your not going to get much plane for 15k-45k. Especially in the 15k area.

I am a plane owner. I paid right around 100k for mine and its not a big
plane. I bet for 100k I could get a boat that holds alot more then 4
people. I use my plane to fly my wife to Horse shows and horse auctions.
Gives me a reason to do long XC's and see more places. Boats do not do
anything for me. I am a PADI qualified scuba diver, but I prefer flying to
new places more then I like diving. Boats and diving is fun, for about an
hour.

2: The FAA rules do not bother me, annuals do not bother me, its part of
owning a plane and keeping it safe to fly. Its expensive to own an airplane,
airplanes have to be kept to a certain standard of maintence. I keep mine
plane in good shape because my life depends on it. when the day comes that I
feel that the FAA is over regulating and I dont want to do my annuals
because I dont feel someone should make me do them, then I will sell my
plane. But I dont see it happening in the near future.


Dave wrote:

What I seem to be hearing is there are two main reasons that more pilots
don't own their own aircraft:

1) Not enough 'bang for the buck'. Price only seems to be a factor in so
far only as maintenance is concerned. The 'buy in' cost of a reasonable
plane ($15,000 -$45,000) is within the reach of most would-be owners and
is comparable to what one would pay for a just-as-reasonable boat. The
problem with the cost seems to be on the backside; that is, maintenance
and the fact that it is hard to justify the cost when it is hard to
share with the whole family. A boat costing $30,000 could be shared with
the whole family and is, I guess, seen as an activity in and of itself.
A $30,000 plane could be something that a family of 4 could share in and
have multiple persuits in, but a $30,000 aircraft is for the most part a
means to an end, not the end in and of itself.

2) Big Brother. While some expressed fears of Big Brother in flight
(particularly in the East I bet) most showed distaste for the FAA during
maintenance and annual. The FAA is taking the fun out of plane ownership
by making it more expensive and worrisome than it need to be.

So, how about some opionions about how the upcoming light sport airplane
classification might change some of that? As I understand it, a person
can take an 8 hour course and get a mechanic rating to inspect
(including annual inspection) their own plane. A 2 week course will get
you a rating to actually work on your own plane. Not exactly the same as
working on your own outboard motor, but not exactly the years it takes
to earn an A&P either. You actually stand a chance of inspecting your
own annual, doing the oil and filter changes and if you find something
more serious, having a buddy from 3 hangers down come do the work.
Whould that get some of you Big Brother types in the market?

And how about usefulness? There are some stunning 'kit' planes out there
that could be 100% assembled by professional assemblers (under the sport
plane rules) for reasonable cost ($25,000 with a Cirrus-like built-in
chute) that can take off from a dove/deer field or an inaccesable patch
of surf-fishing beach in just 100-150 feet and carry 500 lbs useful load
(google on Zenith STOL CH701). I mean, to me, a plane I could use with
family and friends as a 'sky jeep' and go DO something besides fly is
circles is intriguing.

So, would a $25,000 all-metal mogas plane with an experimental rating,
150ft take off, a chute and the ability to do much of the annual
yourself make plane ownership sound better? (I'm not saying it could
actually be done, just wondering about your reaction).

Dave