangar - $ 6,000
Annuals (average of 3) - $ 1,100
Fuel - $ 8,800
Routine mx (oil changes, etc.) - $ 280
Unplanned mx - $ 1,100
Database subscriptions - $ 440
TOTAL $21,720
** 1 Mil smooth; I carried additional insurance, not reflected here; insurance rates vary widely depending on many factors.
Total hours flown annually: 320
Cost per hour, wet: $67.87
What might make my situation a little more interesting is that I sold my airplane at the end, for about $15K less than what I put into it. Factoring that $15K into the equation adds roughly $16/hour to the cost of owning and operating my SR20, for a grand total of $79,477, or $83.66/hour for the duration of my ownership.
In reply to:
Most of the boards I am on or moderate show all the posts at once under that specific topi
Click “Flat” at the top of the messages and it will probably look more familiar. You can adjust your default in the forum Control Panel.
Tim
In reply to:
Ethan,
Sure - I can give you data from almost 3 years of SR20 ownership… Numbers are annual.
Insurance** - $ 4,000Hangar - $ 6,000Annuals (average of 3) - $ 1,100 Fuel - $ 8,800 Routine mx (oil changes, etc.) - $ 280Unplanned mx - $ 1,100Database subscriptions - $ 440 TOTAL $21,720
** 1 Mil smooth; I carried additional insurance, not reflected here; insurance rates vary widely depending on many factors.
Total hours flown annually: 320
Cost per hour, wet: $67.87What might make my situation a little more interesting is that I sold my airplane at the end, for about $15K less than what I put into it. Factoring that $15K into the equation adds roughly $16/hour to the cost of owning and operating my SR20, for a grand total of $79,477, or $83.66/hour for the duration of my ownership.
- Mike.
Mike-
Thanks for the input. One of the reasons that these planes interested me so much is how well they seem to hold value, and it seems your story definately goes in line with what I have come to expect as far as value dropping… It barely does!
-Ethan
In reply to:
Click “Flat” at the top of the messages and it will probably look more familiar. You can adjust your default in the forum Control Panel.
Tim
Awesome! Thanks for the tip, it is looking MUCH more familiar now:)
-Ethan
In reply to:
One of the reasons that these planes interested me so much is how well they seem to hold value, and it seems your story definately goes in line with what I have come to expect as far as value dropping… It barely does!
Ethan,
My SR22 cost me $335,000 in May 02, it is worth $270,000 now, I for one expected this. That is close to 20% in one year. Most new planes have a depreciation curve of some 5-8 years before an upswing. New plane prices need to rise a little faster for our planes to hold their current value after purchase.
Great planes good luck!
Mason
In reply to:
One of the reasons that these planes interested me so much is how well they seem to hold value, and it seems your story definately goes in line with what I have come to expect as far as value dropping… It barely does!
Ethan,
I think that my case was unusual – there was a pretty substantial price increase in the SR20 shortly after I bought mine, and that helped a lot. The depreciation should have been more - I was lucky.
In reply to:
Ethan,
My SR22 cost me $335,000 in May 02, it is worth $270,000 now, I for one expected this. That is close to 20% in one year. Most new planes have a depreciation curve of some 5-8 years before an upswing. New plane prices need to rise a little faster for our planes to hold their current value after purchase.
Great planes good luck!
Mason
You don’t expect it to continue to drop at 20% annually do you? I would expect almost anything new to drop 20-30% immediately as soon as you buy it, but after that it seems that airplanes (from what I have seen, but you guys obviously have much more experience than I) really level off much quicker than cars and the depreciation rate slows considerably.
It looks like tomorrow’s the day for Don. Congratulations–I hope it exceeds your expectations! Have fun and great flying!