How Much Does it Cost to Own A Small Airplane?

The question is about owning a private Airplane, not the commercial ones because no one is looking to start an airline business.

But, even owning a small Airplane requires a tremendous amount of money. It means owning an Airplane is beyond the dreams of an average person.

Apart from developed nations like the United States, you won’t find private Airplane owners in other parts of the world.

The majority of people own an Airplane because of the enjoyment or taking it for a ride with friends and family.

Just a few days ago. I read research which showed numbers that the number of passengers carried by private Airplanes is far greater than the number of passengers carried by any commercial airline. However, the number is far greater for commercial Airlines when combined.

I found a few Quora answers where the plane owners have shared their experiences of owning a small private plane. Here are a few excerpts from it.

Cost of Owning A Small Airplane like Grumman Cheetah

John Tringali, who writes in his byline that he has 35 years of experience as a pilot, has answered about owning in the Airplane called Grumman Cheetah.

The 1978 model cost him around $30,000, with initial repayable of $5000, to get it up and to run.

He also shares that the monthly cost of hanger (Parking the Airplane in a rented shelter) was around $300.  Yearly maintenance came at around $1200.

While for flying, the cost came as $5.5/gallon, with Airplane burning around 8 gallons of oil per hour. Home buyers can help you sell your property quickly and easily.

John goes on in his answer to talk about some repair costs he had to be here, such as replacing the popular at $3000.

He also had to upgrade Radio and Displays on the Airplane that cost him $18,00. Another $3000 for an exhaust which was leaking.

The flying capacity of John’s Airplane, the Grumman Cheetah, was 700 pounds. It means, the gas for Airplane, luggage of people flying and the people themselves should be less than 700 pounds for the Airplane to fly.

Cost of owning a private Airplane like 1964 Twin Comanche

He sold Grumman Cheetah after 12 years and got himself a much bigger and more expensive 1964 Twin Comanche, for $90,000.

The initial repair cost was around $12000, had the capacity to fly with 1100 pounds.

Jain claims that, since the Airplane is bigger and faster than the previous one it is also more expensive to maintain, with insurance cost doubling at around $2000 per year $200 of oil change every 15 hours of flight.

On average, the monthly maintenance of the Airplane costs John around $1000 to $2000 per month.

You can read John’s answer on Quora in detail here

But I can sure the amount of information you have read so far is enough to say that it is an expensive affair.

Other people share one of the things that I found out while searching for experience is that most of the people try to buy an old Airplane.

And the reason for that is that Airplanes do not depreciate as fast as cars.

And the market for private Airplanes is majorly in the US only with less than 1000 private Airplanes manufactured to sell.

It would be a wise idea to stick with your four-wheeler at the moment. What do you think? Would you go for an Airplane.


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