Originally Posted by
JBell93 
I don't think I'll be able to buy an airplane along with paying for training and school, but I will look into it! I may be able to rent my neighbours for a lot cheaper. Thanks for the info!
Originally Posted by
Outlaw2097
Most loan companies want 10% down on a plane.
A 40K note @ 6% for 15 years is ~ $350 a month.
Factor in operating costs (gas, insurance, cost of an instructor, etc) and you may find it cheaper than continuing at an FBO. There are plenty of web sites out there that will help you find the right plane for you.
And just to clarify...Im talking about a used plane. Tradeaplane and Controller have nice and easy sites to navigate on. No sense in droping $250k on a brand new one when youre looking to train and get your time.
When I was in school, a pair of twin brothers owned a C-172 which was very nicely equipped for IFR training at the time (mid-late 80s timeframe). I'm pretty sure that they had it on some type of lease back to the FBO that we all trained out of with contacts with the flight program out of Oklahoma State.
That aircraft was ALWAYS booked - both for the IFR training and many x/cs because it was one of the nicest aircraft. The FBO handled all of the maintenance I think and although I don't know what of financial deal with the FBO or school they might have had, I did ask them once a question about cost and they made it sound like they weren't having to make any payments or anything else and were very happy with the outcome.
So buying your own plane and then seeing if you could lease it back to them for training might an option.
USMCFLYR