Question from an American
 

Hello All,

I'm a U.S. citizen/resident but will be moving to the U.K. shortly to take a contract-pilot position with Ryanair. I own a Beechcraft Baron over here in California, and have thought about the fun of flying it across the N. Atlantic sometime. The thing is, I'd want to base it over there for at least six months before bringing it back to the U.S. Can anyone give me some idea of how badly soaked I'd get with fees, taxes, high fuel prices, etc? I need to do some kind of cost-benefit analysis.

Cheers, and Happy New Year,

Jim

Well, the major factor for you operating your Baron in the U.K. is our horrendous fuel costs compared to the U.S.

We pay about £1.20 a litre for 100LL avgas. Assuming your Baron holds 194 US gallons, (thats about 680 litres) it'll cost you about £800 to fill it!!........ $1350!!

Thats right...$1350 for a full tank. Not sure what your fuel burn is in a Baron......but it'll be quite alot of $$$$ an hour.

I have to admit to not being very knowledgabe on this subject, but the first thing which occurs to me on reading your post, besides what Booke has already said, is the possible tax implications if your aircraft should be deemed to be based here. Personally, I would find someone in the UK who deals with aircraft imports, and get some professional advice.

The next thing which occurs to me is that you seem to be thinking about ferrying your aircraft across yourself? I take it you already know what a huge undertaking that is? There are a few people on these boards who know plenty about the ferrying business, and I'm sure you'll get plenty of relevant advice from them.

If you've not done any private flying in the UK before, you will find it a little more restrictive than in the US, but very rewarding in spite of (or maybe because of) the differences - good luck!

FFF
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I'd strongly encourage you to do it if possible. You have much of Europe within a couple of hours flying time, plus if you do a lot of flying to Europe you can get quite a lot of duty money back on your fuel: you're exporting it. Others more knowledgeable on this board will tell you how much.

You only live once. It would be a great experience. Go for it, if it's viable.

QDM

Hi Jim.

The first thing to do is to import your aircraft into the EU........if you are relocating here, and have owned your aircraft for a while, then you can get a dispensation from HM Customs and won't have to pay any import tax (it's 17.5% in the UK). It is important to do this or you may be impounded when travelling.

If you only want to keep it here for 6 months then a temporary job can be done....again it's important to actually do some paperwork and remember that all of the EU counts as one "country" for this sort of thing. You can't keep it in the UK for 6 months, then Ireland for 6 months.......

Fuel prices are high but they have been getting pretty scary in the US recently. You are looking at $8 to $9 a US gallon including taxes. If you are travelling "overseas" you can claim back the taxes (17.5% VAT and around £1 per usg duty) - this includes flying to the Channel Islands or mainland Europe and brings the cost down to around $6 per usg.

You will have to pay for hangarage/parking and each, and every, landing. Charges will vary according to where you are based and covered parking may be difficult to find.

Insurance shouldn't be too bad compared to US rates - our underwriters take a more informed view. Make sure that you are covered for the dreaded EC785/2004.....you will need to carry 7M SDRs of liability (about $10M) for a Baron.

Finally, don't forget Eurocontrol. Flying IFR in an aircraft over 2 metric tonnes incurs a charge. Within the UK expect to pay around $40 per 100nm. Most other countries within the EU charge a little less.

PM me if you need to .....I run a worldwide ferry operation ;)