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Old 03-22-2017, 10:19 AM
  #38  
Tester130
Gets Weekends Off
 
Joined APC: Aug 2016
Position: P-28
Posts: 151
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Many have said the rent mantra over and over here...and I would tend to agree. You already have said that you are running spread sheets to do some cost analyses. You should also be looking at what it would cost to rent a plane to do what you are hoping to do and the compare the costs to see which way is the best choice. A friend of mine says he needs to average flying his plane 5 hours a month to justify owning it versus renting.

Now let me throw one more idea into your head. Because renting does have its limitations. Planes could be beat up or not available. Weekend rental rates could be prohibitive. You could go down to your local airport and find someone that owns a plane that serves what you need and offer to become a joint owner. You would need to come up with some form of agreement as to how you split the costs (50/50 on annual, % of flight time for wear and tear repairs) so that you each feel you are getting a fair deal. It will cut the costs of owning way down and allow you to fly a plane you know the maintenance history on and will more than likely be in better shape than any rental.

A friend of mine was looking for a Cherokee 6. Ran into another friend that was about to sell his because it was too expensive to own by himself and fly as much as he wanted. They partnered on the plane. Later on they took on two more partners. Now the four of them have one of the nicest planes at the airport. It is much easier to decide to upgrade those radios/nav/interior/etc when you are only paying 1/4 of the cost. They have a shared calendar where they sign up to use the plane. Each guy has a certain number of days per year where once he is signed up, those are his days. Beyond those, he can sign up, but be bumped by someone that has guaranteed days left. They split split all costs evenly as they figure they are all flying it about the same amount of time (or have the option to fly it the same amount).

Odds are there is someone at your airport of choice that isn't able to put gas in their plane because all their spare money is getting put into maintenance. Find that guy and you get access to a nice plane at half the cost and they cut their costs in half and are able to fly more. As with all partnerships, get it in writing as to who pays what, how scheduling the plane will work, how to leave the partnership when that time comes, and other specifics. If you don't get it all on the first draft, then you can always draft up amendments when you make a new partnership decision.

This is the route I would be going if I was to "buy" a plane right now, but fortunately I have a father-in-law with a nice enough Arrow that I can tool around in. He is getting up there in age and is just happy someone is getting the plane in the air now and then.
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