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Financing and other
Yankeeclipper,
I have just purchased an older 337A, and I support the view that purchasing an older aircraft, outright, keeps the cash in your pocket rather than financing. 7% interest rate is high in my view, and if you have to go that direction, I would suggest Lightstream (good credit - online loans). I used them last year to purchase a new car for my wife while I sold her old one, and got $38k at <3.5%, unsecured.
Anyway, with exception of your maintenance budget, the rest looks reasonable. I cannot comment on the maintenance budget, as I have no experience with this on the Skymaster yet. However, a rule of thumb I have used owning and maintaining my airplanes for the last 15 years has been: budget 10% of the hull value per year for maintenance - not including hourly expenses (engine or prop reserves). That generally will cover my general expenses for the inspection and fixing of issues from sitting and general wear and tear. Please note, this is me doing my own maintenance (A&P), and some years it is lower, some it is higher.
My point is, these smart guys here on this site are pretty accurate in the numbers they are giving you. If $500 a month More in your budget makes you cringe - then you need to think hard about the purchase. I speak from experience that you can go a few years and be under budget, but eventually something comes along and will surprise you.
Here are some of my rough numbers for my budget on the C337 I just purchased:
Fuel 24 gph x 100 hrs x $3.50 usg = $8,400
Engine reserve ($70,000 / 1400 hrs) x 100 = $5,000
Prop reserves ($12,000/ 1400 hrs) x 100 =$860
Maintenance (no labor) =$5,000
*first year maintenance annual costs budget = $20,000. ( this includes an engine analyzer, new tires, new hoses, one cylinder and some interior work)
**second year maintenance annual budget = $10,000 ( this includes ADS-B equipment, new radio and some minor avionics work)
Insurance = $1,000 (no hull, just liability)
Database Fees and misc = $1,200
Total per year = $21,460
Add in labor cost for maintenance and possibly higher fuel prices, so this is a minimum.
I did not include my hangar costs, and just count that as an overhead in my life - it has its own budget of $15,000 per year, for mortgage, taxes, insurance, HOA and utilities.
Jeff
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