First Time Buyer. Help!

I would have to disagree with you Richard.

I bought my plane at about 25 hours. I was incredibly bored with the planes
I was renting. The new plane was so much nicer to fly. I flew much more
often, and enjoyed it much more.

Also, if you buy a new plane, it can make sense to move up much sooner than
5 years because of depreciation rules. If you buy used, you can usually get
most of what you paid for the plane if not more (assuming you don't get
taken on the buy). So I really don't get your 5 year rule.

Now, if you figure you really need a 182 for your mission, and you are not
ready to own one, then it would make sense to rent a 172 until then.

On the other hand, if what you really want is an Archer, and it meets your
needs, then why wait?

A more important factor may be the time it takes to BE an airplane owner.
Imagine dealing with your car mechanic on nearly a monthly basis. You are
already taking time out of your schedule to learn to fly, it you buy a used
plane, you could be adding another part time job to your schedule.


"Richard Kaplan" wrote in message
s.com...

"KayInPA" wrote in message
...

Kay
Student Pilot

I would very much suggest you hold off on buying an airplane while you are
a
student pilot. Get your private and then figure out what your typical
flying mission will be like. Many (most?) pilots find out that their
aviation goals and missions change once they get their private and start
flying for pleasure.

Even if your goal is to get your instrument rating, I am not sure it makes
sense to buy an airplane just for that goal. The cost of owning an
airplane
is substantially more than the cost of an IFR rating, and one way airplane
owners often SUBSTANTIALLY increase their costs is by buying an airplane
which does not meet their needs and then trading up in 1-2 years.

You need to hold onto an airplane for 5+ years in order to make the
economics of maintenance somewhat realistic. Buying a 172 to complete
your
IFR training -- only to realize you really need a 182 given the
distance/payload of your trips -- would be way way more expensive than
getting your IFR rating in a rental 172.


--
Richard Kaplan, CFII

www.flyimc.com