I think you will find maintenance no cheaper than the equivalent of $80 per hour in the UK. This is not a lot and I am happy to pay my engineer. He does a good job. I trust him. Things dont always go perfectly but thats life.
I strongly object to the rip off regulatory fees and all the hours the engineer charges me to complete the bull**** required by the regulatory authority. This time it accounted for about 30% of the bill.
It adds nothing to safety. Its just part of rip off Britain.
When I asked the CAA man why it cost so much for a permit for a single relocation flight his answer was "it keeps us in a job" and he laughed.
