AF2Navy

I want to own down the road......either outright by myself, partnership, or club.

To those of you owners out there.......what resources do you use/recommend?

What is(are) the APC forum equivalent for general aviation?

I am a member of AOPA....i am sure its not the end all be all...what else is out there for me to dig into and educate myself with?

Thanks!

grimmdj

Whatever you buy, join the Type Club
Website/Forum.
Nothing like experience, especially
before you buy.
Dave
(Happy Fleet Canuck owner)

N9373M

Ownership is wonderful. The freedom to go fly at the drop of a hat can't be beat. If money is a concern, go with a club first, partnership second, and finally sole owner. With a club or partnership, the trick is finding X number of people you can trust ($$$$). The plus side it that some of the members will never (or rarely) fly the plane, chipping in to support your habit.

+1 on the type club. I am aware of the Mooney Pilots Association, and a club for the "Indian" series of Pipers (Cherokee, Comanche, etc).

I've not found a good forum for type ownership. Most of the participants are wannabes or students, asking basic questions.

We formed an LLC and wrote bylaws and rules covering everything from scheduling to what happens when a member dies. If you do form a club/partnership, pay for the plane in cash - don't get a loan.

Best of luck - let us know what you do and what you purchase. It will be more expensive that you think

Feel free to PM me if there is anything else you have questions about.

Flint Stone

Own it by your self! Clubs and partners are a pain in the arse!

Excellent idea to join the type club for your type, they are a wealth of information on operation and maintenance.

Work with your A&P mechanic, not only will it save you money, it will give you much better knowledge of your aircraft.

I've owned a float plane in a partnership, and solely owned 4 singles and 2 twins. Much prefer single ownership!!!

Soon as I sell my Cessna 195, I'm gettin a Cub

block30

I've gotten a lot of good info, leads, and first hand testimonials from the GA forums. Cessna172club.com, Cessna.org (Cessna Pilots Association) come to mind (I'm a Cessna guy). As was mentioned about the type clubs, there are many depending on what you buy. You will find a lot of good information from these groups. The support network can be quite impressive.

Many clubs put on training seminars to include sims and actual flight instruction, plus fly ins and fly outs. You gotta filter through some stuff, just like here of course. Some of these clubs are pretty in depth with who is on their staff and what mailings they put out-they can keep you abreast of ADs, service bulletins, and be a consumer reports of sorts.

Keep us posted!

Grumble

Build your own airplane. It's not as cosmic as you think, you can pay for it as you go, the experimental avionics and EFIS systems are light years ahead of the certified stuff for a fraction of the price, and the maintenance and up keep costs are a fraction of owning a certified airplane.

Same goes for buying a used experimental. PM me if you want to know more.