Club Homepage Forums Classified Ads Buy & Sell - Everything But Airplanes Thinking about buying this plane...

Matt,

For what it's worth...

I convinced myself that purchasing a plane would expedite my efforts to complete my PPL, but the truth is that N46241 [users.adelphia.net] has taken a lot of my time and energy away from the specific task of getting my PPL. Nagging radio troubles, a new dg, owner assisted annual, couple of weeks waiting on parts, New England weather, CFI availability, and job demands have all had a huge impact.

I?ve learned a ton becoming an owner and would do it again in a heartbeat, but ownership has plenty of demands and short term risks that may impact negatively on your training schedule.

The last thing I do before closing my hanger door is take one last look at N46241? Man is she beautiful? Pure joy? It?s a great privilege to call her mine.

-jeff

Jim - thanks for the book info - I'll check it out.

Dale - I'm just down the road from you - Denton. The plane is near Houston, though, so I'd need it inspected there before flying it back.

Jeff - yeah, that's what I'm struggling with. I know it's going to take time and effort to keep it in good shape. But the idea of having a plane available when I want (breakdowns notwithstanding) sounds so daggum compelling. Our last two weekends have been fantastic - I can't imagine trying to compete for rentals on those days.

Jeff.
Great web site you have there. You summed up aircraft ownership in your last line perfectly.

Jim, just bought the book you recommended on Amazon for $10.50. Thanks again for the tip.

-matt

Wow, I've been renting basically two 152s for over a year while getting my PPL. I have had questions about some issues, but over-all (how would I know) they seem fine.
This is where my knowledge breaks down...and is holding me up from buying.

The A&P that worked those planes has "moved on".
I was going to ask him about a pre-buy when I found one that looked like a decent buy.

Now I read the forum and the Newsletter and Mike's book and AOPA magazines, and ....you get the picture.

At the advice of some folks in the club, I've bought the A&P handbooks while I wait for knowledge to accumulate or an epiphany.

Chris,

I too rented 152s and they always 'seemed fine'. Problem is, as a student, I never once looked at the logbooks and didn't really care to. Who knows how much work was done on them between the times I flew?

So I'm just trying to get a feel for how much really goes wrong on a regular basis. My impression so far is that generally speaking, a well cared-for plane shouldn't cost more than a few thousand a year in annuals and minor squawks - until soemthing major goes tits-up. Then all hell breaks loose financially.

I understand. I've run the numbers. The AOPA sight has a "Buyers cost list" embedded in a long document with some good advice, but I found one that I thought was better.

Sheet 1 is theirs, and sheet 2 is my version.

Chris, Thanks, I'll take a look.

Your signature says looking for a 152. Are you set on a 152 instead of a 150 - and if so, why? Just curious. I really liked the 152s I was learning in. Too daggum slow, but fun enough.

I also sent an email to AOPA asking for an explanation of the avionics cost estimate since it is based on something like 5% of the cost divided by 500 hours.
In my mind, this number should be exagerated some.

The folks in this forum should be able to shed some light.