Microlighters

Has anyone done a proper breakdown lately to calculate the operating cost on a trike per hour. Including fuel, oil, maintenance etc.

Very interesting topic Marius tagging along...

I guess one should also include hangarage, insurance, ICASA, AeCSA & MISASA subs?

Also doesn't the cost/hour decrease the more you fly?

PS. funny coming from you as the flight schools should know exactly what the number is how else do they know how much to charge/hour for training!?

Cheers
Ant

Marius...a very interesting topic, one I will follow closely as well.

Stef and I came up with a "Maintenance Plan" for DBP. We both contribute monthly towards this at R150 per hour flown. In effect, we "rent" our own trike. We do this so that there is money avalable when servicing/replacement of parts becomes necessary. The money is kept aside and slowly accumulates....hopefully at the correct rate It also (because we are in a partnership) allows us to contribute proportionately towards the maintenance of DBP. IE, you use her more, you pay more.

I came up with this figure based on the following: (And yes, we fly an Aquilla 582)

Wing replacement Complete at 1000 hrs (R54000) = R54 per hour.
Engine overhaul at 600 hrs (R50000 +-) = R 50 per hour.
Seat/panier refurbishment,airframe replacement at 1000 hrs (R45000) = R 45 per hour

Total cost per hour = R149.00

Then there is the fuel cost!

Average fuel consumption of 15L per hour at todays prices is about R 180.00 an hour, add another R25 rand per hour for 2 stroke and we have R 205.00 per hour fuel burn.

Given both together,

Maintenance R149.00
Fuel Burn R 205.00

Total = R 354.00 (Give or take)

There are so many variables....DBP had a crank changed at 300hrs....and of course a small "oops" . Dacron perishes more due to UV exposure and time than flying hours. It also has a lot to do with your location. Runway surface and of course your AP rates. I tend to agree with Ant in that it becomes "cheaper" the more you fly...

I will be adjusting our rates every year due to inflation too...and now that I think about it...I forgot to factor in the Prop!

NC Prop (R8500) change at 500hrs = another R17 per hour. Ok bugger it I'm gonna stop now....this is deppressing.

I'd love to see what you guys come up with?

Hi Bundy thanks for the calcs it's scary how much it costs / hour

If you want to add insurance then it's another R6000/year

Did you guys factor in new plugs & filters every X hours in your calcs?

We did not include that Ant no.....Geez will you stop now? This is just getting worse and worse.

At the time I was more concerned about the BIG expenses than the little ones....but I suppose for accuracy we should definately add them in... will need an AP to give us those exact prices but I think you can add another R20 per hour to cover all the Minor servicing stuff. (Plugs, F/filters, gearbox seals/oil changes, air filters etc etc)

So we had R354/hr.

Add R 17/hr (prop)
Another R20/hr (line maintenance)

Bundy's Grand Total R 391.00 operating cost per hour....

F@K...ek gaan nou gaan drink

Bundy wrote:We did not include that Ant no.....Geez will you stop now? This is just getting worse and worse.

At the time I was more concerned about the BIG expenses than the little ones....but I suppose for accuracy we should definately add them in... will need an AP to give us those exact prices but I think you can add another R20 per hour to cover all the Minor servicing stuff. (Plugs, F/filters, gearbox seals/oil changes, air filters etc etc)

So we had R354/hr.

Add R 17/hr (prop)
Another R20/hr (line maintenance)

Bundy's Grand Total R 391.00 operating cost per hour....

F@K...ek gaan nou gaan drink

ja nee R400/h is very depressing!

But at least you guys are budgeting and saving properly for the costs - not like me "cross that bridge when I get there"

Wing and prop should last a big time longer as well as engine.
Airframe will do for 3000 hours plus

Regards

I dunno hey Sukkelaar?

Go ask 5 different AP's how long a wing lasts....you'll get 5 different answers

I dont know if anyone can accurately work this one out. Like I said, this is just what we have set aside for maintenance....just too many variables though.
Again, it comes down to what Ant said about how often you fly too. A wing lasts about 15 years if looked after correctly. Most pilots average 2-4 hours a month. If we take the higher number...thats 48hrs a year x 15years = 720hrs

Even DBP only had 360hrs on the wing when we bought her. She was built in 2003, so at time of purchase 8 years old. About half the lifetime of the wing....

Now take a school trike flying on average 2 hours a day Mon through Sat. 12 hrs a week =624 hrs a year. After 3 years the trike has done 1872 Hrs on that wing!
But on the flip side, that undercarriage has had to survive bumpy student landings daily, the engine screaming at full taps doing "up/downs" and so this cost will be high surely?

For me, there is also the princlple that I do not want to wait for something to break....rather replace it earlier while still well within spec?

Thank guys ....now Im gonna have to pay MORE money to rent my own trike

Anyway keep posting, it's a good debate

This is no trick question and being involved at a flight school not necessarily mean I have the model answer Anth. I thought of putting this out there as part of my research for a possible video project. I like what I see so keep going. Lets see where we ends up.

I think one should work on averages from all info received. Maybe take a parts list and work on how many hours before replacing all parts - exhaust springs, carb rubbers, plugs, tyres, etc etc.