What is the cheapest plane to own and fly? 26 piston aircraft ranked
October 27, 2026 · Chris van Eijk
The cheapest plane to own is not one answer but two: what it costs to buy, and what it costs every year to keep and fly. The second part can be compared type by type, because fuel, maintenance and the engine overhaul follow the aircraft rather than its price. This guide ranks the 26 piston aircraft in our aircraft ownership cost calculator by what an hour flown costs, at US prices, and shows why the hours you fly change the answer as much as the type you pick.
Short answer: in the calculator, the cheapest aircraft to own and fly is a two-seat Comco Ikarus C42 with a Rotax engine: $16,056 a year at 100 hours, or $161 per hour flown, before insurance and depreciation. The other Rotax two-seaters follow — the Tecnam P2002 Sierra and P2008 JC at $168 and the Aquila A210 at $180 per hour flown. The cheapest aircraft on avgas is the Cessna 152 ($245), the cheapest four-seater the Piper PA-28-161 Warrior ($258), and the most expensive piston single is the Cirrus SR22T ($528). Every amount is a planning assumption, not a quote.
What an hour flown costs in 26 piston aircraft, at 100 hours a year
- Avgas engine
- Rotax engine on UL91 / mogas
| Aircraft | Per hour flown | Seats and one year |
|---|---|---|
| Comco Ikarus C42 | $161 | 2 seats · $16,056 a year · $81 per seat |
| Tecnam P2002 Sierra | $168 | 2 seats · $16,756 a year · $84 per seat |
| Tecnam P2008 JC | $168 | 2 seats · $16,756 a year · $84 per seat |
| Aquila A210 / A211 (AT01) | $180 | 2 seats · $18,039 a year · $90 per seat |
| Cessna 152 | $245 | 2 seats · $24,513 a year · $123 per seat |
| Diamond DA20-C1 Katana | $251 | 2 seats · $25,113 a year · $126 per seat |
| Piper PA-28-161 Warrior | $258 | 4 seats · $25,813 a year · $65 per seat |
| Cessna 172N/P Skyhawk | $261 | 4 seats · $26,113 a year · $65 per seat |
| Robin DR400/140B | $264 | 4 seats · $26,413 a year · $66 per seat |
| Robin DR401-160 | $267 | 4 seats · $26,713 a year · $67 per seat |
| Piper Pilot 100i | $269 | 2 seats · $26,913 a year · $135 per seat |
| Piper PA-28-181 Archer | $270 | 4 seats · $27,013 a year · $68 per seat |
| Robin DR400/180 Régent | $270 | 4 seats · $27,013 a year · $68 per seat |
| Robin DR401-180LR | $270 | 4 seats · $27,013 a year · $68 per seat |
| Cessna 172S Skyhawk SP | $273 | 4 seats · $27,313 a year · $68 per seat |
| Diamond DA40 XLT (Lycoming) | $280 | 4 seats · $28,010 a year · $70 per seat |
| Tecnam P2010 (180 hp) | $280 | 4 seats · $28,013 a year · $70 per seat |
| Mooney M20J 201 | $286 | 4 seats · $28,610 a year · $72 per seat |
| Cirrus SR20 | $332 | 4 seats · $33,228 a year · $83 per seat |
| Cessna 182T Skylane | $373 | 4 seats · $37,303 a year · $93 per seat |
| Socata TB20 Trinidad | $373 | 4 seats · $37,303 a year · $93 per seat |
| Piper PA-32-301 Saratoga | $392 | 6 seats · $39,203 a year · $65 per seat |
| Beechcraft A36/G36 Bonanza | $398 | 6 seats · $39,803 a year · $66 per seat |
| Cirrus SR22 | $429 | 5 seats · $42,921 a year · $86 per seat |
| Diamond DA42-L360 Twin Star | $472 | 4 seats · $47,190 a year · $118 per seat |
| Cirrus SR22T | $528 | 5 seats · $52,755 a year · $106 per seat |
Why the Rotax two-seaters are cheapest
Two things set them apart. They burn less fuel, and a cheaper kind: UL91 or mogas at $5.50 a US gallon in the calculator against $7.50 for avgas. And their fixed costs are lower: $11,356 a year against $15,813 for a four-cylinder Cessna, Piper or Robin, mainly because the Rotax engine reserve and the annual inspection cost less in the calculator.
Between the avgas trainers the differences are small. A Cessna 152 and a Cessna 172S have the same fixed costs in the calculator, $15,813 a year — the same hangar, annual inspection and engine reserve, which at 100 hours a year runs on the engine's 12-year calendar limit — so the 152 is cheaper only by its fuel: $87 against $115 per flight hour, a difference that is all fuel.
The hours you fly matter as much as the type
Fixed costs are paid whether the aircraft flies or not, so they weigh most when it flies little. A Comco Ikarus C42 flown 50 hours a year costs $274 per hour flown — more than a Cessna 172S flown 200 hours a year, at $197. A Cirrus SR22 drops from $679 per hour flown at 50 hours to $306 at 200.
Cost per hour flown at 50, 100, 200 hours a year
- 50 hours a year
- 100 hours a year
- 200 hours a year
| Aircraft | Per hour flown at 50 hours a year | Per hour flown at 100 hours a year | Per hour flown at 200 hours a year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Comco Ikarus C42 | 50 h$274 | 100 h$161 | 200 h$107 |
| Cessna 152 | 50 h$403 | 100 h$245 | 200 h$166 |
| Cessna 172S Skyhawk SP | 50 h$431 | 100 h$273 | 200 h$197 |
| Cirrus SR22 | 50 h$679 | 100 h$429 | 200 h$306 |
So before choosing a cheaper type, look at the hours. An owner who flies 50 hours a year pays for the hangar, the inspection and the engine's calendar limit on half the hours of an owner who flies 100.
Per seat, the four- and six-seat trainers are cheaper
A two-seater is the cheaper choice unless you regularly fly with three or more on board. Divided over its seats, an hour in a Piper PA-28-161 Warrior, a Cessna 172N/P or a six-seat Piper PA-32-301 Saratoga costs $65 per seat at 100 hours a year, against $81 in a Comco Ikarus C42 and $123 in a Cessna 152.
Sharing divides the fixed part
The other way to make an aircraft cheaper is to share it: the hangar, the annual inspection, the insurance and the calendar part of the overhaul are split between the owners, and each pays the hourly cost of their own hours. Our guide to how much it costs to own a plane works that out for a Cessna 172S with one to four owners, rent, share or own compares it with renting and a flying club, and what a Cirrus SR22 costs does the same for a faster aircraft.
What the ranking leaves out
The purchase price, and with it insurance and depreciation: a used Cessna 152 and a new Tecnam cost very different amounts to buy, insure and lose value on, and no table can know what you paid. The calculator also uses one hangar price for every type and one planning figure per engine class for the annual inspection and the overhaul, so two types of the same class differ mainly in fuel; replace those lines with your own quotes. What US airports charge for a hangar — a median of $263 a month for the cheapest unit at 19 of them, against the calculator's $400 — is in how much does a hangar cost?. Open the aircraft ownership cost calculator, pick your type, and enter its price, build year, hangar and fuel price — it adds insurance and depreciation back and shows the source next to every line.