I am a first time aircraft owner and have owned a used DA42NG for about 18 months, now. When I first got the aircraft, I was well aware of most costs - at least those I could plan for such as insurance, maintenance, etc. The one uncertainty for me was the cost of unscheduled repairs. Clearly, stuff breaks and it does break in aircraft, too. Just at which rate it does I was not quite prepared for.
My aircraft is a 2008 NG conversion which I took over in April 2016 and have since put on 285 hours or 15h/month. While this is clearly not flight school usage the aircraft has not been seen damage cause by extended periods of idling. My total cost of unscheduled repairs (not including upgrades, scheduled maintenance, consumables or lifetime-limited parts such as props, gearboxes, etc.) comes out to a bit over $60.000 or at more than $200 per hour.
The big ones where:
- New Tanks after algae infestation
New Gearbox / HP pump following mechanical failure
New Waste Gate Controller
New Cooling Tank after leak
New Fuel Injectors (unknown cause)
New Pitot Heater (my mistake)