Aircraft cost-per-hour calculator

Dividing your yearly bills by the hours you flew misses the engine wearing out and makes a hangar look free when you fly a lot. This calculator splits ownership into fixed costs (paid whether you fly or not) and hourly costs (fuel, maintenance and reserves), the way most owners and partnerships budget.

Aircraft

Start from a typical aircraft

Hours flown per year

Fixed costs (per year)

Hangar or tie-down

Insurance

Annual inspection

Average, including typical findings

Loan payments

Other (databases, subscriptions, registration)

Partners sharing the plane

Hourly costs

Fuel burn

gal/hr

Fuel price

$/gal

Oil

$/hr

Maintenance reserve

$/hr

Engine overhaul cost

Per engine

Engine TBO

How the numbers are worked out

Fixed cost per hour = (hangar + insurance + annual + financing + other) ÷ hours flown per year. Fly more and it falls.
Fuel per hour = burn (gal/hr) × price per gallon.
Engine reserve = overhaul cost ÷ TBO, per engine. It's money you'll spend at overhaul, set aside one hour at a time.
Maintenance reserve covers squawks and unscheduled work between annuals. Owners commonly use $10–$30 an hour for a simple single; use your own history if you have it.

The preset aircraft fill in typical fuel burn and the manufacturer's recommended TBO only. Use your POH, your fuel receipts and your insurance quote for the real figure. Prices are examples, not quotes.

Sharing the plane? The fixed cost per partner is what each partner pays monthly before flying; hourly costs are usually billed to whoever flies. See how to set up an aircraft partnership.

SkyRes tracks your real expenses, flights and maintenance and keeps this number up to date for you.

See SkyRes for owners

Aircraft cost-per-hour calculator

How the numbers are worked out

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