28/10/2016

HowmuchwoulditcosttoprivatelyownandoperateaMiG21?Quora

HowmuchwoulditcosttoprivatelyownandoperateaMiG21?
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RobertXCringely,Pilotfor40+years,builderofsevenairplanes,former
Shuttleworthapprentice
WrittenMay27UpvotedbyPaulTomblin,Licensedprivatepilot.PPASELIAwithhigh
performanceandcomplexendorsements.andDougHanchard,Aviatorwith7,000+
hoursCPL,ATPLPittS1toDC8'sandB707's.

Itcostsbothmoreandlessthanyoudguess.Iknowbecausewithinthelast12monthsIveboth
shoppedforaMiG21UTI(trainer)andobtainedaLetterofAuthorization(LoA)tolegallyflyonein
theUSA.TheSanDiegoAir&SpaceMuseumhadtheirfullyairworthyMiG21forsalelastyearfor
$69,000,whichisprobablythelowendandagreatdeal.Theresanairworthysingleseaterforsale
rightnowinNevadafor$150,000thathasbeenusedintrainingexerciseswiththeUSAF.Even
bringinginaMiG21fromoverseasandmakingitflightworthyshouldntcostmorethan$200,000.
GenerallyMiG21sarecheaperthanL39sthetrainermostpeopleflybeforetheygettothe
MiG21becausetheMiG21costssomuchtooperate.GettingtheLoAtook10hoursinanL29
($1400/hr),10hoursinanL39($1700/hr.),andfivehoursintheMiG21,itself($4500/hr.).Do
themathandthats$53,000beforeyourfirstsolotakeoff.Insuranceisnoteasytogetandeven
thenitwillonlybeliability.IfyouoperateyourMiG21for25hoursperyear,whichistypicalof
hobbyistaircraft,budget$150,000foreverything.Ifyouoperateitforthe75hoursperyearit
takestoreallyremaincomfortableinit,thenbudget$350,000400,000peryear.
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RajanBhavnani,~10yrsasanengrataF100defensecontractor
WrittenMay25UpvotedbyPaulTomblin,Licensedprivatepilot.PPASELIAwithhigh
performanceandcomplexendorsements.andSophiadeTricht,10yearsasamilitary
intelligenceanalyst,alifetimeasastudentofaviation

Thisisoneofthosethingswhereifyouhavetoaskthepriceyoucannotaffordit.IfIhad
tostateavalueIdbenchmarkitataround$3.5M$4M(plusoperatingcostsandmaintenance).
Asithappens,IrecentlystartedworkingwithacompanythattrainsforeignAirForcepilotstofly
infighterjets.Theyhavesomeofthelargestprivatelyownedfleetsofhighperformancejetand
turboprop(akaWarbird)aircraftonearth.
Astudentwithnopastflightexperience(whoalreadyspeaksfluentEnglish)hastogothroughan
InitialFlightScreening(insomethinglikeaCessna172),BasicFlightTraining(inapropellertrainer
likeaTucano),andAdvancedJetTraining(inajettrainerlikeanL39)beforetheyareeven
allowedtobegintraininginarealfighterlikeaMiG21.
Starttoendthecurriculumtakes~30months.Assumingyoupassalltheclassesthefirsttime(the
washoutrateis~30%)andyouhaveacouplehundredbuddieswhoalsowanttogettrainedthey
canprobablygetthecostdowntojustover~$2.5Mperstudent.
Outofcuriosity,IaskedasalesguywhatitwouldcosttobuyafullyupdatedandflightworthyL39
(becausealotofmilitaryaircraftarenotsoldinflightworthycondition).Hesaidastartingprice
wouldlikelybearound~$300kdependingonthefeaturesrequiredbythecustomer.
Sothats~$3M(and2.5yearsoffulltimetraining)justtogettrainedonandaquireanL39.The
L39isnotnearlyaspowerfulasaMiG21whichwouldcostmoretopurchase.Justlikeusedcars,
theactualdollaramountwouldvarywildlybasedonthingsliketheaircraftscondition,thesellers
urgencytosell,thesentimentalattachment,etc.
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28/10/2016

HowmuchwoulditcosttoprivatelyownandoperateaMiG21?Quora

Thenyoullhavetopayforjetfuel.Justlikeahighperformancecarguzzlesgasyourhigh
performancejetwillhaveanunquenchablethirstforjetfuel.
Youllalsoneedahangertokeepyournewjetin,andacertifiedmechaniconcalltohelpkeepit
operational.OhdidImentionhowitsalmostimpossibletogetRussianjetfighterpartsinthe
West?Youllprobablyhavetoreverseengineerquitealotofthepartsyouneedtofix/replace.That
meansaddingsignificantengineeringandfabricationcoststothealreadyhighmaintenanceand
operationalcosts.
AsImentionedatthebeginningifyouhavetoaskthepriceyoucannotaffordit.
112.3kViewsViewUpvotesAnswerrequestedbyMartinLips
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JonMixon,IusedtoworkonC130'sintheUSAF
UpdatedDec26,2012UpvotedbyPaulTomblin,Licensedprivatepilot.PPASELIA
withhighperformanceandcomplexendorsements.

Harddollaramountswouldbedifficulttoprovideforthisasthemaintenance,fuelandstoragecosts
willalldependuponwherethepurchaserlives,whateverlicensestheyneedtoobtaintopurchase
andowntheaircraftandhowmuchmoneyandtimetheywillbewilling(orable)toputintothe
aircrafttokeepitairworthy.
1.Youfirsthavetosourceandthenpurchasetheaircraft.ManycountrieswhichstillhaveMiG
21salsostillflythem,sotheymaybeunwillingtopartwiththem.Thereareprivateowners
whichmaysellthembuttheyalsoareonlywillingtopartwiththemforaheftyprice(ifthey
areflightworthy)orbecausetheyneedtosellthemforfinancialorestatereasons.Thismay
be
2.IntheUS,thereareonlyaboutadozenorsocompanieswhichroutinelyrepairformerSoviet,
SovietBlocorChineseaircraftsuchasrheMiG21.Theyarewidelydispersedaroundthe
countryandusuallyhaveabacklogofcustomerswaitingformaintenance.
3.Whilethesecompaniescansourcepartsfortheirclients,eventheywillhaveadifficulttime
withsomeandyou(theclient)willhavetopayapremiumfortheseparts.Thatwilladd
significantlytothecostofoperation.
4.Youhavetolearnhowtoflyjetaircraftandthenbecomequalifiedtodoso.Thisisasignificant
costinitsownright.
5.Youhavetoinsuretheaircraft.Thismayprovetobeasizableamount,especiallyifyouhave
hadanymishapsinaircraftbeforeoryouareunabletoprovideasolidprovenanceforthe
aircraft.
6.Fuel,fuel,fuelBeingajetfighter,MiG21suseastaggeringquantityoffuel.Thismayproveto
bethemostsignificantcostinoperatingtheaircraftandmayresultintheplanesittingidlefar
moreoftenthantheownerswoulddesire.
AccordingtothisreferencefromtheFAA(FederalAviationAdministration)thereare52privately
ownedMiG21sintheUnitedStates.Mostareownedbycompanieswhichleasethemtopilotsand
formovie/televisionworkafewareownedbyprivateindividuals:http://regist
ry.faa.gov/aircraft...
Sorryifthisdoesn'tprovideahardcurrencyamountwhichthequestionermayhavebeenseeking.
Butagain,thecostswouldvaryduetothenatureoftheaircraft,thecostsofmaintenanceandparts
andthecostofinsuranceandfuelfortheaircraft.
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28/10/2016

HowmuchwoulditcosttoprivatelyownandoperateaMiG21?Quora

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