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Hi John,
I really appreciate you taking the time to address all of my questions - many thanks!
What I am really trying to do regarding the maintenance question is reduce the wide ambiguity by getting some real owner experience. I'm fully onboard with "past performance does not guarantee future investment" disclaimer, but online accounts from supporters are that the airplane requires "no more maintenance than any other light twin" vs the bashers that state "it will quickly drive you into the poor house". I am attempting to go in with eyes wide open, as you say, and so any and all direct experience and real numbers from those operating these aircraft seems the most accurate way of determining the cost:fun ratio.
Edasmus' summary of total annual costs was very enlightening, and roughly where I expected the mean cost to fall (somewhere in the 25-30k range for 70 hours per year, averaged over the course of say, 5 years). Are his averages relatively consistent with your experience? Again, I recognize there are outliers, lemons, etc that completely skew the calculations. I'd love to know your gut-level, "gun to your head" answer to the question, "how much do you spend in an average year on your Skymaster". Is it 30k for 100 hours? 50k? 20k?
I'm in a financial position to easily absorb any of those numbers, however there's a tipping point where a few years of 50k per year would definitely have me thinking I might have more fun using that money somewhere else!
Again, I sincerely appreciate all of you taking the time to respond to all my questions.
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