I tried a detailed analysis of this once and it turned me off owning,
atleast for now. What many do not figure into the calculations of costs is
the lost of investment capital of the purchase and depreciation. If you are
a reasonably good investor, this loss of capital is not going to be
insignificant. Even if you put it into bonds, it will depend on the
original purchase price. Sure, if you get a 152, it is not going to matter
much. If you are planning to get a nice Seneca II or 172SP, things are
going to be different. Once I put all costs into the equation a used 172SP
would set me back +$20,000 usd per year. That is alot of rental hours
indeed. Of course, the the pride of owning offsets this costs for many new
owners. Then the novelty wears off and the financial burnden comes into
play. On the psychological side, the stress of responsabilities of
ownership are not to be discounted either. For the moment, I would rather
just pay my dues, not worry about maintenance (hide my head in the sand) and
fly a different plane once in a while.

Tien

"BTIZ" wrote in message
news:76Zwd.103$iD.7@fed1read05...
a study at one time showed that the break even point for most light
singles.. was closer to 400 hours per year

Fixed costs per hour get reduce with more hours flown, insurance,
hanger/tiedown, financing (financing also includes cost of $ lost if not
invested elsewhere).

Variable costs, fuel, engine maint fund, oil, replaceable items like tires
etc, does not necessarily vary with additional hours flown.

BT

"Jay Honeck" wrote in message
news:ODWwd.591568$D%.397211@attbi_s51...
Well I have only been an airplane owner for a few months but so far
owning is more expensive than renting. I must say that the convenience
of
having your own airplane to go to when ever you want is worth a few
bucks. Has anyone found owning more expensive than renting? :-)

Owning is always more expensive than renting, until you get to a high
number of hours flown annually.

The old "100 hours per year break-even point" is about right -- until
you
do a major interior upgrade, or replace a cylinder. Than *poof* --
renting looks mighty fine. I'd bet the "real" break-even point (over
time) is closer to 150 hours per year.

But you're right -- owning is worth every penny.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"