The True Cost of Flying

Chuck writes "Credit where credit is due: A letter from the Cherokee Pilot's Association magazine...

Don't Count Your Expenses

I walked through the office at a nearby FBO this morning and overheard a student pilot telling his instructor about a great computer program he had that kept track of everything he spent on flying. There is even a place to track the sectional he had just purchased. I had to bite my tongue to keep quiet. If that was YOU, or if you are thinking of analyzing all that money, DON'T DO IT! I can tell you the answer right now. How much money does it take? ALL OF IT.

Flying is a passion. Those numbers will only confuse you, dampen your spirit, and if they get into the "wrong hands" they WILL BE USED AGAINST YOU.

I was single in 1973 when I bought my first airplane. For five years I lived on Popcorn, three Musketeers and Mountain Dew. Tuesday was Coney Dog day at A&W and every Tuesday I stored up energy for the following week in the form of THREE Coney Dogs, at (I think) about 49 cents each. BUT I HAD MY AIRPLANE and all was right with the world.

Got married in '80. Now it's really unclear what is classified as a "flying expense''. What about that dining room suite that was somehow connected to a new transponder? Or the sofa bed that came with the new Com radio? We are about to rebuild the bathroom on the strength of a recent engine overhaul. What's a pilot to do?

When I'm on a trip I prefer to pay cash for fuel. Then with the excitement of travel and all, I forget how much it costs. What gas? I'm not just hiding it from her, I DON'T WANT TO KNOW.

A couple of weeks ago at a party a very insensitive person asked me RIGHT IN FRONT OF MY WIFE, "How much does it cost to own an airplane?'' (Nobody EVER asks how much it costs to raise a son, but then, that was HER idea.)

I gave the only answer I could. "I told my wife twenty years ago that the airplane was about $25.00 a month. Nothing has changed." That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

James Bonsey
Newberg, OR
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