YEARLY COSTS??

Keith Rush · Post by **Keith Rush** » Sun Sep 04, 2011 7:37 pm

I've just barly started flight training, but my wife is about 98% there(reserving the other 2% to pull the plug at anytime) giving me her blessing to begin a RV-7. Questions that I have as well as my wife, is what can I be looking at for yearly costs once I have built it. I'm trying to figure insurance cost, license fee's, etc. I've been going to the local airport which is very small, to talk to people, but I haven't been able to find anyone that really wants to talk to me about it. If there is anyone that could help me out, I would really appreciat it.

Thank you,

Keith

hydroguy2 · Post by **hydroguy2** » Sun Sep 04, 2011 10:02 pm

Cost can vary a lot depending on the region you live.

Hangars some places are $800/month while other places might be $100. registration $20/yr or $2000/yr
Insurance $800 liability or do you have $2500/yr for lowtimer full coverage.

But here's some numbers I have from December last yr.

1. Heated hangar $0/month, but I do maintenance and chores for the owner

2. Insurance $2050/yr. quoted when i was 240hrTT, 40 hr TW, 10 RV hrs, $80K hull.

3. Registration $20/yr, but also have small fees and dues I forgot about.

4. I'm averaging $400/month for fuel. flown 88hrs in 9 months

5. oil changes, plugs, new things for the plane, I'v probably spent another $200 this yr.

Wicked Stick · Post by **Wicked Stick** » Mon Sep 05, 2011 7:06 am

Hangars here are around $300 to $400 a month if you can find one.
My Insurance for my RV-8 is about $1,500 a year for 80K hull and I'm a 1,000 hour pilot. Probably more like $2,250 for a newly minted pilot, but just a guess.
Registration is $100 per year
Fuel here is $5.85 a gallon, it had curbed my 125 hours a year down to about 80 hours a year now

.
Maint on an RV is pretty cheap, especially since you have built it and you will maintain it.

big plus there compared to certified.

Keith Rush · Post by **Keith Rush** » Mon Sep 05, 2011 9:34 am

Thank you guys. This is the info I'm looking for. I've been checking the local airport for tie up and hanger rental. Couple of questions I thought of.

1. Where do you check for registration costs? Do you go through DMV or somewhere different?

2. What are some of the insurance companies I should be looking at for quotes?

I appreciate all the help and info. It's a big step and I want to make sure I can afford the upkeep after I build one.

Thank you,

Keith

hydroguy2 · Post by **hydroguy2** » Mon Sep 05, 2011 4:39 pm

1. check your Department of Aeronautics fro registration stuff or ask around your airport.

2. try this for a quote. http://www.eaa.org/insurance/. I use Falcon Ins, but got quotes from several with 1 close in cost, but most were a couple hundred more.

as far as "being able to afford" that is a sticky subject. I find my cost to own is about the same as when I was renting PER month. but I have a lot of money tied up in the cost of the airplane and I also get free hangar space. I make sacrafices to own and no kids at home anymore. YMMV

One way to see if you can or want to afford it, is to set aside $1000-1500/month for 1 yr. that's how much I averaged during the build.

svanarts · Post by **svanarts** » Tue Sep 06, 2011 2:45 pm

Keith,
In California we don't have to pay a yearly registration, we have to pay luxury tax on our planes each year. I believe it's 1% of the assessed value of the plane. So the tax man will open up trade-a-plane and see how much an average RV-7 costs in your area and then charge you 1% of that every year. This was around $500 for me.

Also, I built a small T hangar at my airport. I'm lease the land that it sits on month to month from my airport. I also have to pay tax on that which I believe is another 1% of the assessed land value. This was around $120 for me.