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The following is a cut and paste from a thread on this site 1/3/16. This covers operating costs. This data is my personal experience since 2002 of 1973 C337G ownership. I do not have my 2016 numbers handy but it was an average/typical year. I did not have an annual in 2017 and the airplane is currently in the shop waiting for a part and then this annual inspection can be completed. It also is likely average. By that $8000ish would be my guess at this point.
My airplane only has 5 seats and the 5th seat is a kid seat. I have sat back there. It's not awful but not very practical. My guess is the 5th and 6th seats in aircraft so equipped are kid seats as well but someone else would have to comment on that.
I would be happy to talk with you on the phone next week or later as I have a cold at the moment and cannot speak very well.
In my opinion, the C337 is a great airplane. Expensive, yes but that is relative. Perfect, no. All airplanes are expensive and imperfect. Finding a good one would be important. Your attitude as far as I can tell by your post is in the correct place for C337 ownership.
What follows is the cut and paste from 2016.......
I have looked back at my Excel spreadsheets and I can give you some idea of my numbers over the last several years. I cannot go all the way back to 2002 as that would require digging out an old computer but this should give you an idea anyway.
These numbers are total dollars spent on my 1973 C337G (non-turbo) per year. They include hanger, insurance, 100LL, and maintenance all combined in one number. The airplane has been paid for since 2002. I own the hanger and it's operating cost is about $2000/year. My insurance runs about $2300/year for $90,000 hull, $1,000,000 liability and $100,000/passenger (pretty standard policy). I burn 17 gal/hour (hobbs). If we pick about $5.50/gallon of 100LL and multiply by 17, we get $93.50/hour on average for gas. Anyway, subtract all this from the total dollars spent in any one year and you will be left with a pretty good approximation of the maintenance dollars spent in any particular year. Hope this helps....
2015: $18,688.59, 57.9 hours (hobbs), derived maintenance $8,974.94
2014: $16,299.93, 32.9 hours (hobbs), derived maintenance $8,923.78
2013: $18,817.52, 54.0 hours (hobbs), derived maintenance $9,468.52
2012: $25,011.97, 76.3 hours (hobbs), derived maintenance $13,577.92
2011: $13,407.81, 83.6 hours (hobbs), derived maintenance $1,291.21
2010: $23,997.47, 86.4 hours (hobbs), derived maintenance $11,619.07
2009: $32,270.33, 79.3 hours (hobbs), derived maintenance $20,555.78
2008: $34,665.76, 96.4 hours (hobbs), derived maintenance $21,352.36
2007: $24,132.48, 89.3 hours (hobbs), derived maintenance $11,482.93
The year 2011 is low because there was no annual inspection that calendar year. My annual inspection cycles are 13 months (always signed off on the 1st and then I go to the last day of that month a year later) and then the plane is always down for at least a month during the annual inspection.
The years 2002 thru 2006, I owned the plane with partners and we had a system set up to charge hourly with assessments to cover the inevitable short falls. (The hourly rate was always way too low.) The first two annual inspections were large. Going on memory here, $21,000 the first year (mentioned in a previous post) and I believe $14,000 to $15,000 the second year but not certain on that one.
I have always told folks the airplane is about a $300 to $350 per hour airplane depending on whether it was a good or bad year. These numbers average about $315/hobbs-hour if you do the math.
I am not a mechanic. I read and study maintenance like crazy (big Mike Busch fan) and always have my nose stuck in the airplane during maintenance events, however I pay Lumanair Aviation Services at the Aurora Airport in Sugar Grove, IL to do 99% of the maintenance. They are an FAA and Cessna certified repair station and this is Chicago, IL prices. In other words, "high." My IA has been there 45+ years and he remembers when Skymasters were new. I feel good when he works on my plane. They have had some retirements there in the last year or two with the young ones replacing the old guys. I'm a little nervous about this but so far the supervision seems adequate and in all the years I have been flying the plane, I have never had a serious in flight issue so I seem to be getting what I pay for.
Also, I do not save for engine or prop reserves. I just pay as I go. If you are mechanically inclined and can perform the maintenance yourself under supervision of your IA, you can save big bucks. Parts can be expensive but the labor is way more expensive.
In my opinion, storing an airplane outside is a mistake and possibly a safety issue. These airplanes will leak water into places you don't want, critters are numerous, ultraviolet light, hot, and cold cycles are simply brutal on airplanes. I would strongly encourage a hanger. I'm done preaching on that.
Looking ahead in the future for this plane, the engines are now about 40 hours beyond factory TBO. My intention is to continue as long as I feel I can safely do so, provided I don't lose faith in the engines. So far so good. I figure to keep this airplane going for the long term will require someone (maybe me, maybe not) to invest at least $100,000. I'm guessing factory reman engines installed with props and ADS-B plus "odds & ends" will cost all that. My paint and interior are good but far from perfect. The panel is all King digital stuff with a GPS that couples reasonably well to the old Century III auto-pilot. Everything works (including the ADF) and I certainly do my best to keep it that way. I'm an old school guy. The G1000 panels are pretty but I don't want or need to fly behind one.
These airplanes, as mentioned in a previous post, are truly wonderful machines. Cessna had a great idea and executed it quite well in my opinion. They are however, an enormous commitment in time and money. If one is willing to put forth the resources, they will be rewarded with an outstanding airplane!
If you have anymore questions, I'll do my best to answer and hopefully I haven't screwed up any math too bad.
Take Care,
Ed Asmus N1873M
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