cost of ownership

Richard Kaplan wrote:
"Dave Butler" wrote in message
...

Good job, Dude. My leaseback worked ok, too, when I had it. It was an

excellent

way for me to break into airplane ownership.

Did it make a profit outright or did it simply reduce the expense of
ownership? What kind of plane was it?

It was very thin one way or the other, close to break even. I intentionally
operated it that way. I saw it as as opportunity to get experience in ownership,
be in control of and aware of maintenance, and have a plane for me to fly with
minimal expense. Of course, as you know, the expense of ownership is so wildly
variable that even though my intent was to come close to breaking even, the fact
that I did so was mostly a matter of luck. It was a 1975 PA28-180 Archer.

The lease arrangement was such that I was responsible for providing an airworthy
aircraft, the club paid for insurance and provided scheduling, collection, and
screening of users, used it for instrument instruction.

The maintenance was done mostly by an FBO on the field for convenience, I didn't
shop for price. This is the primary airport in a class C, and I think the
maintenance rates were higher than they might have been at an outlying field. It
was maintained with the intent of maximizing dispatching availability, which
sometimes meant paying overtime rates.

In the beginning I had a partner, but I bought him out when he didn't want to do
it any more due to a medical issue.


How did leaseback affect your maintenance costs?

I can't give you a quantitative answer, but there were relatively few instances
where maintenance expense occurred because of obvious renter malfeasance. Since
the airplane was flying ~350 hours per year, the maintenance expense was spread
over way more hours than I could have achieved any other way.


Did you factor in the depreciation on your engine?

Yes. I overhauled the engine twice during my tenure of ownership. One field
overhaul at a boutique engine shop was a disaster due to the difficulty of
warranty service because of distance. The other was a field overhaul at a nearby
shop with new Lyc cylinders and was a more satisfactory experience. The current
owner is going through an overhaul right now, went for a reman.


Why did you stop the leaseback?

I was not flying due to some temporary medical difficulties. I had an offer from
another club member that looked attractive. Out of loyalty to the club, I wanted
the club to be able to continue to use the plane. The plane has changed hands
again since then, and is still on leaseback to the same club. I still fly it
once in a while.

Remove SHIRT to reply directly.
Dave