Polite discussion about EASA, the CAA, the ANO and the delights of aviation regulation.
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By Paul_Sengupta
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1878824
VRB_20kt wrote:I wonder how many have the same “mission profile“ (ugh) a few years after passing the test that they have immediately after.


Food and/or cake.

25 years on still flying the same mission! :D (well, with a bit of formation flying thrown in for good measure)

LewisC wrote:Airframe and engine are both 2300 hours so I know money will need to be spent on that sooner rather than later.


Immediately budget £30k for an engine overhaul! And maybe £6k or £7k for the first "new owner" annual inspection.

It's usually cheaper to buy one that someone's done the overhaul a couple of hundred hours ago, but 2300 on the airframe is very low and that might be a good buy if the price is right (i.e. take £30k off what you think would be a good newly overhauled low time example).

GrahamB wrote:but you will be still be paying the heavier maintenance costs that a VP prop and retractable undercarriage bring


I like having a VP prop on the 'dog, it means I can get a shorter take off run and a good climb rate to get me out of shorter strips than would be possible otherwise.
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By Rob P
#1878827
Paul_Sengupta wrote:Immediately budget £30k for an engine overhaul! And maybe £6k or £7k for the first "new owner" annual inspection.


GrahamB wrote:but you will be still be paying the heavier maintenance costs that a VP prop and retractable undercarriage bring

I notice that Peter's group budget around £1,200/month or 14,400/year for fixed costs. That seems to me a scary figure and suggests your £6,000 for an annual might be conservative.

Paul_Sengupta wrote:take £30k off what you think would be a good newly overhauled low time example.
:thumleft:

Paul_Sengupta wrote:I like having a VP prop on the 'dog, it means I can get a shorter take off run and a good climb rate to get me out of shorter strips than would be possible otherwise.


I had a VP on the RV-4, I don't have one on the RV-6 and I miss it. Not for getting out of short strips, they aren't even remotely challenging. But for slowing the bloody thing down. :shock:

Rob P
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By Rob P
#1878830
Not free of course, the fixed costs include paying the local farmer, just as one has to pay rent for the hangar space at nearby Old Buckenham.

Rob P
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By Paul_Sengupta
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1878833
Rob P wrote:I notice that Peter's group budget around £1,200/month or 14,400/year for fixed costs. That seems to me a scary figure and suggests your £6,000 for an annual might be conservative.


Yes, quite possibly. Though I don't know how the funds are split, I would suggest that £14,400 annual costs include the insurance, airfield rent/hangarage, and there's the possibility that the group budgets for things like paint and interior, and maybe an engine overhaul on a time basis (12 years?) rather than 2000 hours. So...*shrug*....dunno.

If the prop needs overhauling at the same time as the engine, stick another £3k or so onto the overhaul/annual budget, and a lot more if the prop needs replacing.

Mine was just a best case scenario!
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By LewisC
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1878837
Prop is 10 hours so should be ok there for a while. Insurance will be around £2k and hangarage another £4k. Its getting inspected next week and if I go ahead with the purchase I will use the same guys for maintenance.
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By Rob P
#1878840
The hours don't matter. VP prop maintenance is time based, so it is from the moment it was bolted on the front of the aeroplane and six years I think. (Don't quote me on that). There is a lot of angst about this on the Van's forum since many people have the prop long before the first flight, though LAA rules on VP seem a little confused to one who isn't concerned about it.

So £2,000 insurance (benefitting from being a single pilot) and £4,000 for the hangar leaves about £8,000 for the annual, a 50 hr and eventualities from a notional £14,000 pa budget? Sounds about right. But it sounds pretty scary to an LAA owner though :shock:

I have just realised this is all sounding a bit negative @LewisC . If you have your heart set on this one then ignore the rest of us and go for it. You only buy your first aeroplane once.

Out of interest, how many other aircraft have you looked at?

Rob P
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By Paul_Sengupta
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1878844
Rob P wrote:The hours don't matter. VP prop maintenance is time based, so it is from the moment it was bolted on the front of the aeroplane and six years I think. (Don't quote me on that).


It depends on what the manufacturer specifies, some are five years, but most are six I think. Also now, as of fairly recently, it doesn't have to be an overhaul every six years, it can be an inspection. I just had the inspection and blade dressing/painting on mine this time, including a new set of bearings. It cost about £1.5k + VAT. More important than the cost of the overhaul/inspection is that fact that I didn't have the blades fully skimmed which will prolong the life of the prop before it goes out of tolerance.
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