Least Expensive Plane To Buy and Own

Michael Adams wrote:
I am looking for some input on the least expensive airplanes to own.

The rental. G

On Aug 24, 7:39 am, B A R R Y wrote:
Michael Adams wrote:
I am looking for some input on the least expensive airplanes to own.

The rental. G

Yup, I've had the bug on and off and no matter how I run the numbers I
can't justify it unless I have lots of mad money on hand, which I
don't. You can't beat a good flying club for the right balance
between value and availability.

A partnership can also cut your costs, but of course it has to be the
right partner, which isn't easy to find.

xyzzy wrote in
ups.com:

On Aug 24, 7:39 am, B A R R Y wrote:
Michael Adams wrote:
I am looking for some input on the least expensive airplanes to own.

The rental. G

Yup, I've had the bug on and off and no matter how I run the numbers I
can't justify it unless I have lots of mad money on hand, which I
don't. You can't beat a good flying club for the right balance
between value and availability.

A partnership can also cut your costs, but of course it has to be the
right partner, which isn't easy to find.


And the wrong partner can be a nightmare.

--
Marty Shapiro
Silicon Rallye Inc.

(remove SPAMNOT to email me)

Xyzzy,

Yup, I've had the bug on and off and no matter how I run the numbers I
can't justify it unless I have lots of mad money on hand, which I
don't. You can't beat a good flying club for the right balance
between value and availability.


Whenever your requirements include longer trips with little flying time
(e.g. fly to a nice place an hour or two away, stay for three or four
days and fly back), both rentals and most flying clubs aren't an option.

--
Thomas Borchert (EDDH)

In a previous article, said:
Whenever your requirements include longer trips with little flying time
(e.g. fly to a nice place an hour or two away, stay for three or four
days and fly back), both rentals and most flying clubs aren't an option.

Flying clubs are. I regularly fly a club plane to Ottawa (1.75 hours
flight time) and then stay for two or three days. I've flown to Oshkosh
(4.5 hours flight time) and let it sit for 8 days. Not all flying clubs
are douchebags about minimum flying hours per day.


--
Paul Tomblin http://blog.xcski.com/
"You are in front of me. If you value your lives, be somewhere else." -
- Delenn, Babylon 5

Paul Tomblin wrote:
: In a previous article, said:
: Whenever your requirements include longer trips with little flying time
: (e.g. fly to a nice place an hour or two away, stay for three or four
: days and fly back), both rentals and most flying clubs aren't an option.

: Flying clubs are. I regularly fly a club plane to Ottawa (1.75 hours
: flight time) and then stay for two or three days. I've flown to Oshkosh
: (4.5 hours flight time) and let it sit for 8 days. Not all flying clubs
: are douchebags about minimum flying hours per day.

... but I think most probably are. Unless you're in a *large* flying club (more than 3-4 planes, with multiple ones
in the same class), it's not an option. Most I've seen have one or at most two of the "primary trainer class" (e.g. Cessna
150/152), "instrument trainer class" (e.g. Cherokee 140/180), "complex-trainer class" (e.g. Arrow/Mooney/172RG), or
"twin-trainer class" (twin Commanche, etc). Most of them have high utilizations and have rules structured to discourage
weekend trips.

-Cory

--

************************************************** ***********************
* Cory Papenfuss, Ph.D., PPSEL-IA *
* Electrical Engineering *
* Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University *
************************************************** ***********************

Paul,

Not all flying clubs
are douchebags about minimum flying hours per day.


That's why I said "most". Consider yourself lucky.

--
Thomas Borchert (EDDH)

On Aug 26, 8:48 am, (Paul Tomblin) wrote:
In a previous article, said:

Whenever your requirements include longer trips with little flying time
(e.g. fly to a nice place an hour or two away, stay for three or four
days and fly back), both rentals and most flying clubs aren't an option.

Flying clubs are. I regularly fly a club plane to Ottawa (1.75 hours
flight time) and then stay for two or three days. I've flown to Oshkosh
(4.5 hours flight time) and let it sit for 8 days. Not all flying clubs
are douchebags about minimum flying hours per day.

That's my club experience too. We are pretty flexible, with a minimum
usage charge of 1 hour per day. Scheduling rules are flexible enough
that I don't think anyone has failed to take a trip because of them
(now, failing to take a trip because there is no plane available,
that's a different story -- that's the rub of the tradeoff between
renting and owning).

But in reference to Thomas' rebuttal, we have 8 planes in our fleet
and about 150 flying members.

"Michael Adams" wrote in message
t...
I am looking for some input on the least expensive airplanes to own. I've
heard so many horror stories about the $5000 or even $15,000 annual, or the
seat adjuster that costs $600, that I thought I would get some input on
this before buying. So I'm looking for low purchase price (used), low
repair and parts costs, and low $ per hour to run.

Michael

There is no such thing as low parts cost on a certified airplane. The
voltage regulator on my Cherokee 140 went bad a few years ago. This is a
Chrysler part. NAPA gets $35 for an identical part. Piper sells theirs for
$350. BTW, the Cherokee 140 is at the bottom end of both the purchase price
scale as well as the maintenance scale. HOWEVER, I had both a $19,000 annual
followed by a $6000 annual. Those two prretty much put the plane back into
premimum condition. I've been spending around $1500/year since. (BTW, it's
for sale for $27,000)

The reason the parts are so expensive is because very few are manufactured,
and the certification cost is high. So, if you're really looking for low
cost parts, you can't do it with a certified aircraft.

That leaves you with buying a homebuilt. If you jump over to
rec.aviation.homebuilt and look for the FAQ, you can read plenty.

Michael Adams wrote:
I am looking for some input on the least expensive airplanes to own. I've
heard so many horror stories about the $5000 or even $15,000 annual, or the
seat adjuster that costs $600, that I thought I would get some input on this
before buying. So I'm looking for low purchase price (used), low repair and
parts costs, and low $ per hour to run.

Piper Cub
Aeronca Champ