trading my 84 GTB for an airplane

Cost of owning a plane comes in a variety of areas:

- Buying the plane (probably check out Trade-a-plane for current market prices of the models you're thinking about).

- As with a Ferrari, best to get a pre-purchase inspection by an independent mechanic so you cover the essentials and know what you're buying; other factors include use history (training versus club/group versus individual owner), damage history, hours on airframe, hours on engine, hours on prop, current logbooks, etc. Cost of a good PPI is likely several hundred $.

- Bringing the plane up to snuff for something you would want to fly, even if it "passes" a PPI (when I bought my plane, it was in "good" condition, but even so little things happened regarding air pumps, alternators, battery, etc; so I finally bit the bullet after 1 year and told my mechanic, go through and replace with new/rebuilt everything that hasn't been done in the last 2-3 years); cost variable, but you might budget $5K for a moderate list.

- Annual maintenance is required; cost could be $1-2K for non-complex single-engine airplanes, depends on model and whether the mechanic lets you help (some will let you save a few hours off the bill for taking panels off, seats out, etc). Expect the annual could find items requiring service/repair and that could be another $1-5K. Oil changes depends on hours and if you put the plane on leaseback at an FBO, but usually not too expensive. As an owner you're also allowed to do a few simple things, like oil changes, light bulb replacement, etc.

- Research the typical use life and overhaul costs for your engine TBOH (time before overhaul), actual experience can differ from rating which ranged from 1600-2000 hours from the models I considered. If you have a new engine, you can start an engine reserve fund, if you have an engine with some history, you'll want to discount the purchase price appropriately and put the cash aside for an overhaul. Engines aren't cheap and hourly reserves are one of the biggest cost items.

- Other expenses include tie-down/hangar; call your prospective airport and get rates for those; could be $50-200 for a tie-down and $250-500 for a hangar (rates at airports I used); waxing, cleaning, etc.

As an example of what kind of costs to expect, I would check rates for the model airplane you're thinking about at nearby FBO's. I found that my total costs, including reserves, averaged on a per engine hour basis with a usage of 150-200 hours per year were similar to rental rates for comparable airplanes (assume tie-down costs for apples-apples). Above that amount of use, I saved versus renting and below that it cost more than renting. For light hours, less than 100 per year, it was way more expensive to own than rent. The benefits of owning included: no booking problems, a known condition airplane and a nicer airplane/panel than available under rental. One way to reduce costs is to put the plane on leaseback, but there are a lot of issues with that and none of the owners I knew would consider it for their planes.

 

Excellent summary preceeding.
The Warrior is an excellent aircraft, and more fun than any Ferrari.
Good luck!

 

Everything Ylshih is is spot on! I went with a retractable Piper, and before the purchase I obtained a detailed report of everything that needed to be done to the aircraft. I was able to get a good estimate of what the service would run and talked the previous owner down accordingly. Otherwise, I would have spent 14.6% of the initial purchase price on just the gear immediately after buying the plane.

Now, I'm getting ready to drop another $1200 to get rid of a prop hub A/D...and $2400 on new LoPresti wingtips with HID landing lights...and $2-300 for a new turn coordinator...and who knows what for some new upholstery...and while Im at it the LoPresti gear doors look nice...sound familiar?

Best of luck! Out of curiosity, what are you looking to get for your GTB? You can PM me if you don't want to blab it out on here. Thanks!

 

I have a Piper Dakota ( PA 28 236) . Great aircraft, dependable, beginning of high performance and complex. This year made a stupid mistake on an annual that cost 10,500.00. Taken to the cleaners as I was not paying attention and went to FBO with no scruples. Just getting back into flying after my accident 2 yrs ago. Will go up for the first time Sat.
Docf

 

Ummmph! That hurt. They should be shot!! Hope the joy of flying again erases at least some of that bad taste, though!

308, have you considered the Cherokee 180? There are a lot of nice examples (some with high total time, but low time engines) out there right now that would be in line with or very near what you may be selling your F-car for. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong, but I think the 180s have a good amount of utility and are decently fast and economical for an older fixed gear single. IMO your asking price for the QV sounds good (depending upon condition, belts, and mileage, of course). Heck, if you decide to sell it let me know! Can't make any promises, but I MAY be selling my Cayman S to go a bit more classic sometime soon...

 

I fly piper warriors on a daily basis, I will say you are correct on stall recovery they are very docile. The aircraft overall is very docile and easy to fly, I have been in some landing situations with students that i thought for sure was gonna bust somthing but the airframe took it in stride. Its a very hardy and strong training aircraft. However i feel that they are a little slow. A realistic cruise speed is about 104knots, and if you have any kind of a head wind there goes your ground speed. They are very light on fuel consumption (around 8 GPH) On hot days like last week here in North Dakota (95 degrees) you will struggle to get more than 500 FPM climb with 2 people on board. With that said I do love the planes they are fun to fly next to impossible to screw up, stable and reliable. In the pictures of the one you are looking at the first thing that I noticed (its small but still) is the left arm rest, the covering is gone off the front half. I have litteraly worn my arm raw to the point of bleeding on that sharp edge. I highly suggest at least upholstering the arm rest in something soft and durable. I dont know what your price range is but UND is selling 6 Warriors right now all have full IFR and dual GPS/VOR and adf, pretty much anything you would need for flying, the times are high but our maintenance is top notch.
http://www.aero.und.nodak.edu/aircraft4sale/warriors.aspx

THe biggest thing is what you are doing right now, Research!!!! and it sounds like you know what you want and how you want it so just wait until that one comes up.

 

+1!!!

308, Wow, 91K? NICE! Kudos to you for driving the car and maintaining it well.

 

Mr Holdbrooke,

- Would you have any idea of what a 1984 Ferrari 308 GTB annual maintenance costs ?
- As you mentioned, you had it for three years and just wondering about who can do oil changes and minor repairs?

Thanks a lot for your time,

Just an other Ferrari afficionado

 

Chupa,

A decent Cherokee 180 costs anywhere from $40 to $60,000 depending on year and condition. I believe Milano mentioned that the 308 is at $28 to $31,000. Again not sure how much will the high mileage cost...

 

WOW !!!! $17k is no small change. What is the color of the vehicle? Is it a coupe or convertible? Targa top? Interior?

 

I've seen a few nice ones out there (some with 2-3000 hrs.) from $35-40K . Granted, the avionics are probably antiquated, but I guess it's all in what you're after and what you plan to do.

 

Have you considered fractional ownership/joining a club. If you're going to use it so few hours a month, it would make good sense.

 

Milano,

Seems that you have an amazing vehicle. Should post some pictures if you had time, I'd love to see it

 

I can see how that would be frustrating. My thinking is this: give a few private clubs a look. When I was a low-time pilot I joined a club and really enjoyed myself. It wasn't too many people and I didn't have much trouble getting the hours I wanted. Plus the other guys were good guys - which helped tremendously. In all, it was a good experience.

I'd say do some snooping around - you never know what you'll find!

 

Don't forget, Milano is a Montana resident... Not too much to choose and pick from. Montana is a whole different country and I tell you what, best place to learn to fly!!!

 

A good point. And I'll admit, I was lucky; I had an 'in' with a great club.