Aircraft ownership cost calculator
What does it really cost to own a small piston airplane? Enter your fixed and hourly costs. Defaults are a Cessna 172-class airplane flown 100 hours a year, using published 2026 figures.
How it is calculated
Annual total = fixed costs (storage + insurance + annual inspection + misc + 12 × loan payment) + hours × hourly cost. Hourly cost = gph × fuel price + oil + maintenance reserve + overhaul cost ÷ (TBO − hours since overhaul) + prop reserve. Cost per hour = annual total ÷ hours. This is the same structure AOPA uses in its example 172 budget.
Where the defaults come from (Cessna 172-class)
- Storage $3,156/yr: the $263/mo median single-engine hangar from 19 US airport fee schedules (Pilot-Next). Tie-downs median $65/mo ($780/yr).
- Insurance $1,350: median of BWI quotes for a 172 insured at $100k–$200k (range $1,200–$1,700).
- Annual inspection $2,500: low end of Flying's $2,500–$4,500 all-in figure for a healthy airplane. Base inspection alone is $1,500–$2,200.
- Misc $800: assumption covering databases or an EFB app (ForeFlight $130–$390), registration and small fees.
- Fuel 8.1 gph (AOPA, 172) at $7.40/gal (AirNav nationwide 100LL, Nov 5, 2026). AOPA's 1975 example used 8 gph.
- Oil $3/hr: $100–$200 oil change every 50 hours ($2–$4/hr) plus top-ups; midpoint is an assumption.
- Maintenance reserve $15/hr: assumption near AOPA's $13.34/hr (300 h) to $25/hr (100 h) example, for unscheduled repairs beyond the annual.
- Engine: $34,000 overhaul, inside $28,700–$39,500 published O-320/O-360 prices, over Lycoming's 2,000-hour TBO = $17/hr, the same reserve AOPA used.
- Prop reserve $3/hr: assumption from published $1–$7/hr budget examples.
- Loan: 7.75% APR, 15 years is an assumption matching a published Cherokee loan example; enter your lender's quote.
More calculators
Guides
Sources
- AOPA: Hypothetical operating cost calculation (1975 Cessna 172M: insurance $1,200/yr, hangar $250/mo, 8 gph, maintenance $25/hr at 100 h or $13.34/hr at 300 h, engine reserve $17/hr; total $225/hr at 100 h, $108/hr at 300 h; own vs rent break-even just under 100 h/yr vs a $135/hr wet rental)
- AirNav fuel price report (nationwide 100LL average $7.40/gal, min $4.45, max $15.42; report dated Nov 5, 2026)
- Pilot-Next: hangar rental at 21 US airports (median cheapest single-engine hangar $263/mo, range $75–$860; median tie-down $65/mo, range $25–$340; fee schedules read Oct 26, 2026)
- Pilot-Next: airplane insurance cost (BWI quotes Jun 2025–Jun 2026: C172 $50k–$100k hull $700–$1,250, $100k–$200k $1,200–$1,700; PA-28-140 $850–$1,400; PA-28-180 $750–$1,300; Sunset SR22 $800k hull: $8,000 private+IFR, $14,000 working on IFR, $21,000 student)
- AirplaneHub: cost to own a Cessna 172 (2026) (citing Flying, May 2026: T-hangar $400–$600/mo, tie-down $75–$300; annual inspection base $1,500–$2,200, $2,500–$4,500 total on a healthy airplane, $8,000–$12,000 if maintenance was deferred; oil change $100–$200 every 50 h; O-320/O-360 overhaul $28,700–$39,500 from Corona, Gann and Airworx; Lycoming SI 1009BF TBO 2,000 h; ForeFlight $130–$390/yr)
Common questions
How much does it cost to own a small plane per year?
For a Cessna 172-class airplane flown 100 hours a year, published examples run roughly $12,000 to $22,000 a year before any loan, or about $120 to $225 per flight hour. Hangar, insurance and the annual inspection are fixed; fuel, oil and reserves scale with hours.
Why does cost per hour drop when I fly more?
Fixed costs like the hangar, insurance and annual inspection are the same whether you fly 50 or 200 hours. Spread over more hours, each hour carries less of them. AOPA's 172 example fell from $225 an hour at 100 hours to $108 at 300.
What is an engine reserve?
Money set aside each flight hour for the next overhaul: overhaul cost divided by the hours left until TBO. A $34,000 overhaul over 2,000 hours is $17 an hour. If the engine is already mid-time, divide by the hours remaining.