SR22 vs. Malibu/Mirage

Aviation General Aviation
1

I am looking at a couple of methods of aircraft owership. An SR22 fractional via AirShares vs. say purchasing a Malibu/Mirage with 1-2 partners.

SR22 Costs:
$175/hr + $975 monthly management (75 hrs/yr). This yields $24,825 per year, or $331/hr for all expenses, except depreciation of the $77k investment. Coincidentally, the 100 yr/hr program works out to $331/hr + depreciation as well.

Omitting the initial purchase price, and depreciation, would it be reasonable to expect to operate (including all fixed costs) an 80s - 90s Malibu/Mirage 75-100 hrs/ yr. for equal or less cost, assuming 2-3 individuals shraing the plane? I am thinking that it should work out to less than $331/hr all in. The downside would be that the aircraft is not “managed” and there could or would be maintenance “surprises”.

What are typical insurance requiremets for a Malibu/Mirage?

At a high level, am I missing anything here? Thoughts?

–Dan

2

I would think that would be low,to very low.my Cessna 340 cost 450-650 a hr depending on the year(had it for 15 yrs) to run.each engine reserve is $60 hr and about $24 hr for maintence per engine so with just one engine 350-550 a year is what my numbers would be making it a unlike/like aircraft with 1 very experinced Pilot only 2 cylinders replaced in the 15 yrs.@1400 hrs of use. its all the systems that kill ya.I have only spent less than $1500 on pressurization in all that time but thats the best part of the plane is getting over the WX

3

I was thinking it was low too.

Man, you message is hard to read! How about a “Period-Space-Cap”?

4

Now, now, now. This is the 21st century. It’s not how you write but how you feel about it.

5

“IT” was one big Runon! Forgot to Preview before sending.

6

So, what do you guys think of the AirShares program? Worth it, or not? (I don’t have $500k to tie up in an aircraft.)

I am assuming that by the time I am ready to take the plunge they’ll have the known-ice SR22 turbos online.

What I am looking for.

  1. Known ice capability. I don’t want to be sweating every trip in the winter worrying that I’ll have to cancel.

  2. Turbocharging. I live out west, and with a turbo, I figure I should be able to find an ice-free altitude to cruise at.

  3. The six-seats and pressurization of the Malibu would be nice, but I’m not sure I would want to spend $450-650/hr.

  4. Air-conditioning for those hot summer days with the family.

Maybe I should consider a Mooney, or turbo Bonanza. Where can one get realistic operating cost numbers?

Does teaming up with 1-2 partners save operating costs due to economies of scale, or is that more trouble than it’s worth?

–Dan

7

Obviously this site:

planequest.com/operationcosts/default.asp

Is completely lowballing it’s numbers then (other than the obviously out of date fuel prices?)

–Dan

8

I considered a Mirage 2 years ago, when I had 600TT and instrument rating. Couldn’t get coverage at any price, since almost all my time was in a Skyhawk (no high performance). So, I bought a turbo Saratoga. Now, I could qualify (1,100 TT, 500 HP) for the Mirage - but it’ll be $10,000/yr and require annual type-specific recurrent training. Big bucks.

The SR22 Turbo with FIKI is a heck of a nice platform.

9

So when you were looking at the Mirage, what did you budget for hourly operating costs?

–Dan

10

Dan, have you spoken to Cirrus?

http://www.cirrusaircraft.com/ownership/share/default.aspx

Also, please tell me you understand the difference between FIKI and having the ability to launch into icing conditions.

11

I figured $400 would cover it. I charge myself $250/hr for the Saratoga. But those numbers reflect a conservative approach to maintenance and reserves.

12

Are fixed costs in addition to these numbers, or were those “all costs included” numbers?

–Dan

13

That’s just operating costs. Hangar, insurance, recurrent training, databases, etc. are not part of those costs.

14

Have you considered a matrix? $200/hr operating costs. Same avionics setup as the SR22

15

I used to be a part of Airshares. I did their “Lease Program”. All the same benefits as ownership but little or no down payment. And, I could get out whenever I like.

What I didn’t like about Airshares:

75 Hours is nothing. I blew through it in a few months. Their meter starts running the second you turn on the battery switch. So 75 hours isn’t as much as you would think.

I flew a lot more than 75 hours and therefore my costs were exorbitant. Significantly higher than owning my own airplane. Minus the initial cash outlay of course.

The SR22 you buy is not the one you will be flying most of the time. There were several “beaters” in my fleet. That’s what I usually got stuck with on last minute scheduling

What I liked about Airshares:

Great people. 100% honest with me and reasonable. Easy scheduling. Great customer service.

I finally went ahead and bought a 2008 Bonanza. I had it turbo normalized. It’s by far the most bang for the buck airplane on the market. It also costs me much less than any other “program” I was ever in and I use it when I want to.

16

Could you break down those costs, becuase that seems pretty low to me.

17

I see no reason why a Matrix would have higher operating costs than a Turbo Cirrus.

Just a higher purchase price.

18

I think it has a slightly more powerful engine which would translate to a higher fuel cost over the long term. Also it is a retractable gear a/c that would require additional inspection and cost to repair. Those are two reasons.

I think the trade off in nominal though. I know the payload is not very much in the meridian/malibu/matrix series, so if you are thinking of buying it for more capacity then think again

19

I agree.

I forgot about the retract part.

20

Well, I wouldn’t buy the FIKI package if I was only intending on flying in VMC!

Am I going to launch in freezing rain? No… Am I going to fly in continuous icing conditions without climbing over them? no… Would I climb or descned through a wet cloud? yes.

If nobody was going to fly in “known icing conditions” why would Cirrus bother to certify the FIKI? The could have just stuck with the non-FIKI systems. Take a look at all SR22s in the air. People do actually use them for transportation!

–Dan