16.4 Operating Cost A revised version of the method of estimating operating cost for piston-engine aircraft presented by Roskam 94 was applied to Honey Badger. A modification was made to take into account the use of electricity instead of fuel as the source of energy for the aircraft. It was assumed that electricity was purchased at a rate of 0.07 USD/kW-hr. based on the current market price of electricity for industrial applications 95. Table 25 presents a breakdown of operating costs for Honey Badger compared to Cessna 162 and Breezer 600L, which are similarly sized piston-engine LSAs. The comparison airplanes were analyzed using the Roskam method mentioned above for singleengine piston airplanes assuming an aviation fuel price of 5.25 USD/gal. 96.
Table 25 Operating Cost breakdown
Cost Item Annual Utilization (nm.) Crew ($/nm.) Fuel, Oil & Env. Tax ($/nm) Insurance ($/nm.) Maintenance ($/nm.) Depreciation ($/nm.) Landing & Navigation Fees ($) Total DOC* ($/nm.)
Cessna 162
Breezer 600L
Honey Badger
Average Change from Conventional Competitors (Cessna 162, Breezer 600L)
43,640
38,640
33,560
-------
0
0
0
0
0.35
0.21
0.02
-94.3%, -90.5%
0.05 0.29 0.26
0.05 0.32 0.30
0.09 0.24 0.33
+50%, +50.0% -17.2%, -25.0% +26.9%, +10.0%
0.01
0.02
0.02
--------
1.03
0.96
0.75
-27.2%, -21.9%
90