Mark Hansen wrote:
I'm thinking about getting into an airplane partnership (or co-ownership)
and have a few questions.

When people say that you can't really save money with ownership over
renting, does that include partnerships as well? I would think that
with a 4-way partnership, the operating costs would be reduced to
a level such that it would be cheaper than renting.

I don't know about that. Either renting or partnering, you're spreading the cost
over a wider user base and increasing the utilization of an expensive asset. I
think the usual case is that by renting you can spread the costs more widely
than by partnering.

I'm currently in a 4-way partnership, and it's working sort-of OK, but next time
I'll look for a partnership with fewer people. It's just too hard to get that
many people all moving in the same direction. As a friend of mine points out,
when you take on one partner, you reduce your expenses by 50 percent (100 - 50),
and when you take on the second partner, you reduce your expenses only by 17
percent (50 - 33), and so on...


One plane I'm looking at shows a monthly cost of around $50 with
an hourly rate of about $58/wet. This seems pretty good, but I'm
wondering what is missing. After all, how can $200/month cover
all the operating expenses (like hangar rental, insurance, annual
inspections, etc.)? ... I do have these questions in to the selling
partner and am currently waiting for a reply - FYI.

That sounds like a good idea. There's no reason they shouldn't be willing to
open up their books for you.


Before buying into an existing partnership would you still suggest
a full pre-purchase inspection? I would think at a minimum I would
want someone to go over the logs and make sure the partners are not
looking for a way to defray some of the costs of some looming expenditure.
Given that one of the existing partners is selling his share, this
doesn't seem like a realistic concern.

It depends, but for me the general answer would be yes. Get someone to give you
an unbiased opinion on the condition.


To do this right, I really should take a few months and read the
'how to buy' books, but then I felt this way before I bought my
first house, and that process turned out to be relatively easy.

Yeah, it is possible to get into analysis-paralysis.


Thanks for any opinions,

By the way, the airplane in question is a 1969 Mooney M20F Turbo.
Would any Mooney owners care to share some advice via e-mail?

My partnership is an '81 M20J. You'll love the Mooney.

Dave