Originally Posted by JungleBus

Oh I dunno bout that - I've occasionally flown in my spare time as a CFI, freight dog, regional FO, regional CA, and now newhire at a major on year 1 pay. For the last several years we budgeted $200/mo for flying, which was enough for 3 hrs of Cub time (usually flew less in the winter, more in the summer). As a new Pacer owner my flying budget is now $1200/mo but would be considerably less if I had a partner or two, or if I was flying a Champ, Luscombe, or C140. I don't think the money is the obstacle for most airline pilots. Most of the guys I fly with that don't fly GA don't lack the money, they lack the interest. They say "why the heck would I want to even touch an airplane when I'm off work?" I kinda understand the sentiment, I don't have any particular desire to fly IFR X/C in a Mooney or Bonanza. I enjoy flying old taildraggers exactly because it's so unlike what we do at work. The last several guys I've flown with who do fly GA have floatplanes, LSAs, and even a weight-shift trike.