How Much Is A Cessna Skyhawk?

When considering ownership of a Cessna Skyhawk, there are two aspects to take into account: the initial cost of the aircraft as well as the ongoing fixed and variable costs that are connected to ownership.

A new Cessna Skyhawk can cost more than $600,000, while an older model can be purchased for as little as $50,000. Include reoccurring expenses of $5,000 per year, such as insurance and parking fees, in this total. In addition to that, variable costs are typically anywhere from $60 to $100 per hour depending on the duration of the flight.

Because I am the proud (part) owner and operator of a Cessna Skyhawk, I am acutely aware of the costs that are associated with possessing one of the most popular aircraft that has ever been built.

Prices for Used Cessna Skyhawk Aircraft

In 1955, the Cessna Skyhawk made its maiden flight for the first time. If you look carefully enough, you might be able to locate one product from that era that is still manufactured and sold today. A slightly later type, such as one from the 1970s, can be acquired today for a price ranging from $50,000 to $60,000, and the only modifications necessary to keep it airworthy are those that are required to keep it airworthy.

However, the price of a Cessna Skyhawk is determined by more than simply its age and whether or not aircraft is still airworthy. It also depends on the avionics that are on board, the upholstery, the paint job, the condition of the engine, any modifications that have been made, the amount of rust, the total amount of time that has been spent on the airframe, the amount of time until the next overhaul, and the accident history.

The price of a Cessna Skyhawk from the middle of the 1980s that is in average condition and is still airworthy is approximately $180,000. A more recent model from the 2000s that has the same bells and whistles would have a price tag that is higher than $250,000. While automobiles with models from the last ten years will cost in the neighbourhood of four thousand dollars,

Costs of a Cessna Skyhawk That Is Brand New

What if it had literally just come off the production line? In that case, how much does a Cessna Skyhawk cost?

The price tag of sixty-thousand dollars indicates that the item in question is one step up from the base model, but it does not include all of the optional extras. When breaking in a brand-new engine, there are a few more factors to think about, which means the initial year’s maintenance expenditures for a brand-new aircraft can be slightly greater than those of an older model.

The estimated cost of insurance premiums for a first-time owner or pilot could also be higher than five thousand dollars. In addition to that, you would want to hangar it while the factory wax was still shining in the sunlight.

Do you prefer new or used?

At this point, whether the Cessna Skyhawk is going to be brand new or secondhand ought to be the deciding factor in determining how much it will set you back financially. And that, in turn, would rely on how much money you have available and what your goals are. The objective you have in mind adds a more qualitative viewpoint to the equation, despite the fact that the cost of a new or used aircraft varies widely and is a quantitative metric.

Costs of Operations That Are Constant

Before making the investment in a Cessna Skyhawk, a potential buyer needs to do the math and ensure that their hourly costs are lower than the amount it would cost to rent a comparable Cessna Skyhawk from a nearby FBO. This is because the majority of buyers who don’t do the math quickly discover that their hourly costs are higher than what it would cost to rent a comparable Cessna Skyhawk.

There is never absolute certainty regarding the components of fixed operating costs. While some owners of aircraft include overhauls in their prices, others do not. While some do not contain any oil, some of them do. While some do not, some even factor in the cost of repaying loans. What you decide to put in your ownership should be determined by the goals you want to achieve with it.

Insurance and hangaring fees are two examples of charges that should be factored in without argument.

Insurance

If a Cessna Skyhawk owner covers their aircraft for $40,000, their annual premium will be $1,400 on average. This is the normal rate paid by Cessna Skyhawk owners. You would need to replace it with your own quote in that spot. Even if you are not ready to buy the coverage right now, the insurance partners of AOPA will provide you with a quote.

To keep this debate as basic as possible, I will use $1,200 per year. This is the cost of maintaining my personal Cessna Skyhawk.

Hangaring

The hangaring is the following component that should be added to this. If you put it in a hangar, the cost may be approximately $50 per month, but tying it down would bring the cost up to about $150 per month. In this method, it will be simple for you to determine whether or not you should contact your nearby airport. Let’s put my Skyhawk back in the hangar for the time being. That amounts to $3,600 per year when added up.

When combined, they cost me a total of $4,800 per year.

Inspections

In accordance with FAR 91.409, all aircraft are required to undergo annual inspections, which must then be approved by a mechanic working for the Inspection Authority (IA).

If you own the aircraft for the sole purpose of using it for your own personal travel, you are exempt from the 100-hour inspection requirement that applies to people who rent out their aircraft. A 50-hour inspection is also recommended by the FAA, during which time the oil should be changed and the air filters should be replaced.

Only one of the three inspections, the Annual Inspection, occurs on a recurring basis and should be factored into your estimates of the annual cost. Estimate the annual cost to be around $1800.

To answer your question, how much would the annual maintenance and fuel costs for a Cessna Skyhawk be? Now, with only the three most important things, our total has already reached $6,600.

Costs of Operations That Can Vary

There will always be fixed costs involved, regardless of how often you fly. Contrarily, variable costs are subject to change. They appear as a result of your use of the aeroplane. That is the most straightforward method to examine it. Fuel is a significant portion of the costs that are variable.

Fuel

If there have been no modifications made to the Cessna Skyhawk, its standard cruise fuel consumption is close to 9 gallons per hour. Considering that 100 LL is currently priced at $6.50 per gallon at my airport, this amounts to a cost of $58.50 per hour. This is only a calculation for the gasoline. There are a few other points that need to be taken into consideration.

Inspections

A 100-hour inspection is not required for the aircraft that I fly for pleasure, but the one that I use for my lessons does require one. It is reasonable to assume that this is $1500.

On the other hand, I do make sure to perform the FAA-recommended 50-hour inspections and also change the oil at that point. It comes to about $500 in total cost.

This is a simple calculation to make. It costs me a total of $500 every fifty hours, which works out to ten dollars an hour for my labour.

To answer your question, how much will it cost to fly an hour in a Cessna Skyhawk? At this time, the cost of a flight by the hour is $58.50 plus $10, which equals $68.50.

In the vast majority of cases, the owners of brand-new aircraft fail to take into account the impending need for an overhaul. It’s not a matter of if, but when it will happen. The only distinction lies in the type of engine that is utilised. Cessnas can be purchased with either Lycoming or Continental engines depending on the model.

The time between overhauls, or TBO, for Continental engines is 1800 hours, but the time between overhauls for Lycoming engines is 2000 hours.

In most cases, the price of an overhaul ranges between $18,000 and $20,000. When performing computations, it is preferable to select the higher number so that one is not taken aback by the results.

Therefore, the Continental Engine has an hourly rate of $11.11 dollars. This is the amount that you should put aside each time you fly the aeroplane so that when the time comes, you will have the funds necessary to pay for the overhaul already in place and ready to go. If not, it can be quite an unpleasant experience.

Ten dollars will be charged for every hour when the Lycoming engine is used.

How much does a Cessna Skyhawk cost when you factor in the cost of the overhaul?

If we ignore the change in engine and consider only the cost of operation at $11.11 per hour, we find that the hourly cost to operate a Cessna Skyhawk has increased to $79.61.

Oil Burn

Although I have already estimated the cost of oil changes when I included the price of a 50-hour workweek in the previous section. When the aircraft is being flown, it has a propensity to use up some of the engine oil. When I fly for three hours, I go through approximately one gallon of fuel. I pay $10 per quart. Which works out to approximately $3.33 for each hour worked. My current hourly rate is the equivalent of $72.94 in total costs.

Putting it Together

Since we are now in possession of both fixed and variable operating expenses, we are in a position to combine the two in order to acquire an accurate estimate of what it will cost us to buy a Cessna Skyhawk. But in order to do this, we need to make a straightforward assumption regarding the total distance that we will travel in a year.

One Thousand Hours Each Year

If you fly a thousand hours a year in a Cessna Skyhawk, how much will it cost you to fly it?

If you flew for a thousand hours every year, that number would go down a little bit.

$6,600 plus (1000 x 72.94) equals $79,540, which is equivalent to $79.54 per hour.

The Cost of Financing

Some people will think about include the cost of purchasing the aircraft in the hourly cost of the aircraft, while others may think about including the interest on the loan instead.

Taking into account a 20% depreciation in value after ten years for a Cessna Skyhawk: (and this is not the case, in the last twenty years, Cessna Skyhawks have gone up in price.) However, for the sake of this example, let’s say that their worth has decreased. So let’s assume you buy it for $50,000, and then ten years later you sell it for $40,000; what do you make?

If you put ten thousand dollars down on a ten-year loan for forty thousand dollars, your total financing cost will be twenty-two thousand dollars. You may calculate this cost on the website of the AOPA. You need to recalculate your total by including this new figure. It comes out to $2,200 per year, which is equivalent to $3.66 per hour.

If you bought a Cessna Skyhawk for $50,000, took out a loan for $40,000, and then flew it for one thousand hours every year, how much would it be worth now? The price would be $83.20 for each hour worked.