My dad flew for both business and pleasure. Understand that he flew in the Army Air Corps and was a navigator in B-29s in the Pacific theater during WWII, so he had experience before he started flying small planes, even if it was roughly 20 years after the war before he got his tickets.
He started out renting during his lessons. He rented occasionally after he got his PP ticket. That was a PITA for a lot of reasons, most of which Don and Grant have mentioned. The best was when we were going to fly over to my grandfather’s place in Illinois one weekend. Preflight all done, everything checked out, and on our climb-out the windshield of our Cessna 182 suddenly became covered with oil. Looking out the little opening in the side window, Dad calls a Mayday and immediate return and we do a quick downwind landing. Seems that the ramp monkey topped off the oil after the preflight and didn’t get the cap on properly. Nice. And yes, that was Dad’s fault for not checking. After that Dad got into a partnership with a bunch of doctors on a Beechcraft V35. It was based at a really nice FBO at Indianapolis International with a nice waiting area, fully staffed, etc. Only problem was that some of the doctors would just randomly decide they wanted to go somewhere and would take the aircraft unannounced. We went out one Friday afternoon planning on flying to our place on Sanibel Island for the weekend only to discover the plane was gone (it had been reserved by my Dad several weeks in advance with the woman who handled the scheduling.) That put an end to the partnership. Lastly, Dad bought his own Beechcraft V35B, N899T and put an end to all the BS. Fully IFR and instructor rated by this time, the aircraft he bought was IFR equipped as well. In his case he could use it for business purposes, and as I understood it, as long as his business use exceeded his personal use the majority of the (personal) cost and expenses were a write-off. 899T is out in Missouri somewhere these days, but we put a lot of hours in that aircraft. Since he was instructor rated we could fly left seat and get our hours. I flew in the summer with him when I was out of school, which was fun. I would have to dig my logbook out, but I believe I had somewhere in the neighborhood of about 600 hours flying that aircraft. Flying is a major commitment of time, energy and money. Unless you’re fortunate enough to have the facilities, like Don, upkeep will eat you alive. Overhead is fixed to a point where it’s going to cost you whether you fly it or not, and the regulatory requirements are such that when the time for a minor or major comes up, you’re doing it or the aircraft is grounded. It was really nice to have access to a plane when there was one in the family, but I saw what it took to operate it up close there was no way I would make that kind of commitment myself. When my Dad passed and 899T was sold off, it didn’t hurt my feelings in the least. That’s also the last time I flew. -D > On Mar 23, 2018, at 10:05 PM, OK Don via Mercedes <mercedes@okiebenz.com> > wrote: > > That all depends one how the partnership is structured, and how willing the > partners are to cough up money when needed. Remember that the basic unit of > money in aviation is $1000. > If you are going to do much flying, renting is just paying someone else a > profit for your use of the plane. Would you rent a car every time you > wanted to go to OKC? > If you aren't going to do much flying, why spend the $ and time to get a > license? You need to stay current to be safe. > I've heard stories from the guys who are A&Ps for one of the local FBOs - > and they won't fly the rental airplanes - too much cost and corner cutting. > I like to know EVERYTHING that has been done to my aircraft, and how it was > done, and who inspected it. > As Grant said, you can't pull over on the shoulder and call AAA - - - > > On Fri, Mar 23, 2018 at 5:27 PM, Kaleb C. Striplin via Mercedes < > mercedes@okiebenz.com> wrote: > >> So if a person is intent on getting their license and will actually fly >> afterwards, are they better off buying a plane or a share of one, or just >> renting when they want to fly? It would seem if 2 or 3 people bought in it >> would be cheaper. Or go the flying club route. >> >> >> >> On 3/23/2018 11:15 AM, OK Don via Mercedes wrote: >> >>> The market for used trainers - Cessna 150/152 or 172 is relatively stable >>> now, and the aircraft are all old, so there is very little depreciation. >>> So, is you buy a solid C150 for $15,000, and fly it a couple hundred hours >>> (needed for a commercial license), AND take care of it, you can expect to >>> sell it for at lest $14,000, but perhaps $16,000. Renting one is around >>> $90/hour here - so the 200 hours will cost a minimum of $18,000. Now there >>> are expenses beyond the capitol outlay - fuel, annual inspections, hangar >>> rent, maintenance, etc., and you have to manage all that as well. >>> I suspect that a flying club is the most economical way fly, if you don't >>> mind sharing, scheduling, and trust their maintenance director (with your >>> life). >>> We're talking 1950's through the late 1970's machines for the most part, >>> maintenance is critical. >>> >>> Grant and Dan are right on - - - >>> >>> On Thu, Mar 22, 2018 at 9:13 PM, Kaleb C. Striplin via Mercedes < >>> mercedes@okiebenz.com> wrote: >>> >>> If a person wanted to get their private ticket, are you better off renting >>>> a plane or buying/buy a share of a plane? >>>> >>>> >>>> --- >>>> This email has been checked for viruses by AVG. >>>> http://www.avg.com >>>> >>>> >>>> _______________________________________ >>>> http://www.okiebenz.com >>>> >>>> To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ >>>> >>>> To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: >>>> http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com >>>> >>>> >>>> >>> >> >> _______________________________________ >> http://www.okiebenz.com >> >> To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ >> >> To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: >> http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com >> >> > > > -- > OK Don > > *“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry and narrow-mindedness, and many of > our people need it sorely on these accounts.”* – Mark Twain > > "There are three kinds of men: The ones that learns by reading. The few who > learn by observation. The rest of them have to pee on the electric fence > for themselves." > > WILL ROGERS, *The Manly Wisdom of Will Rogers* > 2013 F150, 18 mpg > 2017 Subaru Legacy, 30 mpg > 1957 C182A, 12 mpg - but at 150 mph! > _______________________________________ > http://www.okiebenz.com > > To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ > > To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: > http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com > _______________________________________ http://www.okiebenz.com To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com
