Twin or Single

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Expand view Topic review: Twin or Single

Re: Twin or Single

by ultraturtle » Wed Oct 03, 2018 11:20 pm

I separate fixed and variable costs for my DA42-VI. Non capital fixed costs (Annual, ECU Batteries, Pito Static, 2 Hangars, Nav Data, XM Wx, Insurance, Prop Reserve) run about $2,000 per month and have nothing to do with deciding to fly more or less.

Variable cost does, however, and runs me $88 per hour:

100 Hr Kit $4
Oil Change $2
Gearbox Oil $4
HP Fuel Pump Reserve $11
Engine Reserve $28
Fuel $39

Total non capital cost per hour depends of course on how much I fly. 100 hours per year costs me $334 per hour, and 200 hours per year costs me $211 per hour.

I split my flying pretty evenly between 8,000 and FL180, making my average TAS 175 knots, so cost per mile is about $.50.

Re: Twin or Single

by jb642DA » Tue Oct 02, 2018 4:14 pm

Thanks Colin - overall about $185/hour including fuel!

Re: Twin or Single

by Colin » Tue Oct 02, 2018 3:06 pm

March 2016.

Re: Twin or Single

by AndrewM » Tue Oct 02, 2018 2:58 pm

Colin, what year did you transition to the DA42?

Re: Twin or Single

by Colin » Tue Oct 02, 2018 2:35 pm

Adjusting for block speed is an interesting idea. Essentially, I'd be keeping track of the cost-per-mile instead of just strict hours.

Re: Twin or Single

by Colin » Tue Oct 02, 2018 2:34 pm

My costs include fuel. In the DA42 that is a very different cost now that I have a fuel card.

The only thing not included is the outright capital cost of the plane (and initial upgrades). Everything else is in there. The WAAS upgrade on the DA40 was a particularly painful year. I got a single landing out of that $20k. In hindsight it might not have been worth it. (The avionics guy screwed up. There was a deal where you could get the WAAS radios for $6k cheaper if you ordered by a certain date. He spaced out and forgot to order them, but had already started the work for me.)

Re: Twin or Single

by Guest » Mon Oct 01, 2018 2:51 am

Colin,

Do you adjust your costs for block speed? I'm guessing you go faster in the '42 and thus cover more ground so a dollar of operating expense in the '42 is a better value than the same '40 dollar.

Slightly related is that I've found that the faster and more capable plane I fly, the more hours I fly it because my mission capability expands as well.

Paul

Re: Twin or Single

by jb642DA » Mon Oct 01, 2018 1:40 am

Hi Colin -

I'm guessing you don't include fuel in your costs, looking at your numbers (especially 2006)? Do your numbers include all your other costs, outside of capital expenses? Thanks -

John

Re: Twin or Single

by Colin » Sun Sep 30, 2018 7:43 pm

I have a running tally that makes no sense, like a lot of accounting in aviation. Some of our costs went up, since I am now parking it in three places (KSMO, KFHR, KOWD), for instance. And I cross the country more often. The BIG costs will be gearboxes and engine replacements and although I put those in the spreadsheet when they HAPPEN, I don't do the proper thing and include some per-hour reserve for them
costs.png
For me it looks like it is less expensive to run the DA42. I don't have 2017 in there yet, but it was more hours and no big hits. 2018 has a *huge* hit of replacing both gearboxes and fuel pumps, but I am also flying the wings off the place, so I'm hoping it spreads out nicely. I need to figure out where the DA40/DA42 cut was and show the average hourly cost of both planes.

(In the accounting all I really care about is "can we afford this?" At some point the answer might be no and I'll sell the plane. Maybe I'll get myself a cub to fool around in when that happens. Until then, this is a great thing. We have to go from Cambridge, MA down to Williamsburg, VA on Wednesday morning, then up to DC, then back to NYC. All for speaking engagements for my wife. I cringe when I think of what that would look like if we were driving or traveling commercially. As it is, it looks like one long flight down to Virginia and then just some nice, short hops. No TSA, no standing in lines with the bags, no dealing with customer service reps who aren't paid enough... so pleasant.)

Re: Twin or Single

by TJS » Sat Sep 29, 2018 11:33 pm

How are the costs compared to the DA40 for you, other than the fuel as you mentioned.

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