Aircraft Pricing - Cessna 150 & 172

We were offered 20% more than our plane cost in total back in December. It's a pretty hot plane right now, a 2010 Meridian with G1000 Nxi. I wanted to let her go but the wife (who thinks of the plane as a cat) wanted to keep it. So we kept it.

The broker who tried to buy our plane said that the market is probably going to be hot until 2024 and then cool off. Might have just been saying it to move the sale along but it sounds reasonable. Anything real with intrinsic value seems to have gone up. Typically, what goes up, must come down.

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Just to add some comic stuff to this. In 1946 Stearman PT-13's with 200 hours on them were offered for $400 in Georgia. For me at that time, $400.00 was a fortune. I flew several of them that were purchased by the operators and I noticed that the zinc chromate paint on the rudder pedals wasn't worn off yet. Same thing with the corrugated floor panels of the B-24's in which I flew a flew months earlier when I was in the USAAF. Yeah, I know, weird recall but it is still fresh for some reason. In quiet times now the old airplanes pull on to the ramp and and we enjoy the days of flying free of some of the F'n impediments , FAA, FAR's, etc. Just the aroma of 80- 87 exhaust and perhaps the sweet odor of some of the new interiors . Then, go out and fly. This scenario can be a daily or nightly occurrence and it never changes.

 

they had already gone up before you bought your planes. It’s here to stay.

in the eighties I was paying 13k for late 70’s 172’s and retailing them for 17k. Just like clockwork.

 

It was in the 90’s that everything tripled in price…seemed like overnight. It never went back down.

 

You can probably find some nice 310's or twin Bo's for less than a 172.


But the operating costs will eat you alive.

 

Well you can buy a brand new 172 for $486,000

 

A good chunk of that goes for liability insurance for the manufacturer.

 

My other half is a pharmacist. Same reason drugs are so high. Some people in government want prices to drop but never consider looking at the legal profession.

Screw your Cessna into the ground? Must be Cessnas fault.

 

I posted a similar thread a week or so ago. It is INSANE. I'm looking for a safe, simple four place to get my son up in as he's fascinated by airplanes and rockets. I'm borderline offended by what the asks are for pretty boring airplanes!

 

Absolutely you can get 310s cheaper than 172. Navions as well, or even 337s. But all those things require extra training.

I've been saving money for a trainer plane, but they're going up faster than my balance is. Right now I've shifted from looking at 172s and have started looking hard at the Tripacer instead -- even though it's not a metal plane.

 

I can only imagine that finding A&P/IA's familiar with fabric is becoming more difficult. There are new planes still be made, e.g. Cub Crafters and Aviat, but still .........

 

There are actually quite a few fabric airplanes still being made-- American Champion being one.

I was just talking with a line service guy who is working on his A&P. I pulled up in my Citabria and he mentioned that he just learned about how to patch fabric in A&P school.

 

I know, I mentioned a couple

Would you have your plane completely recovered by someone who "learned about how to patch fabric in A&P school"?

 

Well sure. All airplanes are covered in ceconite, aren't they? Grade A what?

 

No, I would probably take it back to the American Champion factory and have them do it. But I might let someone patch it who learned how to do it in A&P school.

 

I wasn't thinking about it too much but in helping to restore several antiques and to build several homebuilts, I worked with the old stuff , Grade A cotton, and the new stuff, Ceconite. Making the cotton socks, baseball stitching seams, and rib stitching the wings, shrinking and doping and sanding and the final painting is a labor intensive but greatly satisfying task. The new methods are quick and easy. Glue the cover on the frame, shrink it with an iron and paint it. Both are easy to patch and in my day they never had to be sent anywhere but to the hangar on the field. However, if you had to patch something like a 1941 Stinson SR10 you not only had to repair the Grade A cotton but match a 32 coat hand rubbed acetate based dope finish that looked like today's plastics.

 

Certified aircraft used as trainers are nuts, price wise. But, there's a reason a 172 is so expensive, it's comfortable and parts are available. Next option would be a Cherokee 140, 150, 160, 180, but the single door is a pain. Price is much better though. A 140 with the optional back seat is very tight in the rear seat. The 150/160 has a much roomer back seat even though it uses the same fuselage, and is still bordering on half the price of a Cessna 172. But, yeah, $50-$100K for a 60 year old, marginal 4 seater, is insane, and the repair/annual cost just continue with the pain.

I love the Tripacer(I took lessons in a Colt in 1992), but I really think at this point that they are more like a classic plane than something that makes practical sense. The cost to recover just is too pricey.

I think Experimental and LSA's are really appealing. A Sling 4 or Tsi is just so efficient. 7gph auto fuel. Really lifts 4 people. Single leaver engine control. Turbo adjusted power levels. Aluminum airframe(glass scares me long term). Just so modern, and at 1/2 the price of a new Cessna 172. Or go the other end, in terms of price, and buy a used Sonex for $25K. Do your own annuals after a 2 days class. 3-4gph auto fuel. Can add or remove instruments as you like. Repaint it, change engine, etc; just so many things you can easily do with an experimental LSA that you can't with certified aircraft.

 

Sling Tsi if you do builder assist is close to 300K depending on the avionics. I really don't understand some of the over the top avionics packages being put into some of these light airplanes. Not really sure why you need an auto pilot.

 

Yes, I was really thinking of the Sling 4 for half the new Cessna 172 price. The Tsi is another price level up. Both are turbo and have some really cool design details. Agree about the avionics, the prices for Garmin are just insane. $50-60K for the Sling cockpit. But, I'm guessing most people spend $200K+ for the plane and think, another $50k is a relatively small price % increase. Also, the person who buys a Sling, wants something new. The person who buys a Cherokee 140 wants something cheap. Very different people in those markets. I will admit that I think a vacuum pump is just something else to maintain/fail, and adds weight.

Also, I do like more info. Some Cherokees and Skyhawks don't even have one cylinder head temperature gauge. Any modern system has all cylinders measured. If I were investing big $ in some newer plane, these details might help catch issues that would reduce life on an expensive engine.

Norm, I saw that new cessna 172 video, also. The fact that they had to keep the hand held mic from the last aircraft certification(done in 1970's?), was just crazy.

 

Most of the costs now is liability insurance for lawyers.

 

At least what they said in the video is that their biggest group of buyers is flight schools. They want and need new avionics with all the whistle and bell for purpose to get the PPL pilots, who are heading for commercial airline pilots, get familiar with the avionics they will be using in the business in early stage of their piloting. Comes down to rivarly, customer grapics and their needs.