It is going to depend a lot on the individual airplane and what features it
has. On an airplane with boots, the boots ARE eventually going to have to
be replaced and the cost is going to be over $15k and they probably won't
last ten years, so boots alone will cost $7.50/hr. A KI airplane will also
have at least a hot plate on the windshield which costs a lot and doesn't
last forever either. Vacuum gyros last about 1000hrs and if you have dual
instrumentation then you have four at about $500 each (or a lot more for
HSIs with intregal gyro). So gyros alone will be from $1/hr with two simple
ones to $4.50/hr for dual instruments with dual HSIs. If you don't hanger
then you can figure on paint and maybe interior about every 5-10yrs. Figure
$12,000 or $6/hr. If you have an IFR GPS then $350/yr for the database,
thats $1.75/hr..

In the five years I have owned an MU-2, I have spent as little as $30k and
as much as $110k on maitenance per year. I fly 150-250 hrs/year.
Everything has a finite lifespan and eventually has to be replaced.
Windshields lasted about 4,000 hrs but cost $50k to replace. Most pilots
wouldn't consider the cost of windshields but they don't last forever so
they are a consumable. An ACM lasts about 4000hrs but costs up to $35,000
to overhaul, so 8.75/hr. I know piston airplanes don't have ACMs and heated
windshields but they have plenty of stuff that wears out, vacuum pumps come
to mind. Figure a dollar or two per hour for those on a twin.

The bottom line is that it is not realistic to extrapolate two or three
years of experience, you need to either use at least a thousand hours of
experience or estimate the life time of every part. You may go several
years spending $40hr on maitenance then spend $12k on the next hour. In you
example you cite 600hrs but do not mention vacuum pumps. Are you going to
wait for them to fail?

Mike
MU-2


"Michael" wrote in message
om...
(Captain Wubba) wrote
Hello. I'd like to get a better understanding of the true costs of
various light twins from people who have direct experience with them.
I've seen a bunch of opinions about how expensive twins are on here
from many different people ranging from 'not much more than comparable
single' to 'more costly that purchasing Western Europe'.

I'm squarely in the 'not much more than comparable singles' camp - but
realize that comparable singles (and I mean comparable in all ways -
speed, load, cabin room, handling) are few and far between. Something
like an Arrow isn't comparable to any twin that anyone other than a
flight school would ever own. When getting into comparable singles,
think Bonanza, Comanche, or Viking.

Does anyone
out there have some hard numbers that they could share? I'd like to
buy a reasonable older light twin (Apache, Twin Commanche, Travel Air,
Aztec). I'd really be interested in hearing from people who have
owned and operated these planes and who really know what they cost
over the long run.

First off, the Aztec doesn't belong in that group. It's a big twin
with big engines (470+ total hp) and thus costs a lot more to operate
than your other choices. Operating costs will be comparable to a
Baron or C-310.

I own a Twin Comanche and fly it about 200 hrs/year. Until just now,
I have not been hangaring it (but I have been paying $50/month for
tiedown) and my operating costs are about $100/hr, or about $20,000 a
year. They do not include a lot of my own time spent on maintenance,
but then again I have some very high standards for maintenance and
probably do a lot more than necessary. Here's the breakdown:

Tiedown - $600/yr
Insurance - $2500/yr
Fuel & oil - $7500/yr
Maintenance (incl annual) - $5000/yr
Engine/prop reserve - $4000/yr

My maintenance costs break down as follows: Over the course of 3
years (600+ hours) I've had the following major expenses:

Gear AD, push tubes & associated maintenance - $4200
Spare generator, voltage regulator, overhauls of same - $1000
Cylinders - $1700
Tires, batteries, brakes - $1000
Engine mount, Lycoming gear AD - $1500
Cracked gear trunion (parts and labor) - $1500
Exhaust stack - $600
Radio replacement - $500
Misc parts - $1500
Misc labor - $1500

I've also spent $6000 on upgrades - specifically, an autopilot,
Stormscope, AM/FM/CD Player, and interior. However, I suspect these
will increase the selling price (assuming the light twin market
recovers) so I'm not quite ready to expense these yet.

I'm not including the opportunity cost on the money. So far, even
with the twin market in the crapper, my twin has still done a lot
better than anything in my 401K.

Now the bad news - I estimate that even excluding the labor that went
into the upgrades, I have spent more hours working on the airplane
than flying it.

Michael