@Meower68

1 year ago

A large part of these costs is that it takes X number of hours of flight time to train a pilot.

The bigger and rarer the plane, the more it costs per hour of flight time.

Older airframe designs (early Cold-War-era vs later designs) also need more hours of maintenance work per hour of flight time, which gets factored into the $$ / hour.

Aircraft which are more widely manufactured will have greater economies of scale on manufacturing parts, so very-rare aircraft are going to cost a fortune on parts, which adds to the $$ / hour. The F-15, F-16 and F-35 are still being manufactured, so that helps keep parts costs down.

The B-52 (an early Cold-War-era aircraft) burns a hideous amount of fuel per hour (8 engines on that bird) and needs a significant number of hours of maintenance per hour of flight time. While a significant number have been mothballed, parts for that bird are getting rare, as the parts in the boneyard are getting used up.

The B-1 burns a significant amount of fuel (four engines with afterburners) but it needs fewer hours of maintenance per hour of flight time (later airframe design). A lot of B-1s have been going to the boneyard, so parts aren't much of a problem. So it likely costs less $$ / hour of flight time. That's why it's the cheapest of the bombers.

The B-2, as a very rare and expensive aircraft, is going to cost a fortune on parts. With 4 engines, it consumes significant quantities of fuel. With the stealthy paint, maintenance costs a fortune. The advanced systems on-board means there is more technology to master. The B-2 needs less maintenance, per hour, as the systems on-board are able to troubleshoot a great many issues, streamlining the amount of work it takes to isolate and repair an issue.

The F-22 is the most expensive fighter to master because it's a rare aircraft (fewer of them made than any other fighter still flying), has twin afterburning engines (thirsty beast) and has a stealthy paint job.

The F-16, with a single engine and VERY large numbers built (pretty sure it is the most widely produced fighter in active service), is a comparative bargain in terms of $$ / hour flight time. Also, as a later design, it needs fewer hours of maintenance per hour of flight time, helping to keep costs down.

The F-35 will be cheaper than the F-22 (not as rare, single engine, both have stealthy paint jobs, still being manufactured) while the F-15 will be more expensive than the F-16 (two engines and fewer of them built).

The F-35 has more-advanced systems on-board, so there is more for the pilot to master, which increases the number of hours needed to be fully qualified.

I expect the U-2 is extremely expensive to train pilots, as there are very few of them, the airframe is a very old design and parts are getting scarce. Also, it uses a different fuel than the rest; lower manufacturing quantity means more $$ / gallon.

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