Club Homepage Forums Classified Ads Buy & Sell - Everything But Airplanes To buy or not to buy...that is the question

I got my private pilots certificate back in 87 and learned to fly in the 152. N5189B to be exact. I see its in Mississippi now thanks to this site. Id love to have it! That was neat to learn its whereabouts. I flew till around 1998 or so and just kinda quit like so many others. My son who was a baby at the time is now 24 and has gotten his A&P degree and license from Spartan in Tulsa and now doing the flying portion of his corporate pilot training in Daytona Beach. Up until now, Ive only toyed with the idea of a plane for myself and have tried to justify it. In most cases I wouldnt even consider it but the airplane rental opportunities in my area are next to zero as is general aviation in general sad to say. I absolutely love the C-152 and would love to own one. I've flown 172's and Cubs but my heart is with the 152. Many of you must feel the same way. Im just trying to justify it and would like some advice on what to do, how much its costing some of you, what you would do different, would you rather own something else now,etc. I came very close to purchasing a $40,000.00 trike at Sun-N-Fun this year and then realized what a mistake that would've been when I got home. We called and got that deposit back!!
Any help anyone can be, Id truly appreciate very much. Thanks!

Billy

Justifying an airplane is a hard thing to do. I own my plane simply because I love to fly and I like owning a plane. It's always available when I'm available. I always know who flew it last and what they did to it.

150s and 152s are about as cheap an aircraft to own as there is. The costs can vary widely though depending upon many factors. How much the plane is flown, what the local going rate for annual inspections is. Wether the plane is tied out or hangared. What the local market is for ties downs and hangars, etc. It's really hard to predict what your costs are going to be until you do some research in your area.

After 10 years of ownership would I do anything differently? I can't think of anything I would do differently.

In my mind, the only justification for owning a plane is wether or not I can afford it. Affording it means I am willing to sacrifice a significant portion of my "disposable" income to fly and maintain my airplane. Airplane ownership has got to be a financial priority or you will quickly wind up with an expensive piece of scrap metal.

I guess my question for you is, what sort of justification are you looking for? Financial?

I owned a l966 150 for a year and half in the late l980's. We moved so I sold it. Once I got settled in my job (about 2 years) I again missed owning a 150. I could fly a Piper Warrier, but I didn't need the 4 seats that much, and photography works better in a high wing. I toyed with the possibility of going with a Piper Colt. They seem to give the 150 a "run for the money". If I hadn't had the 150 previously, I would have probably went with the Colt, but since I knew about the 150 by having had one, I went with the 150. I wanted to get one with lower hours, and a decent engine. I work my regular job to meet family obligations, and have a second job--driving school bus for activities---for my second job to pay for the plane. It is worth it.

I guess being able to afford it financialy would be my one and only worry. So what I need to be checking is local hanger fees, insurance, fuel, and inspection and maint. costs? My son has his A&P so He can at least help with the maint. costs. I think I would always want to hanger it at least in a group hanger.

I feel your pain, Billy! Been there!

If you can afford $40,000 for a "Trike" (I assume you mean a new ultralight) then you can afford $20,000 - $25,000 for a much safer 152 or well equipped 150.

But, that's only the entry fee! You still need to consider insurance, operating costs (including an annual inspection and routine maintenance), and tie down or hangar rent. Most folks won't fly without insurance, yet another consideration. All total, after purchase, you're possibly looking at several hundred dollars a month in incidental costs, whether you fly or just let the plane sit! This alone stopped me cold in my tracks, as I couldn't even afford to rent once a month!

All that has changed for me, but the way I did it won't work for everyone. I bought a house and hangar on a rural airpark for less than what houses in the suburbs were selling for. I pay about $70 every 3 months for airpark maintenance, and that's all I pay above my mortgage. I now own two 150's, and they don't cost me anything to sit in my hangar. Like I said, it's not for everyone, but my point is that if you keep looking and don't give up hope, you will find a way to do things. Think outside of the box!

BTW, my wife loves our new rural life style, living with our airplanes!

Sounds like you hit a gold mine there Carl. Theres a friend of mine who owns a C-140 that wants to do the same thing down here.

One of the aviation magazines just did an article within the last two months on owning an aircraft (including a reasonable loan payment) for $500/month, all up. A 150 fits that bill perfectly. Sorry I can't remember which magazine, but one of our more astute members will and will post it, I'm sure.

I paid $19K for my plane, no loan. The engine had 2000 hrs SMOH when I bought it, so I set aside another $12K for the eventual overhaul. I set up a checking account just for airplane expenses. Each month I deposited $400 into it. After all expenses (maintenance, hangar, insurance, annual, fuel & oil for about 80 hrs of flying, misc repairs, improvements...), each year I usually have about $500 left. My average hourly cost is $55, not counting the "cost of money" to buy the plane. I've owned it since March 2001. I enjoy it. No regrets.

Hung,

Thats the kind of info Im searching for. Im planning on paying cash for mine too once I sell a Harley and a boat. Ha, never thought about it but Im trading the road and the water for the air.. question: that 80 hrs of flying time, is that each month?

I wish I had enough free time and money to fly that much in a month . That's my yearly average. Starting off with about 110 hrs the first year I bought the plane. Lots of short local trips just for fun. Eventually, I got bored with local flights and started making longer flights to airports in western KS, which required more planning and subjected to weather. The yearly hours slowly dropping off to about 70 hrs. This summer, I made a trip to the Grand Canyon which took 24 hrs and brought this year's total to 95 hrs so far.