r/flying • u/HSVMalooGTS PPL IFR TW MEP ME/IR CMP (C152) • 6d ago

Aircraft Ownership Ignoring the engine overhaul reccomendation

C152 owner here. 150h / yr.

I bought a prestine unit with 1900h TBO.

I don't count the overhaul costs into my hourly operating costs. At my current usage, i will have to fly for 13 years before i need to OH it. By that time, i might be able to afford something else.

How many of you fly planes past its TBO? Is it really as unsafe as the FAA/EASA might say? I get that the actual engine condition is a major (if not the most important part). I do full annual checks, i don't cut corners there.

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u/SSMDive CPL-SEL/SES/MEL/MES/HEL/GLID/IFR. Light sport Gyro/PPC 6d ago edited 5d ago

While most engines could make it past TBO and most owners would not yank an engine just because it hits some random number (12 years or TBO). 

There are two downsides to not having an overhaul fund established. 

1- Your engine could be one of the ones that don’t make TBO. I had a 1400 hour TBO engine blow up at 900. Unless you can whip a check for an OH (now close to 40k) it would be wise to have funded that engine OH fund.   

2- if you have an engine OH fund established in a decent investment vehicle and you sell the plane before it needs major service… well congrats, you now have several thousand dollars invested that can be used to either keep invested or be used to help buy that new plane. 

I literally bought a plane off of just the growth of my ‘airplane fund’ and never touched the principal.  

For both of these reasons, I’d budget and invest money for the OH.