What does it really cost to build a plane?

[drotto]

I am looking for some real numbers here, hard materials costs, and labor. Strip away the regulations, lawyers fees, liability, etc. I can buy a nice car for 25 to 35k. I can buy a great top end car for 80 to 100k. Yes, I am leaving out the supercars. What does your run of the mill 172, 182, Archer, or even sr22, cost to actually produce?

 

[Jim Logajan]

What does your run of the mill 172, 182, Archer, or even sr22, cost to actually produce?

That's quite a large variation in machines.

On the low end, according to Wikipedia the "4 seat" Cessna 172R has a useful load of 759 lbs, cruise speed of 140 mph, and stall speed of 54 mph at a cost of $274,900 (2012).

But a "2 seat" Savannah S has a useful load of 700 lbs, cruise speed of 111 mph, and a stall speed of 30 mph at a cost of $71,950 RTF. (Or ~$55,000 + ~110 hours assembly.)

A SWAG would be that cost to produce a C-172 could be done somewhere in the range of $65k, give or take $10k. I'm not sure what is different about the C-172 from a Savannah S to account for the nearly 4 times larger price. It'd take a humongous pile of avionics to add up to all that.