How to Actually Afford an Airplane

TIP #6: You have to be very passionate about aviation. Even though these tips are for saving money, you will still invest a lot into an airplane. You have to love it and be willing to make sacrifices for it. Not everyone can afford an airplane, but these are steps in the right direction.

My advice is not to be poor. Thanks for coming to my TED Talk. 👍

The second secret to affordable flying is to live in an aviation community. There are quite a few of these in Florida. Mine has about 30 homes with hangers along with a 2700 ft. grass runway. In addition to having no hanger fees (one of the biggest costs of owning an airplane) we have two instructors and three aviation mechanics as neighbors. Many are either active or retired airline pilots, and all have a genuine love of flying. I find the cost of living here very little more than anywhere else and I trust my neighbors to look out for my interests as I respect theirs. Check it out!

The two happiest times for me was when I first bought my airplane (Cessna 177 Cardinal) and when I finally sold it. Although I could afford to own and fly it, I just couldn’t come to terms with the never ending outflow of money.

This kind of thing really infuriates me and is the reason I gave up on GA. There is nothing, and I mean NOTHING, that is "affordable" about aviation of any stripe or shape. If I had won the big money lottery, then it might be affordable. But then you account for the outrageous amount of time, effort, study, checkrides, etc, then it becomes very unpractical very fast. GA needs drastic changes very fast or it will die out very soon.

Being a certified pilot since 02/1982, and the only airplane I can afford is the MS Flight Simulator.

In 1988 as a young student pilot (<10 hrs.) I purchased a C150J to continue my training and enjoy after obtaining the PPL. At my first Annual Inspection I asked the old grumpy A&P/owner of the shop "how much will it cost?" Well he took my head off and replied "If you have to ask, then you cannot afford it!". Even so I continued to use his shop being I was based at that airport (N12). Thirty-five years and five airplanes later, I still remember that grumpy fuckers attitude, I think he assumed I was too young and could not afford airplane ownership.

I complete agree with everything you said! Though, for clarity, my video is about the planes I think are the "best" that cost less than 100k to buy (basically my favourites). Agreed that these dinosaur certified planes will eat you alive if you buy them. Here's a fun fact, In Canada, just owning any experimental plane gives you full unrestricted authority to do any work or inspections you want. I'm in the middle of a full panel upgrade in my RV-3 (that I didn't build) and I don't know what the heck I'm doing 😉 Thanks for the video, big fan of the channel. Cheers from the frozen north

I am totally with you buddy. I came from the military aviation world and really wanted a good 4 seater. Rented a cirrus for a while, was thinking of buying and then I saw the numbers, I ran the numbers so many times and I could not believe how expensive it is to own a cirrus. I ended up building a RV-10 with a lot of help and now I have what is in my mind the most affordable four seater on the market, put in all the good stuff, Thunderbolt IO540 265HP AC, Oxygen, leather, fancy 3 Gucci Garmin G3X Beringer wheels and brakes . Never thought to go this way but the numbers were so good I had to give it try. All that under 350K with builder assist.

Thanks a lot for sharing this video. I fully agree with all you said. But let me add just one thing here about experimental aircrafts. I have built my own RV-12 which I fly and maintain myself for the last 5 years. It is still a quite expensive hobby and it takes a good portion of my annual income. There is no such thing like cheap in aviation.

In my own case, flying motivated me enough to first buy 11 acres of rural property out of town a ways (45 years ago), to at first fly ultralights and later my RANS S-7 out of. After 28 years my strip was steadily getting encroached upon by new residential construction so I sold out for a shitpot amount of money (due to the increased land value of course) and I used that money to buy 40 acres 2 miles away, out in the boonies once again. Then I bought another 30 acres below when the rancher family who owned it for 100 years hung it up, so I now have 70 acres, all paid for, and on paper I'm a millonaire! All thanks to the initial motivation flying gave me, point being....flying has been very good to me financially in a backasswards way. All this on a construction worker's wages BTW.

I owned a certified plane (1979 Warrior) and now own an experimental (RV-9A). I agree with what you say here. Flying will never be cheap, but experimental is a much better way to go. Cheaper parts and especially cheaper autopilots & other avionics are big factors.

For those pilots in the snowbelt states, it is highly desirable to obtain hanger storage, which is also becoming more difficult to find, and ridiculously expensive when one becomes available.

Your points are very valid. You have to know: NOBODY sells an aircraft that is 100% done. Most of the times you need to address things like lighting, radios, etc. Expect to invest the amount you purchased it for within the first three years again. Make a list what matters to you most. Make a list what missions your aircraft will be used for. Basically, the only thing you can do (if you want to go with a certified aircraft) is: - C172 (the older ones do have a better payload....) - P28A Beech, SIAI, Mooney... are out of reach for most people financially - and sourcing parts can be a nightmare. I own a P28A, bought it relatively cheap - but have almost invested the purchasing price within the first year (yes, I could have stretched it further out but honestly: Lights are crucial if you fly at night. Changing the magnetos (and going with an electronic ignition)... yes, costs time. But you don't want to be sitting around with a dead magneto just a couple of days before you wanted to go on vacation with your aircraft. Having a second radio is a must if you fly within busy airspaces. Yes, you can do without. But I don't like the idea. Reliable is good. Fix things upfront helps keeping the costs in control as well as planning what cost comes up next. Experimental... is a valid path to go, true. In Europe you do have the problem that some countries do not allow certain experimentals in which is problematic. In addition you really need to know and trust the builder. I have seen too many shortcuts taken by a builder. And building it for myself... yes, sure. But I don't have the time (and I'd rather fly than build). In EASA-Space you have the ability do define a maintenance program for your aircraft yourself - which helps a lot. You can do a lot of stuff yourself (an A&P has to sign it off, though). Example? I changed the starter myself. Wasn't a big deal.

Affordable aviation, its almost an oxymoron. For me aviation has been a dream since I was 4 years old. Last summer I finally got into ppg. The equipment was not cheap but compared with other aviation it was way more affordable. Now when I fly i spend about 10 bucks on fuel and a few bucks for oil. Its not going to get me and my family to Florida but just having the ability to lay out my wing at a local park and takeoff into the sky is such an amazing feeling. If you dream of aviation and cannot afford general aviation look into PPG. I fly with a Coast Guard helicopter pilot who says he has more fun flying his PPG. It certainly comes with limitations (weather) being the main limitation but when you finally get a nice calm day and lift off into the sky its an absolutely unforgettable experience. It has truly changed my life. I still hope to get into a LSA someday but for now and forever, I will be a PPG pilot.

I fly professionally for a legacy carrier and have zero debt and make good money and there is no way I am buying a plane. New, used, certified or experimental. As fun as GA flying is, it just is ridiculously expensive. I will stick to renting one 2 or 3 times a year. It is much cheaper and less of a hassle.

I looked into getting started in aviation, and did it pretty much as you described at the beginning of the video. I saw the prices on 'certified aircraft' and immediately noped out. I didn't even know there was a difference or another option other than certified factory built aircraft. This video just opened up a whole new world, a new fantastic point of view.

Experimental is good, but at least here in New Zealand, it depends on a few things. I'm building a Sling TSi but also bought a 1972 Piper Cherokee two months ago. The thing with experimental in NZ is you have to build at least 51% of the aircraft for you to be able to do your own maintenance. So, if you want to go that route you'd have to factor in the cost of the tools, space and time to build the airplane. If you bought an already built plane, you're going to be paying someone to maintain it, so the only savings then will be the cheaper parts from it being experimental as opposed to certified. The other trap is if you want to be able to fly in IMC, which I do. LSA aircraft can't be flown in IMC in NZ, so unless the CAA changes the rules in the future, LSA is completely off the cards. That leaves me with way fewer options as I'd need an aircraft that can get the Special Category - Amateur Built airworthiness certificate, rather than one that will end up with a Special Category - Experimental certificate. This is why I'm building the Sling. It can get IFR approval, but it is still not cheap. My budget for the build is around $400,000, which is right up there with a new-ish Piper or Cessna anyway. It will still be worth it in the long run due to doing my own maintenance and the fact that it can carry more than a 172 while flying faster and burning less fuel, but it will take many years of flying before those savings will offset the high cost of buying and building the aircraft. The reason I bought the Cherokee is because it will take me a few years yet to finish the Sling and I am tired of renting in the mean time. Over January and February the panel is getting upgraded with a full glass Garmin solution. End of it all, the plane will owe me around $170,000. If I budget for $200 an hour and flew around 100 hours a year, the Cherokee will last me several years before it becomes as expensive as the entry cost of the Sling. All in all, if you build an LSA yourself and all you want to do is some VFR flying, then yes, experimental is much cheaper than certified. But if you don't want to build it yourself and you want to do IFR flying in IMC, certified aircraft can actually be pretty affordable. I'll still finish the Sling, as it will be a better equipped, easier and cheaper to maintain and more efficient aircraft than the Cherokee, but for the next 3-4 years the Cherokee is going to be a great little IFR machine.

Amen! It amazes me the amounts of money that people waste by sticking with certified aircraft - especially as first or low cost aircraft. I think about the changes and enhancements I've made to my non-certified LSA (many of which have improved safety ), non of which I could have done on a certified aircraft.

where do u buy the airplane??