Hello all. I am forming a partnership for a new or used SR22 (ADS or TKI if you’re interested) and have computed to the best of my ability, the fixed monthly costs broken down for potential partners. However, I figured this would be the best place to ask about hourly costs. The two figures I am using for this are the hourly rate to pay for engine reserves and an hourly rate for maintenace reserves. Could I get some input on costs for these variables? Thanks in advance.
Here are some thoughts about the maintenance reserve:
Get an estimate for the cost of an oil and filter change from the shop where you will most often have it done. If you change your oil every 50 hours, add 1/50th of the estimate to your hourly cost.
The annual inspection could be considered as a fixed cost. The average seems to be running about $1,000 for the inspection (not including any repairs). You could contact the Service Center you plan to use for an estimate.
If the plane will be flown more than about 200 hours a year, you might also want to consider getting an inspection about halfway through the year. This is both for safety and for catching small problems before they become big problems. Some people are using the 100-hour inspection for this purpose, and once again, a Service Center should be able to provide an estimate for the labor involved.
For the engine, you will need the cost of an overhauled or new engine. If you fly the plane often and maintain it well, you might make it to TBO (2,000 hours). It’s too soon to tell if the average plane will make it to TBO, but I wouldn’t count on going past TBO. If you wanted to be conservative, count on overhauling all the cylinders halfway to TBO.
Like all aircraft, the SR22 has life-limited parts. For example, the magnetos should be serviced at 500 hours. The parachute needs to be serviced after 10 years. The Maintenance Manual lists all of those parts, and their limits. If you read on, I’ll tell you how to get a copy of the Maintenance Manual.
Another cost consideration is the warranty. Cirrus has been generally very liberal in covering repairs under warranty. While the warranty is in effect, your “unplanned maintenance” costs will be much lower. You might want to factor in the warranty period when deciding between a new or used airplane.
The most important item in your annual budget should be $50 for COPA membership. The members are some of the most knowledgeable, smart, nice, and helpful people you’ll ever meet (and just to keep it interesting, they let a couple of us jerks in, too). As a bonus, members can download the Maintenance Manual, the POH, avionics manuals and more. Without a doubt, COPA membership is the best bargain in aviation.
We hope to be welcoming you to the ranks of full COPA membership and Cirrus ownership soon!
-Mike
I bought a new SR22 in December 2003 with three other partners and right off the bat we decided not to figure fixed costs into the hourly rate. Total fixed costs for us in Canada with insurance is about $20,000.00 So we each put in 5M at the beginning of the year. Then our hourly rate is…here it comes…“Just fuel.” That’s it. How about oil? How much oil can this plane burn? A couple of gallons? 5 or 10 gallons? Heck, I told the other partners I’d pay for all the oil. We bite the bullet in January and fly for cheap the rest of the year. It’s all in the head anyway. And what a great plane. It’s worth every dollar we spent and I look forward to a great year of flying. In fact, I have a live camera in the hangar. Check it out at wsa.hbni.ca
For the modest investment of a COPA membership, you can view on the members side of the fence a spreadsheet I worked up for this same purpose…just search under “operating costs”…
Good Luck!
Thanks for replying. I do have the annual as a fixed cost and using conservative numbers (many of which I got from going through the many threads) I calculated it using $1500.
Some follow-up questions to your reply.
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How much IS a new engine or an overhaul? This would be my first plane, but I assume this type engine has been around a while so I assume some people should know the #s.
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10 years is a long time down the road, but what kind of servicing will the chute need?
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What would a typical 100 hour inspection run compared to the annual?
It’s nice to think that they are good about handling warranty issues, but reading some of the posts on here, there seem to be some exceptions. If things work out in getting one, hopefully my experience will be positive. In any case, the warranty is part of the decision making process. By the way, I assume the warranty is fully transferable from one owner to another?
In reply to:
- How much IS a new engine or an overhaul? This would be my first plane, but I assume this type engine has been around a while so I assume some people should know the #s.
Just for a ballpark figure, http://www.factoryengines.com lists the IO-550N at $32,234 new or $27,409 rebuilt. They don’t list an overhauled price. I’m not 100% sure that is the SR22 engine (I don’t have one) but it’s probably close.
In reply to:
- What would a typical 100 hour inspection run compared to the annual?
Depends. Typically, many SCs do essentially a full annual inspection if you ask for a “100 hour inspection”, so the price is essentially the same. Obviously, since a 100 hour inspection is not mandatory, you can ask for specific things to be left out, which will affect the price accordingly.
In reply to:
10 years is a long time down the road, but what kind of servicing will the chute need?
As I understand it, on all models prior to the G2, the chute has to be removed via the exit hole on the top of the fuselage, repacked, and replaced. I believe that on G2 models, the chute can be serviced without removing the blow-off hatch.
-Mike
Great info! This should really help me refine my estimated hourly costs. Thanks!
Pretty slick. I’ll just link to this and daydream until I get one for myself!