Airplane vs Ferrari expenses

It, of course, would depend on the specific plane and Ferrari being compared.

My 2009 182 is more expensive than my 2011 458 to own & operate.

Plane costs include hanger, annual, and higher insurance.

Plane has lower property taxes though even when valued higher than the car.

Fuel burn is similar. I cruise at 135 knots at 11.5 gph at $5 per gal. Car gets around 12 - 15 mpg at $4 per gal.

If you can use the airplane for business purposes, then the tax write-offs can make the airplane a lot cheaper to own.

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In my experience, you are right on, but it also depends. The condition of the airplane plays a tremendous role in determining what your yearly expenses are. Eventually, though, the $#%^ WILL hit the fan (often several things at once from what I've seen), and airplane bills have a way of going from simply "hard to swallow" to "I want to set this damn thing on fire" very quickly.

 

The Ferrari has cost much more than aircraft maint. costs.

 

I could buy a Ferrari every year for what it costs to maintain my G36 Bonanza. My last annual was $20K plus I budget $250 per flight hour in expenses. I fly 300 hours a year.

Airplanes are waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay more expensive than Ferraris!

 

There is too much variation in aircraft at any given price level to make a decent comparison. For $150k, you can get a JetStar which will cost you $2 million/year to operate, or you could get a Citabria which would probably cost you $20k, at most. Of course, even the Citabria is going to cost you more per year than the $150k Ferrari.

 

Yup,

Which is why I posted the expenses for my very "inexpensive to operate" Bonanza to show that even an in expensive plane is way more expensive than a Ferrari.

 

And that's the bottom line. There's no comparison between a Ferrari and an airplane. They serve 2 different purposes. Apples and oranges. I can't imagine life without an airplane. Ferrari is just fun.

 

I am not sure I agree with that. I had a $20K Citabria and while I had it, really very little went wrong with it. Annual inspections, fixed the alternator once, new tires, things like that.

Of course, my Ferrari is a Testarossa and I just had the engine out service last year so I may be reacting to that.

 

I assume that this discussion presumes that one already has a pilot's license. Obviously, achieving that by itself will be much more expensive than getting a driver's license.

 

When I was rereading my post, I was thinking $20k is probably too high for a Citabria, you're right. I've spent too much time around turbine airplanes!

I'd still guess over a 5 year period the Citabria will cost you more than the TR.

 

Or, if you are going to hire a pilot, that will cost even more.

 

Ferraris come in tiers. So do planes. For a given tier, planes will cost way more.

F50GT? Compare it to an expensive jet.
Mondial? Compare it to a Bonanza.

Unless you get really unlucky with an Fcar, or really lucky with a plane, or get in and out of either the plane or the car between service intervals, letting someone else eat those costs. Neglecting a car can strand you on the side of a highway. Neglecting a plane will bring you back down to earth a lot quicker than you might like.

 

Right on.
Driving license--around 200 bucks with instruction, I believe.
Private pilot's license--at least 6000. Sprinkle in a few thousand more for each additional rating and certification.

There's no comparison between car and airplane costs.

 

The cost to maintain a Ferrari, any Ferrari, isn't a function of value. A beat up Mondial can cost as much or more to maintain properly as an F50 or even a 250GTO.

The cost variation between a Citabria and a GII on the other hand, is probably 1,000x.

 

Mondial compared to a Bonanza? How so? How much do you know about a Bonanza?

 

Not much. I just meant to compare a model that has been around for a while, is seen much more because it's more "common" and has much less performance than a top-tier item like, say, a Global Express, and is of course, much, much cheaper. Of course, you can choose to gold plate it, but you could do the same to the Global Express too. If a 152 is a much better analogy, cool.

 

I hear ya.

But my Bonanza was purchased new from the factory in 2008. You can buy a brand new one right now and add all the bells and whistles for $1M.

They havent made Mondials and TR's in decades.

 

Let's see pics! Interior and exterior, please!

(In the sticky thread titled "Show your planes")

 

Well, you have to remember that I owned the Citabria from 1981 to 1986, so costs have changed since then. They do have a sort-of equivalent to a Testarossa engine-out service: They will eventually need to be recovered.

I was also not counting the facts that I had to rent a different plane to take instrument training because the Citabria had no IFR instruments. Also not counting that the insurance company made me take 10 hours of aerobatics because they wisely knew I was going to try it on my own anyway if I did not take the course.

There is also the fact that I ended up using it for far more hours/miles than I use the TR.

 

My friends Phenom 100 embraer jet costs about $160k a year to operate and fly for about 200 hours of flying. The jet is all paid off, so this does not including any loan payments.

 

He must fly it himself with no pilots on the payroll??? $800 an hour is getting really cheap.

 

Yeah. I'd be willing to bet it costs him more than what he's telling you. A Phenom should be a lot more than $1500 an hour to run.