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I too am styruggling with the costs (who doesn't?). Now going back to flying after many inactive years, I'm pretty determined to finish up that ticket, and after that....well, I will surely rent for at least a little while, but owning my own plane has been a dream I've had since I was a wee tyke. For the first time in my life, I think I might actually be able to get away with it financially. My dear wife, bless her sweet soul, didn't put up much of a stink when I began to float the idea, and has recently been sounding downright supportive (and all this from a woman who sometimes gets motion sickness during a short, gently drive to the neighborhood Safeway!). But I digress...
I have some stock I can sell to raise enough capital to buy an old airplane outright - no loan payments (I hate debt). A voice in the back of my head says I should probably invest this money for my retirement, but I'm not listening very much (besides, we all know how small airplanes are excellent investments, right?). I look over the ads in Trade-A-Plane, etc., and I think I have a pretty good idea how much airplane I can afford to purchase. I'm looking at an old C-150, maybe a C-140/120, T-Craft or Luscombe. Nohting too fancy, just a basic, low-cost bird.
I still have lots of homework to do before getting anywhere near a purchase (I really do not want to walk into a disaster...I just want a simple, small, old airplane for local VFR fun).
What I'm still trying to get a handle on is how much I'll need to budget for regular expenses. Other than gas & oil for when it flys, what are the other regular expenses I need to plan for? I'm expecting insurance, tie-down, regular maintenance (and some fund for the expensive maintenance which surely will come eventually). Besides that stuff, what else is there?
Thanks!
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