I am considering first time purchase of airplane. I am looking for low-cost machine for pure joy of flying. I am trying to get a feel for the annual ownership cost of a Citabria. Flight time in type is zero. Would need to obtain taildragger endorsement. I realize this can vary greatly, but I am interested in the experience of as many different owners as possible.
Annual Cost of Ownership
- Thread starter dgrantjr
- Start date
wjwilson2000
New member
The more you fly the less per hr. it will usually cost. The Citabria is probably one of the least expensive aircraft you could look at in the line of maintence. Now insurance is going to be a little higher probably because of the taidragger thing unless you have a lot of experience,but don't let that change your mind because on the Citabria it is not that much more. I personally could rent cheaper than own, but I would have to drive so far to rent I never would go. It's awful handy just to walk across the road open the hanger door and go fly 5 mins. or 2 hrs.
Woodie
N29763
Woodie
N29763
Ron86654
New member
2 years ago I bought a 74 7ECA with a partner. So far it has worked out very well. We put about 10 hours/ month on it, more in the summer, less in the winter.
We put $200.00/Month in a maintenance reserve account to cover both scheduled(annual inspections) and unscheduled(fuel tank leak) maintenance. So far it is building faster than we spend it, which it is supposed to do for big surprise or expected expenses like engine overhaul, fabric repair, etc., etc.
We put $7.00 in the kitty for each hour we fly and settle up monthly, plus we replace the fuel we use(5.8 gal/hour). We burn auto fuel, Amoco premium(no alcohol) at about 1.80/Gal. We figure it costs us less than $20.00/hour direct operating costs.
Other expenses are:
Insurance: 1,000.00/Year
Hangar: 240.00/Month
We don't have any payments, but if you do, you need to add them in.
For me, buying with a partner is the only way to go, halving the expenses make it very affordable.
Also, if you take your time and look around you can find an airplane that you can resell and get your money back(or maybe make a little). Don't plan on this to determine if you can afford it, but it is a real fact.
So far, we have had no surprises, we put a lot of research into finding a good bird and that paid off.
Hope this helps.
Ron86654
We put $200.00/Month in a maintenance reserve account to cover both scheduled(annual inspections) and unscheduled(fuel tank leak) maintenance. So far it is building faster than we spend it, which it is supposed to do for big surprise or expected expenses like engine overhaul, fabric repair, etc., etc.
We put $7.00 in the kitty for each hour we fly and settle up monthly, plus we replace the fuel we use(5.8 gal/hour). We burn auto fuel, Amoco premium(no alcohol) at about 1.80/Gal. We figure it costs us less than $20.00/hour direct operating costs.
Other expenses are:
Insurance: 1,000.00/Year
Hangar: 240.00/Month
We don't have any payments, but if you do, you need to add them in.
For me, buying with a partner is the only way to go, halving the expenses make it very affordable.
Also, if you take your time and look around you can find an airplane that you can resell and get your money back(or maybe make a little). Don't plan on this to determine if you can afford it, but it is a real fact.
So far, we have had no surprises, we put a lot of research into finding a good bird and that paid off.
Hope this helps.
Ron86654
Stay away from lease backs!
My 7KCAB was on lease back at an FBO where the owner had a chief, the mechanic had a stearman. Even so, they managed to drop something on the wing while it was hangared, and 5 months later it is almost finished.
Without those repair costs, I have to say it is a durable bird. It is also easy to do owner maintenance, and many A&P's are willing to supervise on this kind of bird. This makes it a much more enjoyable experience....feel like you are part of the plane. It is also much cheaper for maintenance and repairs.
If I fly only 100 hours per year, my cost of ownership is around $48 per hour. It drops dramatically after that. Insurance was $950 (I only have 50 hours in type and TW), hangar is $150 per month.
Best of all, is the ownership experience. No one will walk up to you at a grass strip and say "hey nice 172", everywhere I go, people want to talk about the citabria, and many of them have a cool plane of their own to show you.
One other thing, do not get sucked into the anti-wood spar conspiracy. Of course get it inspected before you buy, by someone who knows, but I can tell you that a complete rebuild with wood spars, poly fiber, and a fancy paint job cost $5000 less than the new metal wings and weigh alot less too. Other than the hangar rash my original spars were good after 30 years of acro training.
Buy it, Fly it, Enjoy it!
My 7KCAB was on lease back at an FBO where the owner had a chief, the mechanic had a stearman. Even so, they managed to drop something on the wing while it was hangared, and 5 months later it is almost finished.
Without those repair costs, I have to say it is a durable bird. It is also easy to do owner maintenance, and many A&P's are willing to supervise on this kind of bird. This makes it a much more enjoyable experience....feel like you are part of the plane. It is also much cheaper for maintenance and repairs.
If I fly only 100 hours per year, my cost of ownership is around $48 per hour. It drops dramatically after that. Insurance was $950 (I only have 50 hours in type and TW), hangar is $150 per month.
Best of all, is the ownership experience. No one will walk up to you at a grass strip and say "hey nice 172", everywhere I go, people want to talk about the citabria, and many of them have a cool plane of their own to show you.
One other thing, do not get sucked into the anti-wood spar conspiracy. Of course get it inspected before you buy, by someone who knows, but I can tell you that a complete rebuild with wood spars, poly fiber, and a fancy paint job cost $5000 less than the new metal wings and weigh alot less too. Other than the hangar rash my original spars were good after 30 years of acro training.
Buy it, Fly it, Enjoy it!