The owner of the local flight school, brokered the deal on my plane. I told him up front that I didn?t have a clue, that I was trusting him and counting on his expertise. He had flown and maintained the plane for the owner. The deal was $20,000 (IFR, mid time engine, with decent avionics, annual included). Immediately after purchase I had the windshield replaced and did a few other misc. repairs for about $700.
One year later the same guy did the annual and it cost me $5000. (New mags, wiring harness, plugs, starter, starter switch, rudder pedals, all the cables replaced, 5 Ads addressed, and on and on, plus a few things I wanted done?..radio display replaced, tire replaced. I mentioned as I wrote out the check that we seemed to have missed a lot the previous year.
Less than a year later I had the carburetor rebuilt $1,000 + more.(chasing a carb ice issue) Last years annual $1,000. In August 4 new cylinders installed, another $5000. I now have a plane that I will never get my money out of.
I have added Items for my own convenience, Gauges that I don?t need, iceman, davtron, EGT, Air vents that I don?t need Another $1500
Vref on my plane is $22,000
Do I get aggravated about the fact that I will never recoup these costs ?
Well consider this:
Do I simply love, beyond description, flying along lake Ontario at sun set, watching the world light up below me as dark sets in?
Or flying low and slow over mansions in the thousand Islands that I never would have known existed on the ground
Or flying into a small grass strip in the Adirodacks on a beautiful summer day.
Or the one that surprised me the most ?.how much I enjoy just washing and waxing this little plane with the mediocre paint job.
Or the enjoyment I get from learning that others have had the same experiences that I have had and are willing to share them with me here.
I bought my plane in the spring after 9/11. I was going to do this when I retired?. but I couldn?t get it out of my mind that guys, much younger than I, put on their ties and went to work just like every other day ?..we just don?t know?.
So, have I been ripped off ??.I am I a sucker? ?..is this a lousy investment? ?.Have I lost my shirt? ?or my mind?
When I turn that switch and that little 100 hp engine starts ?.well at that moment I don?t think much about the economics.
