What to do, and where to go after PPL

[Soupy]

I am posting this on behalf of a good friend of mine.

He is currently working on completing his PPL with a flight college, however he would like to fly privately as well once he gets his PPL, any one have any advice as to where he should do this (in the GTA) or what might be good to avoid.

Please let us know what you think

Thanks

[tca]

Step 1: buy an aeroplane. Go for low acquisition/operation/maintenance costs. Speed is not a factor, in fact the slower it is, the more hours you build going places. My recommendations would include most 2 place singles, but especially the Chief, Luscombe, C120/140, Champ, Citabria, Canuck, taylorcraft, etc. It doesn't have to be pretty, but make sure that it is in good working order.

Step 2: go anywhere and everywhere that you have ever wanted to go. Go coast to coast to coast to coast. See North America as you only can from a small plane. Know your limits, and stay within them, but push them so you know how far you and your craft can go.

Enjoy!

[flyinggreasemonkey]

Good harvest on the money tree, tca?

For those who don't have at least 30-40k to blow on a toy, try and find a private owner who is selling block time for a reasonable price. More than likely you'll pay for dry time and you're on your own for fuel. $45-50 an hour for the time, $45-50 an hour for fuel = a boat load cheaper than renting. Google Canadian Civil Aircraft Registry and put in your airport of choice and see who owns what in your area. Maybe even slip a letter with your contact info under their hangar door if you cant get a hold of them.

[Big Pistons Forever]

Step 1: buy an aeroplane. Go for low acquisition/operation/maintenance costs. Speed is not a factor, in fact the slower it is, the more hours you build going places. My recommendations would include most 2 place singles, but especially the Chief, Luscombe, C120/140, Champ, Citabria, Canuck, taylorcraft, etc. It doesn't have to be pretty, but make sure that it is in good working order.

Step 2: go anywhere and everywhere that you have ever wanted to go. Go coast to coast to coast to coast. See North America as you only can from a small plane. Know your limits, and stay within them, but push them so you know how far you and your craft can go.

Enjoy!

As a general comment not directed at any particular poster, my feeling is that almost all posters that advise new low time pilots to go out and buy an airplane have never owned an aircraft themselves and therefore have very little idea of the potential pitfalls of ownership.

A true story. A fellow I know went out and bought himself a C 150 right after he got his PPL. His plan was to use it to build time and do his CPL and then sell it. He paid $16,000 for it. 3 months after he bought it the annual came due and it wasn't pretty. 3 weeks and nearly $11,000 later he got his airplane back . It was now airworthy but still only worth $16,000 . 10 months later he finishes his CPL and wants to sell it to pay for his MEIFR. He got his $16000 asking price but it took him 10 months sell it and he had to pay for a second annual ($2500).

Bottom line

Best case: you buy a bug smasher, fly it for a year for 500 bucks of liability insurance, 600 bucks for tie down and the 30 bucks/hr for gas and oil...and then sell it for what you paid for it.

Worst case: You loose all your money........

You have got to treat it like any flight, hope for the best case, have a plan for the worst case.....

[flyinggreasemonkey]

I don't even think the original post was in regards to a CPL...I think Soupy's friend is looking for a plane to enjoy privately.

Big pistons does raise a good point, however. Buyer beware is the word when investing in an airplane just to build hours. The only way for it to make sense is to have a very trustworthy AME take care of the pre-purchase and give you a dead honest opinion on the plane. Anything less than "this thing is flawless!", walk away. With good dedication, you could easily build the time required for your CPL without the plane coming anywhere close to severe depreciation due to TBO or annual being due, but realistically this is a "better than best case" scenario.

[Soupy]

Good harvest on the money tree, tca?

For those who don't have at least 30-40k to blow on a toy, try and find a private owner who is selling block time for a reasonable price. More than likely you'll pay for dry time and you're on your own for fuel. $45-50 an hour for the time, $45-50 an hour for fuel = a boat load cheaper than renting. Google Canadian Civil Aircraft Registry and put in your airport of choice and see who owns what in your area. Maybe even slip a letter with your contact info under their hangar door if you cant get a hold of them.

That sounds like a good plan, buying a plane seems like too much of a risk. It is possible that if all goes well you will be paying a bit less for each flight, but for that you would need to guarantee that you do a lot of flying. And even then if anything goes wrong with the engine

I like the idea of the Civil Aircraft Registry to find potential people. Thanks for the advice everyone I appreciate it,
please keep the ideas coming