Own, share, or keep flying the club glider?
Every answer to this online adds depreciation to the annual bills and quotes one number. That number is right for comparing options and wrong for answering "what leaves my bank account" — and those are different questions asked by the same person at different moments. So this gives you both.
Be honest — this is the number the whole answer turns on.
The queue is a real cost. If you can never get the club ship on a good day, say so here.
| Own it | Club | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Up front | — | ||
| Cash out per year | |||
| Depreciation per year | — | ||
| Economic cost per year | |||
| Economic cost per hour |
The aircraft
Costs for the whole glider. The share slider divides them.
What this assumes, and what it can't know
Depreciation is not cash, and the page keeps them apart on purpose. A glider losing $1,000 of value a year is a real economic cost, but it is not money you have to find in March. Compare options on the economic line; budget your year on the cash line.
The purchase price is not an annual cost. It is a lump you part with once and largely get back when you sell, which is exactly what the depreciation line measures. Adding both would count the same money twice — a mistake that appears in a great many spreadsheets on this subject.
Resale value is a guess and it dominates the answer. Well-kept glass has held its nominal value remarkably well over some periods and fallen over others. The model accepts a resale above the purchase price if that is what you believe, and it will show negative depreciation rather than quietly clamping it.
Launch costs are left out entirely, because you pay them whichever option you pick, so they cancel. If you want those, see the launch cost calculator.
What it cannot price is the part that decides it for most people: having your own glider rigged and ready on a good day, knowing the aircraft, not queueing, and being able to go cross-country without asking anyone. Those are worth something real and the number is yours, not ours.
Not yet reviewed by anyone but us. If you run a club's books and one of these assumptions is wrong, we would genuinely rather hear it than not — tell us and we'll credit you here. This is a budgeting estimate, not a quote. Every club sets its own rates and they change; check with the club before relying on a number.
Thinking about buying?
Where to look, what a pre-purchase inspection should cover, and the findings that should make you walk away.
Read: buying a glider →