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ElyJs · October 14th, 2006, 20:41

I am more of a JC lurker, but I have to chime in on how ownership is going for me. I took my first discovery flight early August. I had always been interested in flying but was now deciding to make a career out of it. I will be graduating from University of Colorado (who just beat TT btw) in December with a business degree. I am someone who vigoursily researches how the best way to go about receiving my training and making my goal of flying for a career. It sounds perfect, decent money, work half the month, you run the show in the cockpit, no 9-5 bs. I was first convinced I was going to take out a loan and head to Ari-ben in florida. I decided first step was go on a discovery flight and find out what this flying thing is all about. I came in very enthusiastically which the instructor saw. It ended up being almost two hours between ground and almost a one hour flight. We did steep turns, stalls and a bunch of other PPL maneuvers until I literally puked.

No matter, I was hooked, flying was it. After digging deep on airplane ownership and looking at how older cessna's actually appreciate, I had found the best way to do it. With help from a friend I had made hanging out at the airport I began researching the 172 I was planning to purchase. My folks are awesome they are very supportive and are lucky enough to be able to help me out financially. My father offered to make the down payment on the loan which I will repay when the plane is sold. I am based out of Boulder and mountain flying is in my future so I decided on getting a 180 hp 0-360. There seemed to be fewer on the market and they demanded quite a premium. I found an old civil air patrol 76' 172 with a lowtime engine and flew it back from Georgia with my instructor as a 5 hour student (man what a blast that trip was).

Now I am 60 hours into my pilot career in less than two months. I go flying 4 or 5 times a week whenever I have time. I go on cross countries whenever I like and stay as long as I want. No one else but me flies my plane. I am actually planning to fly back to the east coast to see family here in the upcoming month. My PPL cost me about 2 grand for instruction given plus the variable costs on my plane (which run about 30-35/hr). Now I am flying friends up and down the front range.

I wait tables here in Boulder and have been able to just barely break even at the end of the month. I may not have the cash to go out as much as I would like but I get to fly all of the time. I decided not to put my plane online because my insurance would jump from around $1300 all the way up to $8000 plus 100 hours which also cost quite a bit.( which are the same as an annual execept they can be conducted by a mechanic without his IA 2. an annual counts as a 100 hour but not vice versa...I think that was the difference anyway) Also you gotta figure instead of selling a mid time engine you will be likely be selling a high time or shelling out the money for a rebuild. I fly the plane enough that my fixed costs become very small. I plan to put the plane up for sale when I reach my 250 hours and if all goes well make a little on the transaction.

If you are planning on getting all of your rating quickly, have a little money saved, and are willing to do a little more work airplane ownership seems a great way to go. No matter what happens, whether I decide to pursue an airline career job or not, I will always own a plane. In fact I am already saving and searching for my future RV-4. If all goes as planned (as it has so far) I will be earning my ratings for a fraction of the costof Ari-ben without having to relocate and keep my fairly well-paying job. It has been one of the most rewarding purchases I have ever made (also the largest, the loan payment looms from the 20th on, every month). The amount you will learn, from maintenance, to intimately knowing every feature on the plane will be irreplacable. Flying won't seem as much about spending money as it will be about fun. I actually have developed this crazy picture about whether or not I want to fly that day, the more I fly the cheaper it is! Sorry if this post was a little all over the place...Send a pm with any specific questions or advice desired on the process
-Jason

October 14th, 2006, 20:41	#7
ElyJs Junior Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Boulder, Colorado Posts: 278	Re: ownership, costs, and training I am more of a JC lurker, but I have to chime in on how ownership is going for me. I took my first discovery flight early August. I had always been interested in flying but was now deciding to make a career out of it. I will be graduating from University of Colorado (who just beat TT btw) in December with a business degree. I am someone who vigoursily researches how the best way to go about receiving my training and making my goal of flying for a career. It sounds perfect, decent money, work half the month, you run the show in the cockpit, no 9-5 bs. I was first convinced I was going to take out a loan and head to Ari-ben in florida. I decided first step was go on a discovery flight and find out what this flying thing is all about. I came in very enthusiastically which the instructor saw. It ended up being almost two hours between ground and almost a one hour flight. We did steep turns, stalls and a bunch of other PPL maneuvers until I literally puked. No matter, I was hooked, flying was it. After digging deep on airplane ownership and looking at how older cessna's actually appreciate, I had found the best way to do it. With help from a friend I had made hanging out at the airport I began researching the 172 I was planning to purchase. My folks are awesome they are very supportive and are lucky enough to be able to help me out financially. My father offered to make the down payment on the loan which I will repay when the plane is sold. I am based out of Boulder and mountain flying is in my future so I decided on getting a 180 hp 0-360. There seemed to be fewer on the market and they demanded quite a premium. I found an old civil air patrol 76' 172 with a lowtime engine and flew it back from Georgia with my instructor as a 5 hour student (man what a blast that trip was). Now I am 60 hours into my pilot career in less than two months. I go flying 4 or 5 times a week whenever I have time. I go on cross countries whenever I like and stay as long as I want. No one else but me flies my plane. I am actually planning to fly back to the east coast to see family here in the upcoming month. My PPL cost me about 2 grand for instruction given plus the variable costs on my plane (which run about 30-35/hr). Now I am flying friends up and down the front range. I wait tables here in Boulder and have been able to just barely break even at the end of the month. I may not have the cash to go out as much as I would like but I get to fly all of the time. I decided not to put my plane online because my insurance would jump from around $1300 all the way up to $8000 plus 100 hours which also cost quite a bit.( which are the same as an annual execept they can be conducted by a mechanic without his IA 2. an annual counts as a 100 hour but not vice versa...I think that was the difference anyway) Also you gotta figure instead of selling a mid time engine you will be likely be selling a high time or shelling out the money for a rebuild. I fly the plane enough that my fixed costs become very small. I plan to put the plane up for sale when I reach my 250 hours and if all goes well make a little on the transaction. If you are planning on getting all of your rating quickly, have a little money saved, and are willing to do a little more work airplane ownership seems a great way to go. No matter what happens, whether I decide to pursue an airline career job or not, I will always own a plane. In fact I am already saving and searching for my future RV-4. If all goes as planned (as it has so far) I will be earning my ratings for a fraction of the costof Ari-ben without having to relocate and keep my fairly well-paying job. It has been one of the most rewarding purchases I have ever made (also the largest, the loan payment looms from the 20th on, every month). The amount you will learn, from maintenance, to intimately knowing every feature on the plane will be irreplacable. Flying won't seem as much about spending money as it will be about fun. I actually have developed this crazy picture about whether or not I want to fly that day, the more I fly the cheaper it is! Sorry if this post was a little all over the place...Send a pm with any specific questions or advice desired on the process -Jason