$100 Hamburgers

 

Why, an uninformed observer might ask, would a well informed person pay $100 for a hamburger, however good it might be?

The term, used by pilots across the country, refers to the meal consumed at an airport restaurant after a flight taken there for the joy of flying.

On a recent Sunday a group of pilots from Santa Ynez enjoyed just such a hamburger at Bakersfield Municipal Airport’s new Rocket Shop Café.

The Rocket Shop Café recently was opened by famed aircraft designer John Harmon. Harmon is the driving force behind the kit-built aircraft, the Harmon Rocket.

 

So, is this hamburger good enough to charge $100 for the privilege of enjoying it? The hamburger is in fact excellent, but on the menu the cost is only about $6.00 with all the fixings.

So what makes this, or any other hamburger, worth $100? A discussion of the cost to operate a small airplane is necessary to bring the cost of the burger into clarity.

First are the direct operating costs associated with flying a small airplane. Most single engine aircraft use 4 or 6 cylinder engines that produce 100 to 300 horsepower.

These engines at normal cruise power use 7 to 15 gallons per hour of aviation gasoline. Avgas, as it is known, costs about $4.70 per gallon at Santa Ynez Airport; this is one of the best avgas prices on the coast. The same fuel at Santa Barbara costs about $6.70 per gallon!

So if the airplane is economical and burns about 7 gallons per hour, the one hour round trip to Bakersfield costs nearly $35.00 in fuel.

 

Another factor in computing the cost of operation of an airplane is maintenance costs. Each year all aircraft are required to have an annual inspection performed by a federally licensed mechanic who specializes in aircraft; an airframe and power plant mechanic usually will charge anywhere from $400 to over $1,500 for an annual inspection, depending on the amount of work that is required.

Some older or more complex airplanes may require far more work than a newer or simpler aircraft.

There is also the cost of parts that may be needed during the annual, and oil and filter changes are usually performed during this inspection.

Generally a well done annual inspection will average $700 if only a few minor repairs are needed. If the aircraft is operated 100 hours per year, the maintenance costs must be factored into the cost of operation at $7.00 per hour.

Normal maintenance must be considered additionally, such as worn tires, regular oil changes, brakes, and other incidentals like cleaning supplies for the aircraft. These may only be a couple of hundred dollars per year, adding $2.00 per hour to the operating cost.

 

The engines in small general aviation aircraft are hugely reliable.

However manufacturers of these engines recommend that overhauls be done after a specified number of hours of use.

Although the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) does not require that the engine be overhauled when it reached it’s time-between-overhauls time limit, the prudent pilot will keep close watch over the operation of the engine, as having an engine fail in flight is far more expensive than the overhaul.

Most engines have TBO times of between 1,500 hours to 2,000 hours. With the average cost of an overhaul to a smaller engine about $8,000, the pilot must account for about $4.00 per hour as cost toward that overhaul.

The pilot must also insure his airplane just as he insures his automobile.

 

Basic liability insurance on an aircraft will run about $1,000 per year, depending on the experience level of the pilot.

This accounts for about $10.00 per hour of the airplane’s operating cost.

Storage of the airplane varies, depending on whether the pilot has a hanger that will run about $450 per month at Santa Ynez down to only $36.00 per month if the aircraft is tied down at an outside parking space on the airport. Using the lower tie down amount, storage will cost just over $4.00 per hour of the aircraft operating cost.

There are other costs associated with flying that have not been accounted for in the operating cost of the aircraft. Every two years the pilot must undergo a biennial flight review with a flight instructor at a cost of $100 or more.

The pilot must purchase aeronautical charts for flights, landing fees may be incurred at some airports, and pilots are always fond of purchasing small gadgets for their flight bags such as flashlights, handheld flight computers, plotters, and airport facility directories.

To total these costs we find that with fuel at $35.00 per hour, annual inspections at $7.00 per hour, normal maintenance about $2.00 per hour, cost for engine overhaul at $4.00 per hour, insurance at $10.00 per hour, and storage or tie down at $4.00 per hour, the cost to operate the aircraft if it is flown 100 hours per year will be about $64.00 per hour.

 

When one factors in the depreciation cost of the aircraft it is easy to see how, if the cost of that original burger, soft drink, and tip are included, the $100 hamburger is a reality!