[Ernie Martin]

Let me comment on the two postings just prior to Larry's message above. I also advocate recognizing that the "cost of admission" is more than the aircraft purchase, and the principle of going in with your eyes wide open. But because insurance and hangar/tie-down vary so widely, forget estimates. You should determine those two costs (insurance from quotes that will be based on your experience and licenses, hangar/tie-downs from similar quotes where you will park the airplane). Fuel costs also vary widely depending on location (I self-serve at $3.30 on my field, but 30 minutes away it's twice that) so you should determine them based on your location for the near term and guess about the future. Then all that essentially remains is maintenace (particularly annual inspections and engine/prop overhauls). And this forum has lots of information on that.

Still, my operating costs per hour are vastly smaller than those cited above. I don't include hangar/tie-down ($1,000 per year), insurance (which I don't carry), or the first $1,000 of the annual inspection (for the reasons cited in my earlier message, that it is part of the cost of admission and would be there whether I fly or not) and my per-hour cost is around $160 -- with fuel and engine/prop reserves. That's half of one of the numbers cited above. Since I fly around 100 hrs per year, my total yearly cost is around $18,000, when you add the tie-down and the the first $1,000 of the annual inspection.

On Larry's message, I couldn't agree more.

Ernie