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What does it cost to fly GA in Europe?

In the UK 100LL is about $8 per US gallon on average. Landing fee starts around $20 and each pattern (circuit) is also $20. A Cessna 150 solo thru a club is $195 per hour. Not sure what the other costs are such as hanger, insurance etc.

Bottom line is it at least 2 times the cost in the US.
 
It depends.

Europe varies considerably. UK avgas at current exchange rates is between $7-10 per USG. There are still a few places where it's tax free like the Channel Islands and you can reclaim some of the tax if you fly to another country. Mogas is around $6 per USG as it is taxed more highly than Avgas.

Hangarage can be $100/month in a rural area on a small private airfield or $700-800 at a full facilities airport in a popular area.
I've been paying about $140/month for shared hangarage with a dirt floor in Oxfordshire.

Often hangarage will include unlimited landings at the base airport or you can pay a flat monthly fee. Landing fees vary with country, airport size and facility. There are still many places where it is free, or free if you buy fuel. France has a degree of public funding, so even main airports are often no more than $10-20, sometimes less.

Most aircraft parts and spares etc come from the US, so figure the US base price plus shipping and ~20%VAT.

On the plus side the sales tax (VAT) only applies to new aircraft or the dealer mark-up if buying from a used aircraft trader. No sales/use tax on private sales and no property tax on aircraft.

ATC charges are generally only for IFR arrivals and en-route for larger aircraft (>2T). VFR is free, and lots of Class G airspace, so IFR doesn't need a clearance (you may or may not get an ATC service - UK other countries vary)

And Europe is smaller than the US, so you don't need to fly as far!

GA is most popular in France, Germany, Benelux and the UK. Much less so in Southern Europe.

If you have specific locations in mind, you might get more specific answers.
 
I won't make any secret of it...I'm looking at what the user fees are (not things like insurance and hangar rents). e.g., as you mentioned, approach fees, landing fees, fees for any ATC services, weather services, etc.

And some details, as well...for example, are you charged for *each* approach you make, if you have to go missed, etc.?
 
Going "missed" on a practice approach might trigger another approach fee.
On a genuine IFR approach in IMC it wouldn't normally incur an extra charge in my experience.
Some people in the South of England do their approach practice in Northern France where it's cheaper and an excuse to land for coffee and croissants!
 
Did I understand correctly that say for example 5 touch-and-goes + 1 full stop landing would end up costing $120? If so, that would get quite expensive in a hurry, although the coffee and croissants in France are worth flying in for!
 
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That sounds like a whole lot more than two times what it costs here ...

Thats about right. We got 2.38 EUR per liter AVGAS and 210€/h for a 172 and about 340 for a cirrus SR20...

Landing fees are between 8-15€ per landing and a whole lot more for the bigger airports.

= build an RV and fly with mogas!
 
More than one answer

The answer to your question depends on what type of flying you do just as it would in the states.

VFR grass roots flying from a farm strip will cost you about 700 a year with no extra fees for touch and goes landings. If you land away again if grass strip usually no cost, if airfield perhaps 10 to 20, if airports landings and circuits may be charged ranging fro 15. To 300.


I fly from Wellesbourne cost of keeping my 4 there is ?204 a month which covers all base landings and touch an goes. Avgas is ?1.80 a litre. These costs do not vary if the aircraft is group owned so a number of you could be sharing that 204.
 
Thats about right. We got 2.38 EUR per liter AVGAS and 210?/h for a 172 and about 340 for a cirrus SR20...

Landing fees are between 8-15? per landing and a whole lot more for the bigger airports.

= build an RV and fly with mogas!

It al depends of the country. In Belgium our AVGAS is around 2 euro per liter. And a C172 around 2.5 euro per minute. Landings may be free, but usually on the smaller airfields it is about 5-10 euro. The bigger airfields charge something like 40-50 euro. The major airports simply don't allow you to land. It is more expensive for sure, but it all depends what and where.
 
It al depends of the country.

Very true. I flew to the Netherlands last year and D*** 40? for a grass strip in the middle of nowhere. No wonder there are so many PH- registered planes right across the border on the German side. I hope locals pay less...
 
in terms of the user fee disussions, i can assure you that even though they can be high in some places (mainly in the form of landing fees), it's in my experience not what breaks the bank...
the fuel cost and therefore also the rental cost (practically all aircraft rent "wet") combined with high fixed costs for annual maintenance, hangar space and insurance plus VAT on everything up to 20% in a lot of countries is what makes up the bigger portion of the costs and GA very expensive.
that's why in some countries mostly the ULM segment seems to thrive.
to me, the biggest hassle about the user fees is having to shut down, get out, pay in one form or another, get back in, restart etc... the time lost, hassle and different procedure everywhere is what is most annoying in my opinion. also, the fact that every landing counts (even missed approaches) is not exactly beneficial to safety/currency/training skills. often this is tried to be offset with special rates for school flights or "pay 1, get all day free" type setups at some fields.
some more recent "harassment" methods against GA have shown up, especially on larger/busier airports. procedures e.g. to require "mandatory handling", which you then must purchase from a choice of companies for essentially no service (other than maybe some security "escort" from/to the airplane), exorbitantly high parking fees if staying for longer than 2 hrs/overnight or a non-monetary one: requiring special permission / passing of online CBTs or even worse flight instructor introductory flights/signoffs within x recent months.

that being said, operating an experimental is significantly cheaper than a certified. also, switzerland is hardly any more expensive overall (surprisingly, as it normally is for most everything else!)
avgas cost is around 8$/gal, VAT is only 8%. a typical landing fee for a 1t airplane about 15$-20$. a typical rental runs around $200-$300/hr.

the whole ATC system is mainly funded by route charges on IFR flights >2t mtom. and sometimes a portion of the landing fee going to ATC depending on airport.

one aspect often overlooked is the cost of medicals, license renewal, forced annual membership fee in the local aeroclub, AIP/approach charts access and sectional charts for every country.
and as an aircraft owner registration/administration fees and radio station license fees. this is the first 1000$ spent annually without having flown a single hour....
 
I have no input on the cost of flying in Europe but I do have a comment to pass on. I work in Homebuilt Parking during Oshkosh and last year we had a group of individuals volunteer to help. They were all from Europe and involved in some way with aviation either as a profession or as an avid enthusiast. During casual conversation I asked how they usually spent their ?Holiday? in the summer. Their answer was ?we always come to the States and fly?. They said it was easier and cheaper to fly to someplace here, get checked out at an FBO, and spend their ?Holiday? flying to places they had heard about in this country. Their only negative comment (with a smile) was sadly, that the beer might not be as good. We did our best to change their mind on that one. :D
 
When I was in England a couple of years ago I bought some glider flights for my Son's birthday at Aston Down in the Cotswolds. We spent the day there and I was able to get a couple of flights - great fun doing a winch launch!

Anyway, most of the folks in the Cotswold Gliding Club had been single engine pilots but turned to Gliding since it is so expensive flying powered a/c in the UK with gas costs, rental costs, hanger fees, landing and pattern fees etc.

When I was there a US gallon of 100LL was running a little over $10.
 
Don't know about the mainland but I can give you some figures for UK:

Fuel - around $8/usg
Aircraft Hire - $150-200 for a light single (including fuel)
Landing Fees - normally about $12-15 - some places also charge extra for circuits
Hangar - varies enormously. At Kemble (a major GH hub), I was paying $400/month for a shared hangar
Insurance - for a 4-seater, about $2,000 - 2,500pa
 
Switzerland

Bernie nailed it for Switzerland - just another data point, my flying club charges 270 CHF/hour wet for a PA-28 (about 280 USD/hour). But it's worth it to fly in this amazing landscape! :)

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