Very nice!

I love the last one and your "what you could do with it" description

cool I want one!

Quote:


+1.  I could picture it now.

I can't resist chiming in...  'cause trust me, I've crunched the "plane ownership" numbers until I got dizzy. I've considered buying (or buying into) everything from a Seneca, to a 210, to a Cardinal, to a 172 and even a Tomahawk.

I'll plug the numbers somewhere in the middle; a servicable, IFR, 20-year-old C172 with some engine life left in it @  $50,000.

Right off the bat you've got $275/month. That would be the interest on a loan, or the compound interest you're not earning, if you've got $50,000 tied up in the plane.

Add $200/month for insurance (hull-damage/replacement and personal liability)..

Add $100/month for hangar/tie-down and related storage expenses.

That's $575 per month, just to stand next to the plane and say, "I own it"  

---  (that alone will get you 5 hours per month of wet rental) ----

Now..  even as an owner, you'r hourly rate is pretty significant. Avgas is $4.50/gal .. so at 8gal/hour that's $36/hour..   Engine reserve (based on 2,000hr TBO @ $17,000) is $8.50/hour... and it's conservative to use that number to cover your annual inspections.. another $8.50/hour

Now... between annuals, you can count on vacuum pump failing, or voltage regulator blowing, or an attitude indicator wearing out.. or a tire running thread-bear... and so on... and you'd better believe that the transponder and radios in a $50,000  Cessna will need their TLC too; so, set another $8.50/hour aside.

We're up to $61.50/hour... AFTER paying $575/month. Amortizing that over a pretty enthusiastic and optimistic flying schedule of  20  hours per month (you'll never keep that pace year-round, out of both physical and financial fatigue) we get $90.25/hour. At a much more realistc schedule of 12 hours/month, we get about $110/hour.

Even if you factor in that flying by the Hobbes is more expensive than flying by the tachometer, you're still not accounting for the likeyhood that when you have trouble holding 2,200rpm while climbing, it's because that used engine decides it wants a new cylinder or camshaft  (pony up $4,000 please)... and you have to pray that nothing else goes wrong (and it will)...

This financial model scales up and down for speedy twins and basic trainers. You cannot buy your way into affordable flying.. I've watched several people give it a try  

If you're looking for a good deal on an airplane, you might want to check out state auction websites.  The state school I work for sold a few of our 152s at auction for roughly 10-20K each.  They had over 10,000 hours on the airframes, but they were very well maintained.  We currently have three more 152s that we will eventually phase out of our fleet as they are steadily being replaced by Diamond DA20s; although, I'm not sure when that'll happen.  I will probably, and hopefully, be long gone by then.  If I can find the state auction website I'll post it for you.  Just food for thought.