Ownership Anniversary

NealRomeoGolf

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Yesterday was the 3 year anniversary of airplane ownership for me. Best thing I ever did (ok, except marrying my wife and having my two kids). Ironically/unfortunately/tragically I have lived 4500 miles away from it for 2 of those 3 years. That is life.

How long have you owned?
 
Coming up on my own 3 year ownership anniversary at the end of the month. Has been a great experience. Cost of ownership has been exceptionally low compared to what it could have been. I fear I'm outgrowing the little 150 though, and have started thinking about my next plane. Will/would be very sad to see this one go away though.
 
My dad bought our Arrow in 1989 and I can't imagine not owning. I've tried to rent bigger planes for various reasons and it always seems like a hassle. Either I need more hours or I can't stay overnight somewhere. It's really nice to just jump in and go.
 
In the end with the amount of hours I fly, I am paying more than I would renting. But knowing the plane is exactly how I left it. I don’t have to fly something that renters beat the crap out of. I don’t have to worry about scheduling, where I can take it, or how long I can take it is priceless.

Am I crazy for owning, probably. But I love the feeling.
 
Year 2 as of June end.

Has not been flown as much as I’d like, for my proficiency (the more the better), for my spreadsheet/wallet justification for initial purchase (>100 hrs/yr), and for my cam & cylinder corrosion protection (get airborne and hot engine weekly). But I would do it again.

I love making changes and adjustments that make it more mine. And I now have more hours in it than I did in any other plane- starting to be predictable and fitting more like a glove.
 
I loved my 150 and my 172; they were always ready anytime I wanted to fly, just as I had left them. The experimental LSA I now own has the added advantage of letting me do my own maintenance, minor modifications, and condition inspections.
 
I think I am coming up on 5 years with my 172n

Edit: just checked and it was September of 2014. Here is a picture of the plane when I picked it up. The other is the Ohio river on the flight from Mississippi back home to Indianapolis.

View attachment 75839 View attachment 75840
I can only imagine how exciting that flight home with your new-to-you plane would be.
 
I’ve had my Dakota four years and 440 hours. I’m starting to look at moving up to a Cirrus SR22T or A36 Bonanza.
 
One plane for 23 years. It's been fun, I love the fact that I can come and go at the drop of a hat.. I hope to retire in 3 years. Maybe build something to fit my mission.

Mission is 2 people, for hunting and fishing in the country of Alaska....;)
 
I just realized that my Trusty Traveler just celebrated its 30th birthday with me in February this year. It hardly resembles it's former self with various upgrades over the years: engine, interior, panel. She started out with a hideous Narco stack: CP-126 pseudo-audio panel, NAV-11 and NAV-12, a ADF-140, AT-50 and COM-11s. They never worked together all at once. Something was always broken. The AT-50 lived until last year, when it morphed into an NGT-9000. I try not to think about the $$$ and just fly. I rationalize it all by convincing myself if I fly more, it will cost less per hour. :rolleyes:
 
Bought my Tiger two years ago. Handed over a huge (to me) full payment and one of the mags promptly died on the way home. I was nervous and my CFI asked if I had gotten my medical yet (I had not). That was the only moment in two years I had a hint of regret. Got the medical and trained in my own equipment. Licensed about 10 month later. IFR training now.
 
Coming up on 4 years for me (Nov). I attempted to buy my last plane first and that might hold true; however, if I ever win the lottery, get that Captain upgrade at FEDEX, or get an offer to jump off a 4-story building into a swimming pool full of cash, I’d like to own something simpler and more FUN to fly too.
I’ll have to go back and read this thread and see if from all 10 or so pages, if anyone said flying a twin would (should) be boring, lol.

https://www.pilotsofamerica.com/community/threads/wife-wants-a-twin-but-does-it-exist.77860/
 
I also just celebrated three years of ownership of my 182A. It's been a great airplane but I'm thinking of maybe upgrading to a 182RG. I have to persuade my though because she loves our A model so much. We'll see how this plays out.
 
Bought 1/3 of a '65 Cherokee in 2004. Sometimes that worked out real well, most of the time it didn't. Bought the other 2/3 of it about six months ago and am now sole owner. Working out MUCH better, although making up for the years of deferred squawks by partners has not exactly been a joy or easy on the pocket book.. and eating the ADSB mandate myself didn't help ;) I still don't think I have enough experience to know if there will be a "next" plane or not.. for now, this plane fits our mission and it feels really good seeing her improve and flying more often.
 
@MuseChaser 2of3 partners voted to defer mx over your objection?

What types of things were deferred?

What were the challenges in your partnership?

Also why would it fly more now? You didn’t think it was safe?
 
@MuseChaser 2of3 partners voted to defer mx over your objection?

What types of things were deferred?

What were the challenges in your partnership?

Also why would it fly more now? You didn’t think it was safe?
When I lived in the Chicago land area I flew out of C81 Campbell Airport and 10C Galt Field..:thumbsup::thumbsup:
 
@MuseChaser 2of3 partners voted to defer mx over your objection?

What types of things were deferred?

What were the challenges in your partnership?

Also why would it fly more now? You didn’t think it was safe?

I'd have to start a new forum to detail everything wrong with the informal partnership I had with two friends. One of them, thankfully, is still a good friend, but he was a terrible partner. The Cliff notes are..
1. The plane was solely in my friend's name; he was the original owner, but had financial difficulty as a sole owner and sold thirds of the plane to me and another friend. We had no paperwork regarding the deal or buyin.. just the trust between friends. The original owner never betrayed that trust, financially, thankfully.
2. The guy whose name was on the paperwork also happened to be the kind of person who VERY much hates to be told what to do, especially by the government. Let's just say "how can I get around this," "We don't really have to do that," and "That's unnecessary.. you will see" are probably the first three English phrases he learned.
3. I was the only partner with enough financial security to have something to lose in the event of an accident. The other partners had no interest in getting insurance, and I wouldn't fly without it.. and couldn't insure a plane I didn't own. The only kind of insurance I could find to cover me would only cover me in the event that the accident was my fault. That wasn't good enough for me.
4. The plane was out of annual, xpnder, and IFR certs WAY more than it was in.
5. Medical issues, pre-BasicMed, further reduced one partner's incentive to keep the plane current.
6. The other partner discovered the joys of narcotic pain pills, then heroin, after back surgery and ruined his life.. along with those of us around him.

That's the short list. I'll leave it there. I love these guys like brothers, and still am good friends with the original sole owner after buying him out. I bought out the junkie a few years ago and had been 2/3 owner, but the plane was STILL in my friend's/original owner's name, so it didn't help with keeping the plane up.. just meant I was spending twice as much monthly on a plane I couldn't fly.

I've flown more hours in the past two weeks than i've flown in two years, and I am ECSTATIC. The plane is solid; I've had THREE A&Ps working on it with me over the past three months all and all three have been very encouraging about the mechanical condition of the airframe and engine. There were many good things about our partnership, especially during the first year or two. I probably couldn't have afforded to get my PPL without my friend's gracious offer to let me use and buy into the airplane back then. People change, priorities change, and some discover heroin. I hate the heroin part. The rest I understand, but it didn't make the partnership any better.
 
@MuseChaser 2of3 partners voted to defer mx over your objection?

What types of things were deferred?

What were the challenges in your partnership?

Also why would it fly more now? You didn’t think it was safe?
Your Avatar brings back memories. Worked on the Blue Angles A-4 Skyhawk back in the late 70's
 
@AKBill i am about 20 minutes from each of 3CK, 06C and 3CK. 10C is about 45 minutes. I wish I could easily get to Galt . . . But I can’t afford 45 minutes each way. Cool atmosphere there and they’ve invested a lot in the cap assets the past several years.

Is the Citabria you referenced in AK?
 
@NealRomeoGolf @psween how has it gone as far as mx expenses and surprises?

Considering a partnership in a 150/152.

Also thinking about a Citabria or 150hp Decathlon @Ken Ibold Would love to hear thoughts of a 1970s vintage Citabria with a wooden spar.
My experience has been very atypical. You hear about massive annuals in the first few years. Mine has been solid. I have had to overhaul the attitude indicator and replace the vacuum pump. Oh and the oil filler door. Other than that, oil, fuel and elective upgrades. Now my DG broke but I am replacing that with a G5 in December anyway.
 
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