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Let's look at some general cost associated with owning versus renting. If we look at these cost you can see how much more flying you can get for the same money, without the headache! Not only is it cost effective to rent, you can fly much safer newer aircraft that you may not be able to ever own!

Some of the cost that are overlooked are:

• Insurance $6-10K year
• Hangar/Tie-down fees $400-$2k per year
• Annual Maintenance $3k -$8k per year
• Monthly payment on Loan $2k-$10k per year
• Unforeseen big maintenance items or costly engine and prop overhauls. Up to $60-70K
• Avionics upgrades or failures $2k-15k

A usual yearly cost average would be approximately $15-25k per year depending on how much loan payment and purchase price of aircraft is. If you break it down to an hourly rental, $15k (the low end) would buy you over 60 hours of flying per year!

Don’t forget that renters get to skip many headaches of aircraft ownership. Renters don’t have to:

• Wash the airplane
• Hire mechanics and hound them every few days to finish up the job
• File any ownership or tax paperwork
• Research part numbers and order those parts themselves
• Feel upset when the airplane needs a costly engine or prop overhaul including the huge downtime involved. you could not fly your plane for over 6 months, while still making payment's!!

 There are many things to think about when going into aircraft ownership. One of the biggest issues we see is someone buying a plane and thinking they will fly ALL THE TIME!!! They are SO excited to get their new aircraft and use it a lot (Maybe 30 hours) in the first year but as time goes on it gets harder and harder to find time to fly. I’ve found from years of performing annual maintenance on many General Aviation aircraft, that most people fly approximately 15-30 hours a year!! Aircraft sitting around are more prone to having things go wrong than aircraft that are regularly used. (Objects in motion tend to stay in motion). 

Most people don't fully understand the cost effectiveness of renting an aircraft. Yes, paying and hourly rate seems higher than if you owned the plane. But is it really? Let's look at some reasons why renting may be a better option than ownership. 

Some of the cost that are overlooked are:

• Insurance
• Hangar/Tie-down fees
• Annual Maintenance
• Monthly payment on Loan
• Unforeseen big maintenance items or costly engine and prop overhauls
• Avionics upgrades or failures

Don’t forget that renters get to skip many headaches of aircraft ownership. Renters don’t have to:

• Wash the airplane
• Hire mechanics and hound them every few days to finish up the job
• File any ownership or tax paperwork
• Research part numbers and order those parts themselves
• Feel upset when the airplane gets  a hangar rash—unless you have to pay the owner’s deductible