Cessna 15X for heavy guys

Ben,
I was just at the airport (klom) and they had a Tomahawk for sale on the
bulletin board. I don't know the particulars. Call Montgomery County
Aviation and ask them to get the contact information off the bulletin
board for you, if you're interested. Their website is
www.wingsfield.com. Call everyone selling a tomahawk in the country
and talk to them about their plane, even if the plane is too far, too
much money, needs too much work, etc. You'll start to get a feel for
what they're worth. See if there's an internet group dedicated to the
tomahawks. They're tons of help. I joined the citabria group on
Yahoo.com before I got my plane. Those folks are great.

BTW, at wings a grass tie down is $75/month and pavement is $125. My
leaking hanger without a door is $175/month and I'm happy to have it!!!
Fuel is $3.00/gallon except on Wednesday when they knock $.40 off.
Good luck in your search.

Dave
68 7ECA

Ben Hallert wrote:
Thanks everyone for your replies so far! After some thought, I've
turned this blue-sky sequence towards the Tomahawk. I've got a big
frame, and I don't expect that will change as I lose weight, so the
extra width of the cabin appeals to me, as does the enhanced
visibility. I'm not as wild about the uncontrolled flat spins (We'll
never forget you, Goose!) but there are enough that haven't fallen out
of the sky that I think I can manage that.

If anyone could take a look at the basic figures I'm coming up with and
tell me if any of them are in fantasyland or not, I'd appreciate it.

Cost to purchase: $20,000 (roughly, figure an inspection in there too)
Fuel cost to operate: ~$10 an hour
Insurance: ~$1,000 a year, but I have no basis for that figure other
then some poorly remembered usenet posts.
Tie-down: ~$50 a month? Total guess, based off taking the average
tie-down cost in Wisconsin ($35) then adjusting it for longitude.
TBO: $8,000 - I couldn't actually find anyone saying how much they
spent having their O-235-L2C overhauled. I looked, I really did, but
the closest I got was a post where someone replaced theirs with the
engine out of their Subaru, so I guessed.

I found a specific plane listed with 1,400 hours left before TBO, so
I'll figure 1,400 in this excercise for math's sake. I'll also assume
100 hours of flying in a year, though I hope it would be more. I know
100 is a magic figure in a lot of discussions around renting vs.
owning.

I know I'm missing something, but I can't figure out what. Here's what
I get for an hourly cost using: (hourly fuel) + ((rebuild cost)/(TBO -
SMOH)) + ((yearly tie down) / 100 hours) + (insurance / 100 hours)

(10) + (8000/1400=5.71) + (600 / 100=6) + (1000 / 100=10) sums out to
$31.71 an hour. Figure another $10 an hour to cover things like
keeping a 'holy crap, the propeller hit a bird' or 'I just GOTTA put a
glass cockpit in' fund full, parking fees, etc, and it comes out just
over $40 an hour.

Am I missing anything big that can't be fit into the extra $10 an hour
I tacked on at the end? Or could I really be owning for that type of
cost?

Thanks!

"Ben Hallert" wrote in message
oups.com...
Thanks everyone for your replies so far! After some thought, I've
turned this blue-sky sequence towards the Tomahawk. I've got a big
frame, and I don't expect that will change as I lose weight, so the

Congratulations on your mass-reduction program. Being there myself I know
how tough it is.

There's nothing terribly wrong with a Tomahawk but if I had the option I'd
go sniffing for a Cherokee 140. You ought to be able to find plenty of 140s
in the 25-35k price range. If you do go on to get your instrument rating you
won't want to do it (or use it) in a Tomhawk, but a 140 is doable. Plus,
though you'll never fill all 4 seats, you can do 3 or 2 plus bags with less
pucker factor than in a tomahawk. You are less likely to outgrow the
Tomahawk too quickly and when you do I would guess it will be easier to
resell.

In terms of operating cost, the big item you're leaving off the list is
maintenance, namely, the annual. That might run you anywhere from
$1000-$5000 per year depending on what they find. If the thought of dropping
$5000 at a moment's notice scares the s--- out of you, get a partner or keep
renting. Nothing sadder than sitting on a plane you can't fly because you
can't afford to fix it.

-cwk.

I still really want to own my own plane, and part of this was really
motivated by the high rental costs in my neighborhood, but today I
actually went out to a local neighborhood in person and found an FBO
that wasn't listed anywhere who rents 152s for as low as $50 an hour, I
just have to have my own insurance. At that cheap, I'm having a hard
time making the numbers work in my favor unless I go over 100 hours a
year. I think I'll rent in the beginning to make some time and see
what happens.

Thanks everyone for your help! I'm sure I'll be back here in a few
months saying "Wait, wait, I changed my mind. I'm gonna buy".

Thanks!