CPSONE

CPSONE

Well Known Member
For those of you that have completed RV's from start to finish, how accurate is Van's build cost etimator compared to what you actually spent building?
(Leaving sales tax out)
 
When I started building in Dec.'06, the cost estimation said $something like $60-85000 for a QB-7 equipped like I was planning. I thought that was high, due to I'm pretty frugal and shop around getting some great deals. BUT when everything was finished and added up I near the upper end of that estimate.....sssh don't tell my wife.

Today when I plugged in those parameters in, it comes out $69-91K.

I am guessing you have to be very savvy to get to the low end estimation.
 
"low end"

My "low end" RV9A came in right about what Van's cost estimator said.

About $46k.

There are so many different ways to build these planes that the final costs can be all over the map.

But it is possible to economize if you want or have to.

I paid for my project as I went so going first class would mean a longer duration build time.

As it turned out, I got my project flying in 47 months and I'm happy as can be with it.

If I had to have a new engine, cs prop, fancy glass panel....well I'd be looking at 2014 maybe:D

Dave
-9A flying
 
It was close on my frugal RV7... when I factored in the $changes$ over the ~10 years it took to build it.
 
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Rising values

hydroguy2 said:
When I started building in Dec.'06, the cost estimation said $something like $60-85000 for a QB-7 equipped like I was planning. I thought that was high, due to I'm pretty frugal and shop around getting some great deals. BUT when everything was finished and added up I near the upper end of that estimate.....sssh don't tell my wife.

Today when I plugged in those parameters in, it comes out $69-91K.

I am guessing you have to be very savvy to get to the low end estimation.
Click to expand...

Presuming the Van's estimator is accurate, (which it seems to be from the replies) the above numbers are quite interesting. In 4 years the low end estimation went up $9,000 and the high end went up $6,000 for an average increase in value of $7500. This says a great deal about your RV "investment" in a down economy. Factory built aircraft as you all know haven't done as well.
 
Mike,

I think Van is generally on target IF you go frugally. The basic airframe is pretty fixed. Where costs can get higher are 1) new engine vs. rebuilt; 2) avionics (if I recall correctly, Van only puts in $1k or maybe $2k when in reality most builders spend $10k up to much more); and 3) any custom frills that aren't really necessary, but are nice to have. Oh, and paint can get expensive as well unless you paint it yourself.

cheers,
greg
 
CPSONE said:
Presuming the Van's estimator is accurate, (which it seems to be from the replies) the above numbers are quite interesting. In 4 years the low end estimation went up $9,000 and the high end went up $6,000 for an average increase in value of $7500. This says a great deal about your RV "investment" in a down economy. Factory built aircraft as you all know haven't done as well.
Click to expand...

Alas, I think Van is estimating the cost to build, not what you could sell it for. Though there is undoubtably a connection (more so with Vans than other home builts) the two are not directly linked. I'm pretty sure flying versions have gone down in market value the last couple of years.
 
I'm getting close to having all the $$ behind me with still some work ahead. I think it will undershoot my RV-10 by ~40%.

But you won't find many -10's that fit within Van's parameters since most have nice IFR panels and a few more luxury items that they didn't account for.

You can pretty much spend how ever much you want, but on the low-end build you're probably going to land somewhere between the average and high-end numbers on Van's calculator.
 
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When I started building my -10 I thought I could build it for a lot less than what Van says it should cost. Now that I'm almost done.....well not so much. It's the little things that really add up. I'm being nickel and dimed to death by companies like ACS, etc. :)
 
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All done spending money on the build (well, almost) and I'm right in the middle of Van's current estimator, including a new Aerosport engine and VFR cross country panel (D180, Icom 210, Lowrance GPS), so I think it is very accurate. You just have to be willing to resist most of the things that look really cool on this forum.

It's kind of like that insidious mission creep. Remember when you first started building and just wanted something reliable to fly that you built yourself and that had way more performance than the Cessna you were renting? Keep that mentality foremost in your mind every time you see something that looks cool on this forum and you'll be in good shape.

Caveat--Yes, I'm right in the middle of the current estimator on Vans site but I'm on the high side of the estimator that was on Van's site when I started building about 6 years ago. Moral of the story? Build slow and eventually the estimator will outpace your spending!:D
 
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Cost & Schedule rule of thumb...

Over the years in aviation, I've found my nuclear rule of thumb works well for aviation also:

Take whatever you THINK is reasonable in cost and schedule, times Pi/2.
 
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