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Considering aircraft purchase - finally ;-)

Hi Patrick,

great decision to buy your own aircraft!

First of all I would make sure to have a nice hangar place to store your aircraft.

Then I would try to find a maintenance company that is easy going in a sense that they are open and honest to you and are happy with your aircraft, and ideally accept that you do pilot/owner maintenance (to a certain degree at least) within the frame of a self-declared IHP.

I found “my“ maintenance company only on the 5th try and I am very happy with my choice!

Most mechanics will advise you to buy an aircraft that has seen high production numbers (Cessna, Piper, you name it…) because spare parts are cheap/easy to get and you have a better chance to sell it one day.

Another consideration is to buy an aircraft that is forgiving. Works for me since it means very relaxed flying.

The above mentioned Rocket or a C182 is great if you do not want to worry about takeoff performance anymore.

Last Edited by cessnatraveller at 13 Oct 16:22

Buy something non complex and benign that will resell easily because it’s in that category. Obviously ensuring it will complete your missions.
Or
Buy your last aircraft first. Take your time, research, learn. Then when you invest in anything extra on it, it’s going to be for you, not the guys you sell it to later.
Any upgrades / improvements will be selected by you for your mission.

If you are likely to be budget constrained, the 1st option will give you a better understanding of where you may be if you then decide on trying the second option.

I took the common advice of the second option, and every little bit of effort and time spent on owning it, good and bad, is never against the backdrop of ‘In a year or two I’ll sell it and get…’

It’s not the best route for everyone but works for me, and it can be applied anywhere from owning a lovely C152 to a private jet.

United Kingdom

On rental or shared ownership you can get anything you desire except flying when you want it, usually it is hard to know what you want unless you have try it many times, but now you know exactly what you are after for the next 20 years?

If you asked me 6 years ago it will be an electric single seat glider, if you ask me now, I will get a nice Archer with basic IFR as sole owner: has best mission compromise, full flying flexibility and acceptable costs to make sure it flies 100h/year all around the place :)

I honestly don’t view any investment upside in any common GA airplane, just hold for 30 years and take the loss (not talking about rare “valuable types” that you may never be able to fly or sell later)

Paris/Essex, France/UK, United Kingdom

Off_Field wrote:

Do think about your mission and the type of flying you would like to do. Purchasing allows you to buy something more interesting / specialised than the standard rental fleet which can open many more opportunities.

I should have made this clearer in the opening post. My “mission” is pretty much known, as it is the type of flying I do and I’ve been doing for the past 6 years. It is local, domestic and occasionally pan-European trips. I need 4 seats, though mostly flying 2 adults with possibly an eight-year old child now. Enough payload to carry 4 adults is a nice plus, but not a definite requirement. Occasional grass strips should be possible (flights within Northern Germany, Danish islands, Sweden etc.). Speed somewhere between 100-130 knots. NVFR required, light IFR optional (I do not fly IFR currently, but it might become an option in the future).

Not interested in specialized types, I’m perfectly happy with the planes I currently fly.

Types looked at are C172, PA28 mostly. My personal preference would be a nice Arrow, but I’m not sure I want the added complexity in terms of maintenance involved with a RG (though I here from owners that it’s not really a factor on their Arrows). Therefore, second choice would be a fixed gear PA28 such as a Cherokee 180 or an early Archer.

Snoopy wrote:

and show up with the cash you intend to spend

How do people these days actually pay for aircraft? Really cash?

cessnatraveller wrote:

First of all I would make sure to have a nice hangar place to store your aircraft.

Luckily, there are several hangar options in the vicinity, so that won’t be a problem.

cessnatraveller wrote:

Then I would try to find a maintenance company that is easy going in a sense that they are open and honest to you and are happy with your aircraft, and ideally accept that you do pilot/owner maintenance (to a certain degree at least) within the frame of a self-declared IHP.

That will be harder. Not sure if I’ll be able to have a good grip on the quality of a maintenance company before being an active owner and having done business with them. I consider my own technical skills rather limited, to pilot/owner maintenance isn’t something I would count on myself at this point.

GA_Pete wrote:

Buy your last aircraft first. Take your time, research, learn.

I personally don’t find “Buy your last aircraft first” is for me. I’d rather buy my first aircraft first or buy my now aircraft now. For example, I had been looking at some C172H models, which are very basic but I do like them. I would certainly not expect this to be my last aircraft, but it would certainly give a few years of flying pleasure and at some point I would reconsider and either keep it, sell it and do something else than flying, or sell it and upgrade.

Hungriger Wolf (EDHF), Germany

Patrick wrote:

How do people these days actually pay for aircraft? Really cash?

Depends on the sum/category I assume. Lower teens cash, everything else via escrow?

Browsing planecheck and similar I came to the conclusion that most of the descriptions are BS.
Every plane is „excellent condition“, „always hangared“, „no accident“ etc… then you get some upside down out of focus pictures of what is basically a pile of junk (exaggeration).

I also think most inquirers are „tire kickers“ and piss off the sellers. Som planes are listed for a long time. So really showing up, intending to buy the plane with a reasonable sum of cash in hand will do the trick.

always learning
LO__, Austria

I had been looking at some C172H models

A good example of the series, but spend a bit more and get an M. Two less cylinders to feed and more marketable.

Oxford (EGTK), United Kingdom

Patrick wrote:

For example, I had been looking at some C172H models, which are very basic but I do like them.

That’s the last O-300 powered 172 and if those are of interest I’d be looking at every 172 from the earliest up to those, looking for the right individual plane. The straight tail planes fly better.

If you like grass strips Cessna is the way to go:
Rocket gives you a great performance and is much more affordable than the higher priced C182s.

One more:
Do only the legal minimum insurancewise (3rd party liability). You save tons of money…!

I don’t know how important the financial factor is in your decision making. A general rule of thumb is that the tipping point between renting and owning is 100 hrs/yr. So not only from the ‘freedom’ point of view but also from the financial point of view you are making the right decision. Actually you’ll be constantly reminded to fly more and more, because the variable cost are pretty low! So it’ll be more than 100 hrs (and a bit more money per year).

While sole ownership provides maximum freedom (although don’t forget any downtime because of maintenance, either planned or unplanned..) I wouldn’t discard shared ownership. 100 hrs per year for 2 or even 3 owners is really nothing to worry about in terms of ensuring availability, and it can even be fun to travel with co-owners (bound to be aviation enthusiasts) for longer trips where the spouse/kid would not be all that enthused. If you find the right co-owner(s) it allows for a bigger budget and therefore a nicer plane (think IFR). I have had a good experience sharing a Cirrus years ago.

I’ve met you and you are sociable enough to share.

Last Edited by aart at 13 Oct 18:47
Private field, Mallorca, Spain

“Do only the legal minimum insurancewise (3rd party liability). You save tons of money…! "
I disagree. You don’t save enough to compensate for the worry. You need to have an emergency fund for recovery/ repair, which would be better for non-insurable unexpected maintenance
First get familiar with aircraft log books – if you’re not, get a look at somebody’s.
Do your own inspection before paying YOUR mechanic to go and check the plane. Very often you will find enough to reject it. Agree a price “subject to inspection” after discussing with your mechanic, but before paying him to travel to inspect. The guys who will maintain it are the best to do the pre-buy.
There are honest sellers. We bought a Bolkow Junior 17 months ago. The seller pointed out all the faults except one, which only showed when stripped for repainting.
Be prepared to spend a lot of money after purchase.
Hangarage IS important.

Maoraigh
EGPE, United Kingdom
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