TR182 cost of ownership - maintenance, etc.

I've decided that a TR182 (turbo, retract) would be a better choice
for me, economically than a T210. It was a tough decision, because I
love 210s, but right now it's the right choice.

I would appreciate any input you have on the TR182. Yearly costs,
major mechanical work, fuel burn and even the performance numbers you
are getting.

My purchase budget is $160,000, cash, and it should include
everything. I'm talking purchase, taxes, annual/prepurchase and a
slush fund for fixing any discrepancies. I hope that will cover any
needed avionics upgrades, as well.

My operating budget is currently $30,000/yr.

Does it look like I can afford this plane?

John Szpara
Private pilot
Fiero Owner 2-84 Indy Pace cars, 86 Coupe, 88 Formula 3.4, 88 Coupe, 88GT

Will you adopt me?


"john szpara" wrote in message
...
I've decided that a TR182 (turbo, retract) would be a better choice
for me, economically than a T210. It was a tough decision, because I
love 210s, but right now it's the right choice.

I would appreciate any input you have on the TR182. Yearly costs,
major mechanical work, fuel burn and even the performance numbers you
are getting.

My purchase budget is $160,000, cash, and it should include
everything. I'm talking purchase, taxes, annual/prepurchase and a
slush fund for fixing any discrepancies. I hope that will cover any
needed avionics upgrades, as well.

My operating budget is currently $30,000/yr.

Does it look like I can afford this plane?

John Szpara
Private pilot
Fiero Owner 2-84 Indy Pace cars, 86 Coupe, 88 Formula 3.4, 88 Coupe, 88GT

"john szpara" wrote in message
...
I've decided that a TR182 (turbo, retract) would be a better choice
for me, economically than a T210. It was a tough decision, because I
love 210s, but right now it's the right choice.

I had a T210 and most of the maintenance was for the landing gear (pretty
much identical to the 182RG). Now, mine was "newer" when I bought it (1983
model bought in Nov. 1999), but it was a lemon, even given he prepurchase
inspection. I sold it after just seven months.


I would appreciate any input you have on the TR182. Yearly costs,
major mechanical work, fuel burn and even the performance numbers you
are getting.

See remarks about landing gear.

Any other models you considered?


My purchase budget is $160,000, cash, and it should include
everything. I'm talking purchase, taxes, annual/prepurchase and a
slush fund for fixing any discrepancies. I hope that will cover any
needed avionics upgrades, as well.

That should buy just about any 182RG out there with some reserve (figure
$5K-7K).

My operating budget is currently $30,000/yr.

For how many hours? Average business usage is about 160 hours/year and
around $120-140/hour. How does your expected use fit with that?


Does it look like I can afford this plane?

Most definitely!

See remarks about landing gear.

I thought the gear was simpler than the T210? If not, I guess I'll
just have to suck it up, and stay on top of maintenance.


Any other models you considered?

Sure, I've thought about all sorts of a/c. T210, Mooney 231, and some
twins. I have a bunch of time in 182s, so the transition should be
minimal (from n/a, fixed gear. I've flown turbos before).



My purchase budget is $160,000, cash, and it should include
everything. I'm talking purchase, taxes, annual/prepurchase and a
slush fund for fixing any discrepancies. I hope that will cover any
needed avionics upgrades, as well.

That should buy just about any 182RG out there with some reserve (figure
$5K-7K).

My operating budget is currently $30,000/yr.

For how many hours? Average business usage is about 160 hours/year and
around $120-140/hour. How does your expected use fit with that?

Sorry, forgot to mention that. I'd say 100-150 hours, some business,
some pleasure. The total will depend on business use. I like to fly at
least once a week, to stay current and sharp, and put on 1-2 hours a
week, minimum, with some longer trips now and then.

John Szpara
Private pilot
Fiero Owner 2-84 Indy Pace cars, 86 Coupe, 88 Formula 3.4, 88 Coupe, 88GT

If you don't like the gear issues, just get a 206.

"john szpara" wrote in message
...
[...]
My purchase budget is $160,000, cash, and it should include
everything. I'm talking purchase, taxes, annual/prepurchase and a
slush fund for fixing any discrepancies. I hope that will cover any
needed avionics upgrades, as well.

My operating budget is currently $30,000/yr.

Does that budget include fuel and oil?

Where do you plan to keep the airplane, and what does a hangar there cost?
Or tie-down, if you plan to go that route?

All that said, it seems to me that $30K/year is plenty for any airplane in
that class, including the TR182 you're talking about. I have a seaplane
that is otherwise similar (turbocharged, retractable landing gear) and my
annual costs aren't even close to that (maybe half? I try not to write the
final total down ), including a pretty steep insurance bill.

The biggest thing to watch out for is that the maintenance the first year,
and maybe the first three years, is going to be above average, as you work
the kinks out of the airplane. You can never really predict the costs, but
as a very rough back-of-the-envelope calculation, you can take the base cost
of an annual inspection (probably around $1000-2000, depending on the
mechanic and locale), double that to get the total cost of an annual
(including whatever repairs may be required), and figure you'll spend about
the same on incidental maintenance during the rest of the year.

That winds up being between $4000 to $8000 per year on maintenance, total.
As a rough guess, I'd say you're more likely to tend toward to the lower of
those two numbers, but it depends on a lot of unpredictable things, and of
course a more conservative estimate is better for planning purposes. Also,
the higher number is probably a more appropriate guess for the first year or
so of ownership.

Does it look like I can afford this plane?

Frankly, I think with your budget you could afford a T210 if you wanted to.
But certainly you should be able to obtain and keep a TR182, and a pretty
nice one at that.

BTW, I don't recall the official designation off the top of my head, but
I've always used the term "182RG" to describe a retractable gear Cessna 182,
and would normally call a turbocharged version a T182RG. I admit, it gets
confusing if you want to include the model letter as well, but just a
heads-up that you may not always see it called a "TR182".

Pete

My operating budget is currently $30,000/yr.

Does that budget include fuel and oil?

Yes.

Where do you plan to keep the airplane, and what does a hangar there cost?
Or tie-down, if you plan to go that route?

I'll be based in Hollister - 3O7. The last time I checked, there
weren't any hangars available. I'll get a tiedown, and wait for a
hangar. I need to contact them and get the fees.

Does it look like I can afford this plane?

Frankly, I think with your budget you could afford a T210 if you wanted to.
But certainly you should be able to obtain and keep a TR182, and a pretty
nice one at that.

I thought I could, but was told that T210s can really bite you with
unexpected, expensive maintenance.

BTW, I don't recall the official designation off the top of my head, but
I've always used the term "182RG" to describe a retractable gear Cessna 182,
and would normally call a turbocharged version a T182RG. I admit, it gets
confusing if you want to include the model letter as well, but just a
heads-up that you may not always see it called a "TR182".

Ok. I don't know where I picked that up.

Thanks for the info.

John Szpara
Private pilot
Fiero Owner 2-84 Indy Pace cars, 86 Coupe, 88 Formula 3.4, 88 Coupe, 88GT

Peter Duniho wrote:


BTW, I don't recall the official designation off the top of my head, but
I've always used the term "182RG" to describe a retractable gear Cessna 182,
and would normally call a turbocharged version a T182RG. I admit, it gets
confusing if you want to include the model letter as well, but just a
heads-up that you may not always see it called a "TR182".

Officially a retractable 182 is an R182. The turbo model is the TR182.
It is common to see 182RG and T182RG but to Cessna these are wrong.

"john szpara" wrote in message
...
I've decided that a TR182 (turbo, retract) would be a better choice
for me, economically than a T210. It was a tough decision, because I
love 210s, but right now it's the right choice.

I would appreciate any input you have on the TR182. Yearly costs,
major mechanical work, fuel burn and even the performance numbers you
are getting.

My purchase budget is $160,000, cash, and it should include
everything. I'm talking purchase, taxes, annual/prepurchase and a
slush fund for fixing any discrepancies. I hope that will cover any
needed avionics upgrades, as well.

My operating budget is currently $30,000/yr.

Does it look like I can afford this plane?

John Szpara
Private pilot
Fiero Owner 2-84 Indy Pace cars, 86 Coupe, 88 Formula 3.4, 88 Coupe, 88GT


TR 182 Exelent Airplane!

Steven L. Rhine
CP ASEL & AMEL Instrument Airplane
CFI (Student)

"john szpara" wrote in message
...
Does that budget include fuel and oil?

Yes.

Well, there's one area the 210 would cost more, being a thirstier airplane.
Other than that...

[...]
I thought I could, but was told that T210s can really bite you with
unexpected, expensive maintenance.

I realize that I don't know the subtle differences between the 182 and the
210. But it's not clear to me how they would be dramatically different,
given that they are equipped with fundamentally the same kinds of things.

Having owned just the one plane, I can't speak from personal experience, but
I have had several people tell me that broadly speaking, the cost of
maintenance is directly related to the various features of the airplane.
Different airplanes have different quirks of course, and some may have
particular maintenance issues not found elsewhere. But the difference
between a retractable gear and fixed gear, or between normally-aspirated and
turbocharged, or between one engine or two, is much more significant when it
comes to maintenance costs.

Basically, the T182RG can really bite you with unexpected, expensive
maintenance as well. Unless the 210 has something extremely unusual (like
the wing spar issue with the larger Cessna twins), I would have thought
maintenance costs would be similar to the 182.

Did the person (or people) who told you that give you specific examples of
what a 210 might need with respect to maintenance that wouldn't be an issue
on a 182? Now you've got me curious.

Pete