Looks like, in your first post, you already covered the basics - doing all the work on the plane that you can do and knowing/learning as much about it as you can.
Owning a plane is expensive - just like owning a boat, a horse, yadda, yadda.
Fixed expenses are fixed - insurance, hangar, state registration, etc. Even if you don't fly it during the year, they cost the same. So the flying is free! It will not cost a penny more in fixed expenses to fly one hour or fly 100 hours.
Variable expenses depend on how you look at them. Lets say you spend $1000 on the annual (don't flinch, it is just a number for discussion - but likely is close to reality)
The first hour after the annual costs you $1000 plus fuel.
The second hour costs you $500 plus fuel.
The 100th hour costs you $10 plus fuel.
So for variable expenses, the only way to 'beat the house' is to fly like a mad man.
Every hour I put on Fat Albert I look at it as costing me one hour worth of fuel and oil - that is almost free compared to the other expenses.
Your other options are to contact Weird Jim for the annual condition inspection.
And to take on a partner - boy will that help.
Just be sure you two can get along because it is closer to a marriage than to a business deal.
Welcome to the world of plane ownership.
I've been here for over 50 years.
I now think that fast cars and faster women would have been less expensive
denny-o and Fat Albert the Apache
