So overall, even if the swings and roundabouts cost the same as I'm paying (which seems a bit optimistic), how does anyone expect to make money given that a wet hire rate for a C150/152 is iro £125ish per hour ?
Truth is, almost nobody can make money with this business. A sustainable commercial operations in that sector is long gone and what we do since many decades is living from the value our grandfathers built, by eating it up.