The Calculator
Run your numbers
Enter your candidate aircraft and how you actually fly. The calculator compares the all-in annual cost of owning against renting or dry-leasing the same capability, shows your breakeven hours, and separates cash cost from cost net of equity — because a loan payment is not all expense.
Purchase & Loan
How You Fly
Ownership Costs
Own — annual cash cost
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Rent / lease — annual cost
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Breakeven
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hours per year where owning's cash cost matches renting
Reading the Result
What the breakeven number really means
The classic rule of thumb says ownership starts making sense somewhere around 75–150 hours a year, and the calculator above shows you where your line actually sits. Below breakeven, renting wins on pure cash. Above it, every hour flown makes ownership cheaper per hour, because the fixed costs — payment, hangar, insurance, annual — are already paid whether you fly or not.
Three things the cash number does not capture, all of which favor ownership more than the spreadsheet shows: equity (a meaningful slice of every payment is principal you keep, not rent you burn — the calculator breaks this out), availability (your airplane is on the ramp Saturday morning; the rental fleet is not), and mission fit (you equip and maintain the aircraft for how you actually fly). And one thing it does not capture that cuts the other way: surprise maintenance — the reserve line above is an average, and averages arrive in lumps.
If you are running numbers on a specific aircraft, go deeper with the ownership planning tool for the multi-year picture, price the storage line with hangar costs by state, and sanity-check the insurance figure against the insurance guide. When the math says buy, the finance calculator turns the rate into a payment.
The math says buy?
Run the 60-second qualifier for a live rate matched to your aircraft type and credit tier — then re-run the calculator with your real number.
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Lease vs. Buy Questions
How many hours a year justify buying an aircraft?+
The traditional rule of thumb is 75 to 150 hours annually, but your real breakeven depends on the rental rate you would otherwise pay, your fixed ownership costs, and your hourly operating cost. The calculator on this page computes your specific breakeven — for many owners of modest aircraft in affordable hangar markets it lands lower than the rule of thumb suggests.
Does the calculator account for equity in the aircraft?+
Yes — it separates cash cost from cost net of equity. A portion of every loan payment is principal that builds your ownership stake rather than disappearing like rent, and the calculator shows the first-year principal explicitly. Depreciation and resale value are excluded from the simple view; use the ownership planning tool for the multi-year model.
What rental rate should I enter?+
The all-in wet rate for an aircraft of equivalent capability to the one you would buy — what you actually pay per hour today, including fuel. If you dry-lease, enter the dry rate and set the fuel line to what you pay directly.
What should I use for the maintenance and engine reserve line?+
A combined hourly figure covering routine maintenance plus an engine overhaul reserve — commonly $40 to $80 per hour for certified pistons depending on engine and complexity, more for turbines. It is an average that arrives in lumps, so treat the output as a planning number, not a guarantee.
Is leasing an aircraft the same as renting?+
For this comparison, functionally yes — both mean paying per hour or per month for access without ownership. Dry leases, wet leases, and club arrangements each price differently; our dry lease guide covers the structures. Enter whatever your real hourly access cost is and the comparison holds.
FLYING Finance Resources
From the FLYING Ecosystem
When the spreadsheet says own, we make the owning easy.Soft-pull pre-qualification, live rates that feed this calculator automatically, terms up to 20 years.
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