Owning an SR20 or SR22 Monthly maintenance costs

[kwmoore (Kevin Moore)]

Roger Whittier wrote the following post at Sat, Jan 20 2018 13:17:
IMO, it rarely makes financial sense to own a plane. Usually if it does it is tied to business use and the financial incentives with taxes coupled with additional business it brings.

I own an airplane because I am want the lifestyle associated with it. I want unfettered access to the use of it and I love all aspects of it. Maintenance is fun, as long as you don’t consider it a chore. Last minute deciding to fly to breakfast.

The utility of the use can analyzed as worth it vs whatever alternative you like. The pride of ownership and all it brings cannot.

via iCopa

As usual, Roger nails the essence of the issue. Viewed solely through the lens of cost, it’s less expensive to rent than own until you’re flying at least 150-200 hr annually. Of course, this depends on each individual airframe and how much of a maintenance hog it is.

If you can expense part of the ownership and flying costs to a business, that can change the calculus significantly.

Ownership is a lifestyle decision as others have pointed out. The plane is yours, it’s available whenever you want to fly, you know how it’s been treated, and the avionics are configured/set up exactly the way you want. You can keep it looking sharp, as opposed to many bug-encrusted rentals with french fries ground into the carpets. Only you can quantify a personal value for that.

Of course, maintenance and unexpected things-to-fix can be a pain. Finding maintenance that I could trust was THE most frustrating part of ownership for me. If you buy used, make sure that the maintenance logs show a largely trouble-free plane with no recurring issues. You may have to look at many candidates to find one like this.

I rented for ~1200 hr and owned for ~1400 hr (not a Cirrus), the latter ranging from 130-230 annual flight hours. I enjoyed all of it but by far the most enjoyment came from owning. “Pride of ownership” was strong with me. YMMV of course.

I finally found a local MD who will do BasicMed exams/signoffs. Assuming I meet his standards, I will once again be medically qualified to fly. However I’m not sure about the renting thing, except for going through BFR and IPC. If I resume flying it will be because I can afford to fly as much as I want, whenever I want, and where I want, including longer trips. At my age, I likely only have 8-10 years of even BasicMed-quality health remaining.

My own plan to support this financially will be to set aside a fixed amount of money, use 1/4 to 1/3 of it to purchase a plane, then fly until the rest is gone.

[nmishra (Nach Mishra)]

At my age, I likely only have 8-10 years of even BasicMed-quality health remaining.

Hi Kevin,

You could always get into Glider if you ever lose your medical. But, on that note, my PPL instructor , who then was 75 is still going strong and I think, will be flying and teaching into his late 80s. So, age is just a number.

[Roger_Whittier]

I finally found a local MD who will do BasicMed exams/signoffs. Assuming I meet his standards, I will once again be medically qualified to fly. However I’m not sure about the renting thing, except for going through BFR and IPC. If I resume flying it will be because I can afford to fly as much as I want, whenever I want, and where I want, including longer trips. At my age, I likely only have 8-10 years of even BasicMed-quality health remaining

Kevin,

Best of luck with getting through BasicMed and returning to flying.

[Wildair2017 (CARLOS Wild)]

I am lucky in my 50/50 partnership in my Sr22. I fly 120 a year at the least. My partner maybe few hours a month. So basically I take care of the plane. We have a full time AP that he has working on his Flight school planes so it very helpful. I do basic maintenance my self. I do use the the plane for business as well and do charity flights. So i do use it for tax purposes. In my situation break even point was 80 hours a year. So owning is the way to go for my situation. It nice having access to the plane anytime I want it and for as long as i want. I also know how the plane is being flown as well. It’s easy to ask around and get opinions. Many many knowledgeable folks on this site. Just make the best decision based on your situation and comfort. Partnership can be a great start into ownership but it can be a horror story as well lol.

[Spholder (Scott Holder)]

3 partners cuts your hourly cost roughly in half and at 80 hours per year I doubt you’ll ever have a scheduling conflict.

This is how we run our 2006 TN. Almost never an issue with the schedule and the right partners.

[aniemyer (Andrew Niemyer)]

[kwmoore (Kevin Moore)]

Nach Mishra wrote the following post at Sun, Jan 21 2018 11:22:

At my age, I likely only have 8-10 years of even BasicMed-quality health remaining.

Hi Kevin,

You could always get into Glider if you ever lose your medical. But, on that note, my PPL instructor , who then was 75 is still going strong and I think, will be flying and teaching into his late 80s. So, age is just a number.

Sure, age is a number. However each individual’s personal and family health histories have a significant influence on the “health age” as opposed to numerical age. Perhaps I should have phrased it something like, “Considering my personal and family health histories, I likely have only 8-10 years of even BasicMed-quality health remaining.” Of course I will be happy if this turns out to be a too pessimistic assessment.