Flyaway cost
Encyclopedia
Flyaway cost is one measure of the cost of an aircraft
. It values the aircraft at its marginal cost
, including only the cost of production and production tools immediately accruing to the building of a single unit. It excludes prior costs such as research and development (treating these as sunk costs), supplementary costs such as support equipment, or future costs such as spares and maintenance.
There are other possible measures of aircraft cost:
The flyaway cost can be meaningfully compared to another cost metric: the weapons system cost. The weapons system cost (often referred to as the procurement cost) is the total price of the aircraft. A good way of looking at the difference is the flyaway cost is the cost of making the aircraft, but the weapons system cost is the cost of buying the aircraft. Weapons systems costs may include ancillary equipment costs, one time non-recurring contract costs, and airframe, engine and avionics support costs. For example, the flyaway cost for the Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet up to 2009 (for the 449 units built) was US$
57.5 million per, but the weapons system cost was 39.8% higher, at US$
80.4 million per unit. Not surprisingly, advocates who want to minimize the costs of an aircraft will often report the "flyaway cost" as the purchase price.
Aircraft
An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air, or, in general, the atmosphere of a planet. An aircraft counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines.Although...
. It values the aircraft at its marginal cost
Marginal cost
In economics and finance, marginal cost is the change in total cost that arises when the quantity produced changes by one unit. That is, it is the cost of producing one more unit of a good...
, including only the cost of production and production tools immediately accruing to the building of a single unit. It excludes prior costs such as research and development (treating these as sunk costs), supplementary costs such as support equipment, or future costs such as spares and maintenance.
There are other possible measures of aircraft cost:
- Flyaway cost plus research and development cost divided by the number of aircraft.
- Total cost over the lifetime of the aircraft program, including maintenance, divided by the number of aircraft.
The flyaway cost can be meaningfully compared to another cost metric: the weapons system cost. The weapons system cost (often referred to as the procurement cost) is the total price of the aircraft. A good way of looking at the difference is the flyaway cost is the cost of making the aircraft, but the weapons system cost is the cost of buying the aircraft. Weapons systems costs may include ancillary equipment costs, one time non-recurring contract costs, and airframe, engine and avionics support costs. For example, the flyaway cost for the Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet up to 2009 (for the 449 units built) was US$
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
57.5 million per, but the weapons system cost was 39.8% higher, at US$
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
80.4 million per unit. Not surprisingly, advocates who want to minimize the costs of an aircraft will often report the "flyaway cost" as the purchase price.