Hey, I agree Carl.
I'm just trying to point out for those who are oversimplifying the equation that it neccessary to consider the whole picture. I don't think that anyone would expect to recoup the cost of fuel, oil, repairs, and misc items like battery replacement etc. (notice that I didn't include upgrades in my comments because they are entirely optional)
I just want to make sure that the $2,000-$3,000 per year of "passive expense" owners will have for annuals & insurance are factored into the equation. These costs will occur even if you never fly.
In your example, if you purchased the airplane for $25K and sold it for $25K (adjusted for inflation) 15 years later, you will likely have spent at least $30K in annuals and insurance during that time, regardless of your actual hourly operational costs, or things like hangars, paint jobs, interior refurbishment, upgrades etc. etc.
Of course one can't expect to recover active operational costs, but it's less obvious that you're unlikely to recover "passive costs" either. That $25K airplane would have to appreciate by 100% in 15 years to even begin to cover the fixed costs of ownership.
