first aircraft

[Big Pistons Forever]

As C/C says...

+ 2. Buy the best aircraft you can find it will almost always be the cheapest to own in the long run.

[FlyGy]

No offense taken folks, and I appreciate the knowledge shared by those who know better than I, it had just seemed the reasonable direction for me to take. I was looking at putting in an Aspen Evolution 2500 for the panel and that's about 25k, plus the installation, so I agree, I'll blow through that 40k real quick. The engine was a lower priority for an overhaul and thus a planned off in the future event. I'm not buying the plane to turn around and sell it for a profit. I plan to keep it for the remainder of my flying ability.

[straightpilot]

Very rough numbers:

Let's say you drop $40k on the aircraft. Using the rule of
thumb that it will only increase half that in value (which often
isn't true - there's no such thing as a $300k C150, regardless
of how much $$$ you drop on it).

So you're out $20k. Let's say you fly it for 500 hours before
you sell it. I might mention that the national average for private
aircraft is a whopping 35 hour per year, so that's going to take
500/35 = 14.3 years. Hope you can still get a medical that far
down the road.

Anyways, your additional cost per hour is now $20,000 / 500
or $40 per hour premium that you will pay for the next 500 hours
above and beyond all of your other fixed and variable costs.

If that's ok with you, go for it.

[Beefitarian]

Straightpilot's post makes me think if I buy an airplane it either has to be the one I want forever so I can fix it up or luck out finding it the way I want it or have it nearly given to me.

[Kilo-Kilo]

Are you paying cash for all this? Walk into a bank and say, "I want 80 grand for a car loan, only I want to substitute a plane for the car." You will have to own a home and have enough equity to make it happen. Planes are not good security in a bank's eyes.

[Beefitarian]

Are you paying cash for all this? Walk into a bank and say, "I want 80 grand for a car loan, only I want to substitute a plane for the car." You will have to own a home and have enough equity to make it happen. Planes are not good security in a bank's eyes.

Obviously they are not good security for a loan right now, look at how much prices have dropped in the last 5 years. I don't know how much farther they're going to drop either. I do know that once they hit bottom if you can afford one it will be a good investment. You might even get back all the money you put in upgrading radios etc. because they may triple in value again eventually.