Overhaul Bids is the fastest way for aircraft owners to find shops and pricing for engine overhauls and inspections. In addition to our annual inspections, we offer: In Piper aircraft, cracked wing ribs can cause fuel to leak through the rivets in the underside of the wing. The engine is constantly under high demand. Depreciation is worth mentioning here. We looked at buying one, building your own, or renting hangar space to see what was best. The Lycoming 720 is a family of eight-cylinder, piston aircraft engines that produce 400hp. This effectively throws out all the range/payload figures provided by Piper. Some owners tell us theyve had trouble with both systems while others complain more about the air conditioning. Do contact me if I can help decipher the numbers. Insurance mins required over 500 TT and some other things and the average club member didn't qualify. Field overhauls can cost less, but usually decrease the value of the airplane. (Actually, some of the later Malibu models got the electric flaps and improved hydraulics for the gear.). The perceived reliability of the Mirage got so bad among some owners that a class-action lawsuit was filed in 2000 against New Piper and Lycoming. I have been flying since I was 14 years old and have been in love with aviation for as long as I can remember. I've also heard that it doesn't ride turbulence too well due to relatively light wing loading. Importantly, they read all the logbooks to make sure they were complete and that there were no surprises. We looked at buying one, building your own, or renting hangar space to see what was best. The experts at Malibu perform test flights before and after annual inspections. 4.) So the real Engine Reserve on a Malibu can be considered to cost about $50/hour. Owning a Piper Cherokee can be expensive, especially when it comes to engine overhauls. The new engine weighed 113 pounds more, but the maximum takeoff weight was boosted by 200 pounds. Hangar fees are actually one of the biggest costs of owning an airplane, since renting your own hangar can cost nearly $5,000 per year in some cases. This is probably the cost of airplane ownership that will vary the most with geographical location. Reverse thrust is a safety tool. Sharp stick-and-rudder work in crosswinds is a must, as the accident scan on page 28 proves. 2008 Piper Malibu Meridian Reg . As is often the case, the production airplane was heavier than intended, but this was offset by a boost in takeoff weight. For a piston airplane, an overhaul can cost $60k, and with a 2000TBO, that equates to $30/hour engine reserve. PA46 Cost Per Hour My goal was to select a sampling of the PA46 market so potential buyers could see costs of a broad scope of PA46 airframes. . Based on 450 annual owner-operated hours and $6.75-per-gallon fuel cost, the PIPER Aztec D-E has total variable costs of . Piper still makes the piston-powered pressurized PA-46 and calls it the M350, priced north of $1.1 million. 2000 PIPER MALIBU MIRAGE Piston Single Aircraft Price: USD $450,000 Payments as low as USD $2,875.50 / monthly* Aircraft Location: Indianapolis, Indiana Serial Number: 4636289 Registration #: N82LL Total Time: 2,775 Engine Notes: 56 Hours Since Top Overhaul In fact, a Piper Cherokee is one of the cheapest planes that you can buy and fly. View photos, ownership, registration history, and more. The most common variable costs are fuel, oil changes, and engine overhauls. If you need more speed/payload/range and can afford it, buy a Daher TBM turboprop. Newer PA-46 Mirage models (the M350 came out in 2015) are premium priced, typically retailing for around $950,000. Much like cars, airplanes depreciate in value over time (with few exceptions). I found my Cherokee on Barnstormers.com and purchased it for $27,200. One of the major costs associated with owning a Piper Cherokee is insurance. Our impression is that theyre about the same and that any owner contemplating buying a PA-46 should simply budget a pile of cash for annual maintenance and fix stuff as it breaks. . Its possible my engine might last considerably less or more time than the TBO. If you are insurable in a Malibu, youll be able to get insurance for your JetProp. In a Jetprop, the engine has a 3600-4000 hour TBO (-35/-34). Engine overhaul TBOs are just estimates. link to Why Are Some Propeller Blades Curved? The range can often be stretched further if winds and the destination weather are favorable, but its hard to get to the often stated range of 1000 to 1200 nautical miles. Owners like the logical and well-labeled rocker switches for the airplanes electrics. The plane flew like a charm. Available as carburated (O), fuel injected (IO), and Aerobatic versions (AIO/AEIO). There were some growing pains, to say the least. The Mirage, Jetprop, or Meridian all cost more than a comparative Cessna P210, and should not be compared. Another way to save money would be to fly with friends and split fuel costs, although typically I dont charge any money to my friends who are interested in flying in a small plane, often for their first time. Thinking of only short term costs like fuel can lull you into thinking owning and operating a plane is cheaper than it really is. Unless otherwise noted, these reviews carry product pricing from the time of the original review. Generally, you can expect to pay between $500 and $2000 per year. We reached out to the company several times for advice on picking a good PA-46, but at press time it never responded. Come on guysthe shelves are stocked and the blue light is on! Sun n Fun 2023: Superior Custom Instrument Panels. After spending years watching every video I could find about flying, I finally scratched the itch and got my pilots license. 6 years ago you couldnt find a Jetprop for less than $800k and most were north of $1.2m. Aircraft subject to prior sale . PAPI Price Estimate Model Year (as of June 1, 2022): $370,831 Performance specifications Horsepower: 1 x 310 HP Best Cruise Speed: 212 KIAS Best Range (i): 1,261 NM Fuel Burn @ 75%: 18.0 GPH Stall Speed: 50 KIAS Rate of climb: 1,143 FPM Ceiling: 25,000 FT Takeoff distance: 1,440 FT Props. Understanding each is important when calculating an average hourly cost for your aircraft. It's a pricey and time-consuming effort that many Belvoir Media Group, LLC. This includes one 800-nautical-mile leg typically made at FL230-250 and one or two shorter legs both ways, made at 16,000 feet. Retraction speed is much lower, at 130 knots (Malibu) and 126 knots (Mirage) KIAS. They are the same except for pressurization, correct? Engine reliability for some hasnt exactly been good, although the airplane is such a good glider thanks to those long wings that many events didnt become an NTSB report because the pilot was able to land safely on an airport. Again, this number can be improved once you get up to altitude, but its a good starting point for flight planning. Improve the performance, safety, and efficiency of your aircraft, and schedule your next annual inspection with Malibu Aerospace. RANGE: 799 NM / 919 SM SPEED: 203 KTS / 234 MPH PRICE: $840,000.00 MAX PASSENGERS: 5 people This is a huge cost savings for an owner, if they operate the airplane properly. The way your LED taxi lights came very handy on my first trip after installation: I was flying into KPDK late in the afternoon, with the sun low on the horizon, directly on my tail. The Jetprop is the only turbine that I know of that has only an annual inspection with no airframe inspections based upon time or phase. For reference, I currently have 180 total hours, 75 of which are in a PA-28-140. They are easy to fly, reliable, and generally have a low ownership cost. Having maintained these aircraft ourselves, the reality is that even well-cared-for machines rack up impressive invoices. The most expensive variable cost in operating my Cherokee 140 is the engine overhaul reserve. So. is this guy just losing money when he rents it or what? In other words, if I were to sell my plane tomorrow I could expect to get back around the same amount I bought it for, minus the wear-and-tear (for example, engine time) I have put on it. You can download a template for calculating aircraft ownership costs here, and modify it for your particular aircraft and situation. 3.) We can provide pickup and delivery services, managing shipping and ferry permits in accordance with the FAA. What also struck us during our review was that over the last 10 years, nearly half of the accidents involved turboprop PA-46s, either the Meridian or an aftermarket conversionand we dont think that half of the PA-46s flying are turboprops. The used Malibu business must be really good. Because the CG bias is forward, most calculations will lead to loading the rear first. This will typically get you an older model, but saving $250,000+ is well worth it! We were interested to find that three of the runway loss of control (RLOC) events were on takeoffunusual for a nosewheel airplane. If youre excited about buying a Piper Cherokee which you totally should be! This does not include an engine overhaul fund, which we will discuss later. Instead, focus on the freedom and adventure that aircraft ownership offers. Andthe brakes on a PA-46 are susceptible to failure when neglected (see this post for more info). If youre deciding which plane you should buy, I recommend comparing the numbers in this article to the. Costs Involved In Owning & Operating A Piper Cherokee, If youre excited about buying a Piper Cherokee which you totally should be! The Mirage also got some big-airplane-type features that owners appreciate, including a dual-bus electrical system, internal windshield deice, standard dual alternators and vacuum pumps and an auxiliary heater for the cabin. 6.) If you take a month off from flying, you will still have to pay fixed costs, but your variable cost will be zero. To beat down the fuel flow, Continental required pilots to lean the engine to 50 degrees lean of peak for all operations below 80 percent power, which is the maximum recommended cruise setting. Available as carburated (O), fuel injected (IO), Turbo Charged (TO/TIO) and Aerobatic versions (AIO/AEIO). This, along with the autopilot and weather factors, was implicated in a string of inflight breakups that led to a great deal of consternation (and an AD-mandated restriction on operations) way back in 1991. Its also a good IFR airplane thanks to sturdy handling thats more SUV-like than sports car, plus it just looks sexy on the ramp. It needed it. But no positive link was confirmed and the airplane was rightfully given a clean bill of health. 1375 hrs TT Lycoming TIO-540-AE2A Engine Recent propeller overhaul! Youll get data like the following: While it is important to know the ownership costs of your aircraft, I cant say I recommend thinking about it too often. Its cold back there in the flight levels, even during the summer. Popular Aircraft: Cessna 182, C-182 Cessna 206, C-206 Piper Aerostar, PA-60-601P Piper Saratoga, PA-32R See how much it costs These are the costs that I incur even if I dont fly a single hour in a year. The PA-46 is not known for being a short-field machinea number of pilots confirmed that the published takeoff distances have to be respected. Nearly all of the topics I most commonly get asked about flight training, all in one place, for free. Buying a brand new Cherokee will set you back about $260,000 to $280,000. The many hours of highly skilled labor involved and the relatively low volumes of general aviation piston engines being overhauled add up to a whopping bill! The plane flew like a charm. For a used model thats airworthy and ready to fly, you can expect to spend just around $20,000 to $22,000. Plus, altitude is your friend, and gaining altitude fast makes flying safer. Some versions arent supported at all. That being said, nothing is better than those days where you arrive at the airport to a fully fueled plane, fly around for a few hours, land, and go home all while your bank balance remains untouched. My insurance costs me $80 per month, or $960 per year. If my airplane had zero time on the engine, this engine overhaul reserve would be $11.50 per hour. One owner cited this as the reason he chose the Malibu over the Mirage. It is a tried and true conversion with no skeletons. Dont be unrealistic or purchase a plane you cant afford, but dont focus solely on your bank balance when pursuing your aviation dreams. 13.) The Piper Meridian is a single engine turboprop that is typically outiftted with one cabin zone and has a range of 490 nm. The climb rate is WAY better. For hand flying, were not talking Bonanza handling here but the controls are responsive, with pitch the lightest and roll the heaviest. You've disabled cookies in your web browser. I made a recent trip across the Pacific Northwest and backtwice in the same day with light windsand had an average block speed of 167 knots over four 260-nautical-mile legs with vectoring in Class B airspace on one end. In the past, I was never able to run at 32.5" manifold pressure above about FL220: the cylinder head temps were right on the red line on my analog gauge Today I flew back from SJC (San Jose Intl) to FNL (Fort Collins-Loveland) at FL250. Piper's current pressurized PA-46--the M350--is well north of $1 million. Weve always felt that the PA-46 is an autopilot airplane. He claimed the engine lost power. Getting into the seats requires minor contortions through a narrow aisle between bulkheads walling off the rear cabin. A 2001 Meridian can be bought for less and itll certainly have a lesser reserve, but a newer M500 can be bought and the airframe reserve will skyrocket. Overhaul Cost : $150,000 Mid Life Interval : 1,800 Mid Life Cost . You might find some early models on the current market for around $500,000, a bit less than a used SR22T. Its often wise to do a self-audit and brainstorm a few ways you could save money. Sure. One place its not at home is taking off from short runways. Find 1987 PIPER MALIBU with serial number 4908076 on Aircraft.com. SkyTough was made by enthusiasts for enthusiasts. This didnt interest me, as I didnt want another monthly bill to worry about. I did the 65% 70% and 75% power for an hour each as you suggested. No big expense in your future. Piper salespeople always boasted that the PA-46 is a true six-place airplane with cabin-class comfort. It makes a great airplane (PA-46 Malibu) even better. The long wings produce another undesirable trait: The roll rate at slow speeds is somewhat ponderous compared to other singles. 2 years on airframe and avionics and 5 years on engine. Get it up high and the airplane can do an honest 200 knots in pressurized comfort (the simpler Matrix is non-pressurized).