Volo
Aircraft cost per hour

What does my airplane really cost per hour?

Fuel is the cost you see. Insurance, the hangar, the annual and the engine wearing toward overhaul are the ones that decide it. The figures below are an example; replace them with your own.

Fixed costs per year
$
$

A typical year, including squawks.

$
$

Database subscriptions, registration, club dues.

$
Costs per hour flown
$
$
$

Tires, brakes, unscheduled work.

$
Hours flown per year

Zero if you do not rent it out.

What renters pay you, wet.

$

Your cost

$194 / hour

Fixed costs per hour
$97.00
Fuel per hour
$55.25
Engine reserve per hour
$20.00
All hourly costs
$97.25
Total per year
$19,425

How the cost is worked out

Fixed costs are paid whether the aircraft flies or not, so they are spread over every hour it flies in the year. Hourly costs are fuel, oil, other maintenance and an engine reserve: the overhaul cost divided by the hours to TBO, so the money is there when the engine needs it.

That is why the cost per hour falls as the aircraft flies more. The fixed costs barely move, and they are divided by more hours.

Renting it out

Renting to pilots you trust spreads the fixed costs over more hours and brings in income against them. Put the rental hours and your rate in, and the calculator shows what you pay for your own flying afterwards. Remember that rental for hire brings in the 100-hour inspection; see the inspection due-date calculator. Your insurer will also want to know.

Questions

Should the engine reserve use TBO or the engine's real condition?
TBO is a planning figure. If your engine is likely to need work sooner, or you plan to run it past TBO under Part 91, adjust the hours to what you expect.
What rental rate covers my costs?
At least the total cost per hour, so every rented hour pays its share of the fixed costs as well as its own fuel and wear. Anything above it reduces what you pay for your own flying.
Does this include depreciation or the money tied up in the aircraft?
No. It is the cash cost of keeping and flying the aircraft. Add a figure to everything else if you want to account for them.

A planning aid, not legal advice. The regulations, your aircraft's records and your instructor or mechanic have the final word.

Let Volo watch the dates and the hours for you.

Volo tracks the annual, the 100-hour, ADs and components against the aircraft's real hours, lets pilots you approve book it, and bills them from the hours flown.

Get startedSee Volo for aircraft owners

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