Spreadsheet for Sonex vs RV (9 & 12) fuel cost by distance

[chris]

When considering which type of aircraft to build, the cost of ownership was a big factor for me. I will likely be doing a lot of cross country flying. I wanted a chart to easily compare the two aircraft fuel costs based on where I wanted to go. I made this spreadsheet to get a rough idea how much each aircraft would cost me to get me from A to B, how many fuel stops, and how long it would take to get there. I used current 100LL and unleaded prices and based speeds on published cruise speeds on each companies website. Maybe you all will find this useful as well.

Edit: 7/3/2011 Added RV 12 comparison as well per request

[Sonex1517]

Excellent! I need to send this to my brother, who is building an RV-9. I am building a Sonex for this exact reason.

Thanks Chris - great work and great job getting this forum up and running.

[Andy Walker]

I'd like to see an RV-12 vs Sonex/Waiex chart. That seems more apples-to-apples to me, but this chart is very helpful, thanks!

Andy

[chris]

I'd like to see an RV-12 vs Sonex/Waiex chart. That seems more apples-to-apples to me, but this chart is very helpful, thanks!

Andy

Hey Andy. That would be more apples to apples. Ill try to put one together when I get some free time.

The chart wasn't meant to be apples to apples. I was considering those two aircraft and not the 12... mainly due to the cost of the rotax vs a clone O320 and speed. So it was just meant to help me with my personal decision even though I know the 9 isn't the most comparable airplane to a sonex.

[Andy Walker]

That was fast, thanks! The fuel savings in addition to the huge difference in engine cost is pretty compelling.

[ryoder]

The Rotax 912 uses auto fuel also.