Cost of operation

Guest Discussion
1

I’m looking at buying either a SR20 or SR22. In an effort to buy the plane AND keep my marriage intact :slight_smile: I’m doing some research on the operating cost involved in either aircraft.

I’d like to have a ballpark figure for:

Routine maintenance schedule + cost

Insurance cost

If anyone has calculated a per hour operating cost

Any other info will be appreciated.

Thanks

Heinrich

2

If you search the archives using whatever terms you want this has been discussed in great depth. All the info is there already.

I’m looking at buying either a SR20 or SR22. In an effort to buy the plane AND keep my marriage intact :slight_smile: I’m doing some research on the operating cost involved in either aircraft.

I’d like to have a ballpark figure for:

Routine maintenance schedule + cost

Insurance cost

If anyone has calculated a per hour operating cost

Any other info will be appreciated.

Thanks

Heinrich

3

I’m looking at buying either a SR20 or SR22. In an effort to buy the plane AND keep my marriage intact :slight_smile: I’m doing some research on the operating cost involved in either aircraft.

I’d like to have a ballpark figure for:

It is cheaper and easier to have a 20 than to have the wife! Just a thought for a quick guideline…Ed

Routine maintenance schedule + cost

Insurance cost

If anyone has calculated a per hour operating cost

Any other info will be appreciated.

Thanks

Heinrich

4

If you search the archives using whatever terms you want this has been discussed in great depth. All the info is there already.

I’m looking at buying either a SR20 or SR22. In an effort to buy the plane AND keep my marriage intact :slight_smile: I’m doing some research on the operating cost involved in either aircraft.

I’d like to have a ballpark figure for:

Routine maintenance schedule + cost

Insurance cost

If anyone has calculated a per hour operating cost

Any other info will be appreciated.

Thanks

Heinrich

This will vary greatly with your geographical location, hangar vs tiedown, envisioned level of owner meticulousness, etc. Also, how many hours per year will you fly? Below 75-100 hr/year count on it being VERY expensive per hour. Some items to consider, then you just have to do the legwork to find out your local costs:

*Insurance

*Storage (tiedown or hangar)

*Fuel per hour (10 gph for an SR20?)

*Annual inspection (probably not much more than the shop’s flat rate for the first several years on a new Cirrus, but like any other plane, unexpected costs will crop up as you go past 300-400 hr and get out of warranty)

*50 hr inspections if any

*Oil changes

*Aircraft cleaning and detailing (monthly? less?)

*Consumables (landing light, tires, other)

*Personal property and any other taxes (can be 1% of value or more!)

Those are the “tangibles”

“Intangibles” (guesses, figuring 200 hr per year flying):

*Engine overhaul reserve ($15/hr?)

*Prop overhaul reserve ($5/hr?)

*Avionics upgrade/repair reserve ($10/hr?)

*Paint and interior reserve ($6-8/hr)

WARNING this can get to be a depressing exercise, so don’t so too much of it. You should be buying a plane more because it’s a passion, source of satisfaction, enjoyment, etc. than because it has any hope of making economic sense.

I do not own a Cirrus but friends who own SR20s–all still under warranty–have cited hourly costs as low as $80 and as high as $120-130. Not sure if they’re including the “intangibles” mentioned above. My own plane (a Peterson-modified C182) cost about $145/hr last year for ~190 hr. However, the annual was VERY expensive due to my deciding to fix some elective things and due to the shop’s performing some recurring ADs that were NOT applicable to my plane :frowning: which I don’t expect to be repeated next year. With a more routine annual inspection cost, overall it would have been $120-$130/hr. Note that I carry a lot of insurance, so that adds to the cost too.

5

I just did a search, on “Cost of operation”, and it showed a lot of postings that weren’t on the topic. I expected the search to be like a Google search, but I guess it hit a lot of articles with “of” or something. Suggestions are welcome on how to better use the search function.

Anyway, we need to keep FAQ’s for stuff like this.

Also, I’ve never seen in any posting describing the allowance for the Squibs (about $800 every three years) and the CAPS (about $12,000 every ten years). Maybe it is there, I haven’t read every article.

I hope there is some pressure on BRS and Cirrus to reduce the cost of the new CAPS. The $12k was an unofficial estimate from someone at Cirrus. Has anyone heard any other estimates for these components?

Robert Bedichek

If you search the archives using whatever terms you want this has been discussed in great depth. All the info is there already.

I’m looking at buying either a SR20 or SR22. In an effort to buy the plane AND keep my marriage intact :slight_smile: I’m doing some research on the operating cost involved in either aircraft.

I’d like to have a ballpark figure for:

Routine maintenance schedule + cost

Insurance cost

If anyone has calculated a per hour operating cost

Any other info will be appreciated.

Thanks

Heinrich

6

WARNING this can get to be a depressing exercise, so don’t so too much of it. You should be buying a plane more because it’s a passion, source of satisfaction, enjoyment, etc. than because it has any hope of making economic sense.

Oh, and just to be REALLY thorough, be sure to count the cost of either (a) the interest you’re paying financing the aircraft purchase, or (b) the interest/investment income you would have earned on the cash you used to purchase your dream machine.

Actually (b) may be somewhat tongue-in-cheek. Cirri don’t seem to be depreciating, and my own plane has probably appreciated 10-12% in the last year. That’s better than I did on most of my other “investments” in 2000. :slight_smile:

7

Thanks Kevin

This will give me a good starting point. Yes I agree, in this case too much calculating can be a bad thing. Unfortunately I’m one of those people who has to research something to death before I do it.

Thanks again !!

8

That $12,000. probably about $50,000 in 20 years, might be a cause of concern to those buying or selling 20 year old Cirri. That could be a substantial part of its value. For example, imagine paying $12,000 in today’s dollars to keep your 1979 Cessna 172 or 1978 Archer’s parachute up to speed. That’s almost a rebuild of the engine. It has to have an effect on its market value.

Also, I’ve never seen in any posting describing the allowance for the Squibs (about $800 every three years) and the CAPS (about $12,000 every ten years). Maybe it is there, I haven’t read every article.

I hope there is some pressure on BRS and Cirrus to reduce the cost of the new CAPS. The $12k was an unofficial estimate from someone at Cirrus. Has anyone heard any other estimates for these components?

Robert Bedichek

If you search the archives using whatever terms you want this has been discussed in great depth. All the info is there already.

I’m looking at buying either a SR20 or SR22. In an effort to buy the plane AND keep my marriage intact :slight_smile: I’m doing some research on the operating cost involved in either aircraft.

I’d like to have a ballpark figure for:

Routine maintenance schedule + cost

Insurance cost

If anyone has calculated a per hour operating cost

Any other info will be appreciated.

Thanks

Heinrich

9

Also, I’ve never seen in any posting describing the allowance for the Squibs (about $800 every three years) and the CAPS (about $12,000 every ten years). Maybe it is there, I haven’t read every article.

I just received an EMail response from Gregg Ellsworth at BRS as follows:

" At the present time the Cirrus system will require a repack and a new rocket moter at 10 year intervals. The cost would be approx $3500."

That is a lot cheaper than the cost of the Garmin/Jepp updates over the same period.

JD

10

Whew! Thanks for the information!

I got mine from someone who should have been authoritative at Cirrus, but I think your information is better.

Any word on how much the Squibs (line-cutter charges which fire 8 seconds after main parachute deployment) will be?

Also, I’ve never seen in any posting describing the allowance for the Squibs (about $800 every three years) and the CAPS (about $12,000 every ten years). Maybe it is there, I haven’t read every article.

I just received an EMail response from Gregg Ellsworth at BRS as follows:

" At the present time the Cirrus system will require a repack and a new rocket moter at 10 year intervals. The cost would be approx $3500."

That is a lot cheaper than the cost of the Garmin/Jepp updates over the same period.

JD

11

Any word on how much the Squibs (line-cutter charges which fire 8 seconds after main parachute deployment) will be?

I don’t think that is really a concern. If they have fired, your plane is probably unusaable ( & if you are still in one piece I don’t think you’d really care what the cost was).

On the 10 year refurbishment I would think ever usable component would be replaced, not just the rocket & repack.

JD

12

Someone at Cirrus told me that the squibs had to be replaced every three years.

Any word on how much the Squibs (line-cutter charges which fire 8 seconds after main parachute deployment) will be?

I don’t think that is really a concern. If they have fired, your plane is probably unusaable ( & if you are still in one piece I don’t think you’d really care what the cost was).

On the 10 year refurbishment I would think ever usable component would be replaced, not just the rocket & repack.

JD