Orleans, MA – August 2010 — Conklin & de Decker announced the latest release of their innovative LIFE CYCLE COST 2010 Volume II. The most comprehensive aircraft budget and financial analysis tool available, LIFE CYCLE COST from Conklin & de Decker, provides extensive ownership and operating cost data for more than 375 jets, turboprops, helicopters and piston aircraft.
The LIFE CYCLE COST budgeting software is part of a family of aircraft operating & acquisition products developed by Conklin & de Decker that puts all aspects of owning and operating an aircraft into one easy-to-use program. Aircraft acquisition costs, operating costs, taxes, final residual values and even revenues, if the user is in commercial operations, are all included in this business aviation budgeting tool.
The latest update for this valuable tool includes new features that will enhance and make the budgeting process more complete. The new features include :
· The new fuel surcharge function that makes Charter projections more accurate.
· An option to edit “Other” cost category descriptions, which produces custom reports for the specific situation
· The ability to adjust basic airframe parts cost and maintenance hours is more straightforward, allowing users to produce more accurate reports.
· A “years-produced” field provides a quick reference about the selected aircraft’s current production status or, if out-of-production, the years it was manufactured.
The new release also adds eight aircraft: the Citation CJ4, Gulfstream G250, Texas Turbine Supervan 900 (Cessna 208 with a TPE-331-12JR), Bell 429, Robinson R-66, AS350B3 (2B), AS350B3 (2B1) and the Twin Commander Shrike. In addition, fuel and maintenance costs as well as aircraft acquisition prices have been updated.
Other features of LIFE CYCLE COST include the ability to:
· Print all three reports (Financial Analysis, Budget Analysis & Residual Value) with the click of one button.
· Turn off the Betterment/Detriment calculation when using the lease option in a financial analysis.
· Turn off the effects of the Warranty calculator if applicable.
· Calculate CO2 costs for each aircraft in the database.
· Recognize the value added tax (VAT).
· Turn on or off the effects of the aging curve calculations on maintenance costs.
· Create or edit the starting point for recurring inspections that first occur later in an aircraft’s life (i.e. an inspection with a 1200-hour interval but does not occur for the first time until the aircraft has accumulated 2400 hours).
The software is designed so that users can obtain a comprehensive analysis by simply selecting an aircraft type from a drop down menu. Users can expand the breadth of the analysis by choosing different methods of acquisition (lease, finance, purchase, shared & fractional ownership), type of operation (corporate, commercial or managed), and depreciation schedules (5- or 7-year MACRS, straight-line, including a user-defined schedule). These selections populate the program with preloaded operating costs as researched by Conklin & de Decker. The preloaded data alone saves users numerous hours of research. However, the user can easily edit any of the pre-loaded costs and flight hour estimates to modify the analysis to a specific situation and benchmark their costs against the Conklin & de Decker costs.
Output from the program can help the user in a variety of ways. The operations department will benefit from a 12-month budget analysis; or up-to a 20-year cost projection for variable and fixed costs. The program calculates the Net Present Value (NPV) and after-tax cash flow for a corporate or commercial program which will enable the finance department to quickly compare the net present value of different acquisition or disposition methods for multiple aircraft, while also learning more about the factors (betterment/detriment) that affect an aircraft’s value.
Running LIFE CYCLE COST requires a Windows PC with Microsoft Excel 97 or later. Mac users will experience limited program functionality with the Mac version of Excel. Database options include Jets, Turboprops, Helicopters, Pistons and the major US-based Fractional Ownership programs. Prices for the software (delivered in the US/Canada) are $695 for the jets database, $550 for the turboprop or helicopter database and $450 for the piston database. The Fractional database is free with the purchase of any other Life Cycle Cost database. A single aircraft version is also available. Users can specify from one to five aircraft and pay for only those aircraft that they need. Pricing is $225 for the first aircraft, with a 20% discount when ordering more than one aircraft.
About Conklin & de Decker
Conklin & de Decker, celebrating 25 years in business, is a leader in aviation research, consulting and education with offices in Orleans, Massachusetts, Arlington, Texas and Phoenix, Arizona. The company, founded in 1984, focuses on fixed- and rotary- wing aircraft operating cost, performance and specification databases, maintenance management software, financial management, fleet planning, market research, aviation tax issues, and financial, tax and management seminars. Conklin & de Decker consult with numerous individuals, corporations and government agencies worldwide. More information on their products and services, copies of articles published, and a unique “Members Only” section can be found on their website, www.conklindd.com.
