Originally Posted by
Fat Old Tired
Like I said, the account for my airplane is "fun money" and not included in my normal everyday living expenses. For the guy who said that I have mixed messaging, it's true that I strongly dislike being an airline pilot, but I still enjoy flying airplanes. The burnout and dislike I have for airlines and many of the coworkers doesn't affect my enjoyment of flying airplanes.
The reality is (even if you are a single, senior captain making the big bucks) you can’t afford to own and operate a mil jet trainer. Training costs, insurance costs, fuel costs, etc will eat you alive. The only way you could make it happen is if you have lots of contacts in the airshow world who would pick up the tab for your gas flying from airshow to airshow. Of course, you would already need to be confident you could get the FAA to sign off on your performance routine. With no mil or airshow background, that’s a very expensive path in a jet. Buy a Yak52, T6, T34, etc and start knocking out the experience (formation training, aerobatics, FAA waivered airspace sign offs, low level aerobatics) you will need to be successful in a jet. A SWA captain managed to afford flying a F-104 for a few years around the airshow circuit, but I’m pretty sure it ate him alive financially.