Annual frustration

[danno2000]

I've just about had it with plane ownership.

My plane is in annual and I've been informed that for the fourth year in a row, the cost is going to be well above $10K. Not all of the items are airworthiness-related. But most of them either address actual structural issues like corrosion or are part of MSBs or Chapter 5 maintenance items that I want to do even if technically some of them might be optional.

I am not mechanically inclined and am based out of an airport where I don't have hangar space and where there's no mechanic readily available on the field. I've tried different service centers but it doesn't seem to change the price outcome (although I at least have gotten faster turnaround times).

I'm especially frustrated when I look through past posts that basically say if I'm spending more than $4K or $5K per year consistently, then I'm probably getting ripped off. I don't know enough to know whether I'm getting ripped off. I also don't have the confidence to say with certainty "I am comfortable never doing this item" or "Let's defer this one for 1-2 years." I want to be safe. I don't want to be declaring an emergency and smacking myself on the head for skimping on a maintenance item.

Most of the frequent posters here seem to handle most of their maintenance themselves. Is that just table stakes for plane ownership? If I'm not willing to do that, should I just sell the plane? The challenge there is I live in a rural area with no good rental options anywhere close.

I love to fly places and would hate to give that up. But the relentless never-ending money bleed is depressing - especially for an entry-level steam-gauge no-autopilot 20-year-old plane that has also given me some mission-frustration over time. Any advice on how to get maintenance costs back into reasonable territory - or hard love to suck it up and accept that it's an expensive hobby?

thanks,
dan

[astaib]

Hi Dan,

I understand your frustration, but 10k€ for 4 years in a row seem incredible.
I also had a 2001 steam gauge no autopilot version and I never had this kind of bill!
Can you tell what is corroded? And what had been changed in the last 3 years and also what is planed for this year?
I do some maintenance myself, but only the 50 hrs visits and sometimes I change myself some parts that are worn (always with the approval of my mechanic).
I have decided to put “on condition” for many parts (fuel, oil hoses, rudder cable….).

[Donkadillapig]

Dan,
one thing you might consider is an advocacy service like Savvy?? For around $100 a year they'll talk to the shop doing your annual and call BS on anything they feel is extraneous. They might be a good reference for you on deferral items etc. As a rookie owner I felt like it was piece of mind even if my newer aircraft is a little bit beyond their piston expertise and also hasn't had any "major" discoveries. (Beyond the well documented shenanigan's of MSBs and ADs surrounding the Austro).

[mhoran]

We've owned our 2007 DA40 for almost 10 years. The first few years were very reasonable. $2-3k (one $4k) annuals. $2k for insurance. No major repairs or replacement needed. A starter here. A fuel pump there. 2019 was the first shocker. We tried out a new shop and didn't set expectations ahead of time. The annual dragged on; there was confusion about chapter 4 vs chapter 5 items (and the MSB fiasco). The shop was going through some issues as well. Over a month later we got a bill for $5700. Then we had to equip for the ADS-B mandate. That was $15k.

2020 we managed to get back in to the original shop and had a reasonable ($3k) annual. Unfortunately the next year they couldn't fit us in. In 2021 we went to a shop on our home field and that came in at $2k. Unfortunately 2021 was the start of some major issues for us, which ultimately resulted in an engine overhaul. But we also performed some upgrades (WAAS, striping) which ended in an expensive year -- almost $30k all in.

2022 wasn't any cheaper. I spent the first half of the year chasing issues related to the WAAS upgrade ($8600 in parts and labor to resolve.) The annual was $2500 but turned up $6500 in discrepancies. And in the end we discovered we needed an engine overhaul, due to metal in the filter. That came out to $45k in the end and took six months.

We were down a lot in 2023. The overhaul (started in 2022) didn't finish until February. We got the plane back and it nearly immediately went into annual, with $12k in squawks. I've since spent over $3k chasing issues with a leak post overhaul, resulting in over three months of downtime (and the plane is still down while they try again to figure out what's going on.) But I got in an incredible trip around the country over the summer, which (nearly) made me forget about all of this nonsense.

At this point I can't imagine what else would need replacement. We have a new NLG strut and engine. Avionics have been swapped out a few times now for various issues. But every year, something does seem to come up. I also don't have a hangar nor an A&P who would sign off on my work, so most stuff requires a trip somewhere else. It does get expensive. I expect next year will be a bit less, but who knows.

In the past I did use SavvyQA to look over things. But after 10 years of ownership, I didn't find much value in that. I don't think I am getting fleeced by anyone. It's just that the cost of labor has gone up significantly, as has cost of parts, and these sort of things just can't always be predicted. Sometimes everything will be fine for a number of years (see first few years of ownership), then you'll have a few bad years like we've seen since 2021.

I still love having the plane but have accepted that it's expensive. I'll keep doing it so long as I can.

[chili4way]

The devil's in the details of the findings and associated repair costs (parts & labor). Don's suggestion of Savvy makes sense for a 2003-vintage, steam gauge, Lycoming-powered plane like yours.

My last annual (DA40NG) labor cost was a fixed rate of $3,300. Owner-assisted annuals can undoubtedly save on this if you have a willing IA and are so inclined. However, this doesn't sound like your thing.

[arksat]

Hi Dan, sorry for your frustration.
$10K for the past 4 years sounds too much. I'm also curious about what was the details of work items. Structurual issues and corrosion are not very common in DA40.

I have 2005 model. My annual has been around $5.5~7.5K on average, with no big squawk.
I'm in San Francisco bay area. Everything is costly here. Labor is $165/hr.
I just finished my annual which was $7,139.60
This year I replaced the canopy gas strut, passenger door aft hinge, muffler cross brace... they added up, but in normal annual, I pay about $6K.

[blsewardjr]

Dan- I feel your pain. I am also a non-mechanically inclined rookie owner of a DA40 that is seven serial numbers from yours (40.277). I'm also strongly interested in making sure my aircraft is as safe as I can make it. (One of the reasons I chose the DA40 over other aircraft was its excellent, real world, safety record). However, I am also a former attorney used to analytical/critical thinking and I follow mechanical issues on this forum closely. Thus, while respecting my mechanic's' opinions on maintenance, I try to make my own judgements about issues as they come up.

Clearly your maintenance associated with your annuals has been high. Without knowing the specifics of what the shops have found, a couple things stand out.

First, doing Ch. 5 and MSB work is expensive. I would wager that many of us FAA Part 91 owners do not do the majority of the Ch 5/MSB procedures. I examine each MSB as it comes out and try to evaluate the significance and probability of occurrence of the problem it is trying to address. Most I pass on unless it appears to be something that clearly will become an AD at some point. Case in point was the recent CANADA AD regarding numerous nose gear failures, which seemed critical and something likely to be an FAA AD, so I had the NLG replaced.

Second, I see you are in the Northeast. I'm willing to bet your labor rates are higher, maybe much higher than those outside of the coastal areas of the United States. I pay around $100/hr, for example, in Central Virginia.

Finally, while I haven't used Savvy I agree with the other commenters that they probably would be a great help with building your confidence with holding off on or declining suggested maintenance. If you replaced your VM1000 engine monitor with one that produces downloadable engine data, that would be an even stronger reason for using them, since data analysis is their expertise.

It's easy to get discouraged with aircraft ownership when you're not naturally excited about working on engines, electronics, etc. I, for one wish airplanes were more like modern cars. However, they are not. Reading aviation magazines like Flying or AOPA Pilot, it's easy to think you're the odd one out for thinking that aircraft ownership is nowhere near as great as these publications make it out to be. Nonetheless, I try, at least, to remember that these are first world problems and as an aircraft owner I'm privileged to be able to fly and to fly pretty much when and where I want to.

Bernie

[mhoran]

Sigh, my brain is fried as it's been a tough week at work. You said MSB, but I read that as MSI (and then wrote a post about MSB when I meant MSI.)

MSI is mandatory per Diamond. It was moved to chapter 4 when the TC transferred to Canada. Some argue they can use the AMM in effect at the time of manufacture to get around this. Though that AMM may require periodic replacement of rudder cables, which they do not do since it's not required by newer manuals. This topic has been beaten to death elsewhere, but the MSI is not an expensive inspection itself on top of an annual. I was never able to get an answer from the FSDO either way on this issue and eventually had it performed with little fanfare.

[Lance Murray]

I agree with the suggestions to use Savvy. You describe yourself as not mechanically inclined. You really need an advocate that has deep knowledge of the maintenance business and of aircraft maintenance in general. Less is more in aircraft maintenance but that is obviously counter to profit making. Get an advocate.

[danno2000]

Thanks to all for your thoughts!

I also had a 2001 steam gauge no autopilot version and I never had this kind of bill!
Can you tell what is corroded? And what had been changed in the last 3 years and also what is planed for this year?

In 2020, the big items were problems discovered during the mandatory chapter 4 static and bonding checks (about $8K), as well as a muffler rebuild, a new battery, and a (failed) attempt to solve a VM-1000 fuel pressure sensor problem. Shop had COVID challenges along with big delays getting the bonding check equipment from Diamond Canada and the plane ended up out of commission for about three months.

In 2021, I did the nose strut replacement for around $7K. Long delays Austria -> Canada -> US. Down 2+ months.

In 2022, new shop found wing root corrosion ($3.5K). Also tried again on the fuel pressure issue, spent $1K on fuel pump, no luck. Went down a rabbit hole given that the original manufacturer of the VM-1000 is out of business and whoever bought them out doesn't seem to have a huge stake in continuing it. Concluded that I'll eventually need a new engine monitoring system but wasn't ready to spend $10K trying to find one.

This year, it's the 500 hour magneto check, plus muffler baffles messed up again ($3K), peeling firepaint from the lower cowling and battery cover deemed airworthy ($2K), new tires ($1.5K). I'm deferring replacement of fuel tank vent hoses and interconnect hoses as that was gonna be another $4K, as well as seat-belt replacement ($2K).

The corrosion is in the flap weight arms and aileron trim tab. Those are pretty minor items. My plane is outside all year long with Bruce Covers on the whole plane in winter, so I can understand why I had wing root problems and why corrosion would be a bigger problem.

I've looked at Savvy but will take a closer look now. Might be good just to have somebody on my side.

I see you are in the Northeast. I'm willing to bet your labor rates are higher

Yeah, that was part of the issue with shop 1 I think. I'm trying not to name shops because they're just doing their job and I get the business and liability issues from their point of view. Look at Flightaware for N270DS and you'll know which shop I'm using now. They're up to $129 an hour now.

But I got in an incredible trip around the country over the summer, which (nearly) made me forget about all of this nonsense.

Matt, I'm right there with ya - This is the reason I've stuck it out this long. This year I did 3 great trips, one southern route from Massachusetts to San Diego and back, one northern route to Seattle and back, and then a quick trip to Santa Fe and West Texas for the annular eclipse in early October. I love the trips. Even if I decide it's too much for the long run, I'll be hoping to get a Yukon/Alaska trip done for 2024. Perhaps Gaspe and Newfoundland as well. If that turns out to be the swan song, so be it.

Thanks again for your support!

dan