Too old to own your own airplane

I bought my first plane when I was 56.
 
Every day you wait is another day wasted, sez me.:wink2:
 
50 is the new 35. People kick ass into their 80s. Heck I just saw a 90+ year old woman finished a marathon in under 8 hours -- that's like infinity hours faster than I can do it!

I bought at age 25, sold at age 31, bought again at age 40, and hopefully again in the future if needed.
 
evapilotaz said:
I think my mid life crises will be owning my own airplane. Yes I consider 50 year to be mid life. :) it's kind of like those empty nester couples
Buying a Corvette or a Porsche. I see it all the time. So is 50 years old to deal with the Hassle of owning.
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I did it this year at 46. Any younger its tough to afford!
 
FastEddieB said:
65 here. Flying for about 40 years. Owned planes through much of that flying career.

Currently own and maintain my ELSA Sky Arrow.

As I age, I keep Dirty Harry's advice in mind: " A man's got to know his limitations."

I just try to pace myself, take things a little slower, and I'm a bit quicker to ask for help.

But I can't think of any age, barring physical or mental limitations, that would preclude aircraft ownership.

GO FOR IT!!! :yes:
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Pretty much the same story. I'm 67 and have several friends in their 70s who own at least one plane. Know your limitations and double check your decisions. :yes::D
 
ClimbnSink said:
OP dude if you are thinking you are old at 50 you are screwed. Change your attitude or the rest of your life is going to be miserable. You become what you think you are, start thinking you are old and decrepit and that is what you will be. Airplanes or not that doesn't matter in the total quality of life factor.
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You sound like my wife :)
 
I'm 66 and currently looking to buy my first very own plane...I'm like a kid who has just been handed the keys to a candy store, all I have to do now is make sure I don't get my fingers burned and hopefully buy right ...
 
JHW said:
You have it backwards. 50 is getting to be too old to deal with the hassle of not having an airplane at your disposal. I don't see how you've made it this long.
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I'd think along these lines. I hear to many stories of medical ailments with various people I know or am related to. One of the more recent is a relative about 60 who was recently diagnosed with a fast moving cancer, less than a year left.

Of course family finances factors in heavily, usually one can shave back in other areas to make it work. I think the consensus here is to go for it.
 
Tom-D said:
Old at 50?? WTF. I'm pushing 75 and haven't had my midlife circuses yet.





think about it.



I have given up ownership, I'm simply too busy to fly enough to make it economical.
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You're building a big workshop. We've seen it. That's your midlife crisis. Haha. :)

As far as the rest of you, good lord you're all old. Haha.
 
I love this thread!

Very inspiring! Thanks! Guys!
 
I am 49 will be 50 in a few months. In 4 years the house will be paid off and baring any unforeseen major issues I will be in a position where I may be able to afford a simple fun plane. Looking forward to it.
 
I've owned all or part of 10 airplanes in the 60 years as a pilot. Last year, at 80, I sold the mooney and went Light Sport. I went to Sacramento CA, Sioux Falls SD and Bugaw NC to look at Rans S6s. Bought in SD and flew it to Central Texas around Memorial Day 2014. No regrets. If Class III medical goes away, I'll move back into a bigger airplane....
 
I'm 52. Just bought my first plane. Or was it a car? No it was a plane!
 
I bought my first plane at 42, and just bought my Tiger at 56. Question for me is, am I too old to buy a Bonanza??
 
My wife's grandfather got his PPL at 65, bought a 172 and flew all over the southeast doing a ventriloquism show with a church revival. He would take kids for rides during the day and put on his show for them in the evenings. I'm pretty sure he paid it all out of his own pocket.
So, you are certainly not too old to buy! I'm 51 and I've got two! ;)
 
We had a guy in his mid 60s just finish his PPL and is looking for a plane. I just brought a 170B back from NW Montana for a guy in his mid 60s, and while up there I flew with an 85 year old bush pilot who regularly does coast to coast ferry flights in small singles. I see guys in their early 90s fly all the time. Never too old!
 
dlsmith said:
We had a guy in his mid 60s just finish his PPL and is looking for a plane. I just brought a 170B back from NW Montana for a guy in his mid 60s, and while up there I flew with an 85 year old bush pilot who regularly does coast to coast ferry flights in small singles. I see guys in their early 90s fly all the time. Never too old!
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From watching a couple of guys go through it, being in your 60s is probably 'too old' to learn how to fly. Most of them eventually succeeded, but some had a pretty rocky road.
 
weilke said:
From watching a couple of guys go through it, being in your 60s is probably 'too old' to learn how to fly. Most of them eventually succeeded, but some had a pretty rocky road.
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Yup. Bet all the competent 70+ year old pilots laid down their brains flying wiring in their teens or twenties. Punch the ticket young, then hang it up if you have to, but learn first when young.
 
evapilotaz said:
Thanks to the replies.
I rather be 30 and buying first plane but oh well
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30 is in the rear view mirror. Why contemplate what you should have done 20 years ago? More to the point, why do you see ownership as a "hassle"?
 
Dunno, I kind of specialize in teaching the older guys at my flight school. They definitely learn a little slower in general, but they make perfectly competent pilots. That being said, I started a 60 year old yesterday who picked up more in an hour than most do in 3 or 4, regardless of age. It greatly varies person by person, but people of any age naturally make good or just okay pilots in my experience.
 
Resurrecting an old thread:
I bought a '68 Mustang Convertible a few days before I turned 60. I'm about to turn 65 and just bought a really nice Ercoupe. The milestone birthdays were merely coincidental. That's my story and I'm stickin' to it.
 
I owned a nearly new 1978 Skyhawk in the early 80s. I was in my upper 20s at the time. Family commitments made me sell it after a couple of years. Now, at nearly 65, I could afford pretty much anything up to $100K but I've always loved Ercoupes. That's what I wanted. It fits my mission now. That's what I bought.
 
I was a young man when this thread started.....


How to determine if you are middle age:

Double your current age. If you think you will live that long then you are middle aged. I know I won't make 116, so I am passed middle age...
 
coloradobluesky said:
How old will you be if you DON'T buy a plane?
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Or Warren Miller's famous line in his ski films...

"If you don't come do this, this year... you'll just be another year older when you do."

I don't mind anyone of any age getting into aviation. I do wish however that with a very low supply of new light aircraft that older owners wouldn't park them on ramps and let them erode away with flat tires and paint all gone just because they "knew" they'd fly it again "someday".

Some of the ramp queens are real heartbreakers.
 
Bought my Tiger in my early 60's

Three thoughts on the subject:
- at your/our age we're more likely to have the wherewithal to "buy our last plane first",
- owning a plane definitely reverses the clock and makes one younger; a new toy after all,
- and,.....uh.....well.....uh....I forget what my third thought was ;)
 
evapilotaz said:
Or I could be those 80 year olds that fly light sport airplanes.. God bless them.
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German guy said:
The girl in the hangar next to us is 88, IFR current and as sharp as can be. Most impressive. :yes:
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Bob is 82 and flies a 182 in Idaho and eastern Oregon, including to one-way in and out grass strips.
 
Bought my first plane at 36. Been taking a break but plan to re-buy in a couple years. Maybe a nice C150 or something basic to cruise around in and hit up some of the grass strips around here.
 
68 next month and still own and maintain my E-LSA Sky Arrow.

I do think it takes more effort now to concentrate and avoid careless mistakes. But realizing that and allowing for it compensates to a large degree.

BasicMed has expanded my options a lot, but for now my little Light Sport suits my needs. Might consider a more capable cross country plane in the future, most likely in a partnership. But hard IFR or extended night flying just don't seem that appealing anymore.
 
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