What is the cheapest plane to fly?

^
:D

Regarding the ultralights, I've heard that you are very restricted as to where you can fly. If you fly an ultralight with a private pilots license is there more flexibility?
 
Anthony M. said:
^
:D

Regarding the ultralights, I've heard that you are very restricted as to where you can fly. If you fly an ultralight with a private pilots license is there more flexibility?
Click to expand...
What is it you want to do with your PPL?
 
Anthony M. said:
^
:D

Regarding the ultralights, I've heard that you are very restricted as to where you can fly. If you fly an ultralight with a private pilots license is there more flexibility?
Click to expand...

Good question. If you are operating as part 103 (ultralight rules) I assume you have to follow all part 103 rules, including the airspace restrictions. If you built one and registered it as an experimental amateur built or experimental light sport and had at least a sport pilot license, you wouldn't have to observe those restrictions. Having said that, the places where you aren't allowed to fly an ultralight are generally places where you don't want to fly an ultralight, and the airspace restrictions are not a big deal.
 
As long as you have a Sport with radio endorsement or a Private you can fly an ultralight equipped with a Mode C transponder and a radio into any controlled airspace (Bravo will likely deny you due to lack of speed but C, D, E and G will not be a problem).

By 2020 you will need ADS-B "out" also.
 
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Instead of starting a new thread,

What's the cheapest plane to build hours towards a commercial?

Ideally it would carry 2 people, but just me 80% of the time, I could keep it outside in summer, most likely not fly it very far, 2 hour flights would be common. Power would be nice. I live in the high desert at 4500msl, and summers can get up there. Going over 7800msl mountain passes would be very common, 10,000msl passes would be on my radar.

I'd like to lean towards something slow and powerful, burns 5 gph..a tail dragged with tundra tires would be awesome. Once you fly about 20 minutes east from the local airport there's not much there other than some hills, lakes, rivers, and dry lake beds..so I am looking at more of a bush type plane.

I have looked at carbon cubs, but I'm a big guy at 6'5" and 260lbs, and with a little fuel I couldn't take anyone. So 600lb useable weight would be nice.

Any ideas?
 
mtnflyr said:
Instead of starting a new thread,

What's the cheapest plane to build hours towards a commercial?

Ideally it would carry 2 people, but just me 80% of the time, I could keep it outside in summer, most likely not fly it very far, 2 hour flights would be common. Power would be nice. I live in the high desert at 4500msl, and summers can get up there. Going over 7800msl mountain passes would be very common, 10,000msl passes would be on my radar.

I'd like to lean towards something slow and powerful, burns 5 gph..a tail dragged with tundra tires would be awesome. Once you fly about 20 minutes east from the local airport there's not much there other than some hills, lakes, rivers, and dry lake beds..so I am looking at more of a bush type plane.

I have looked at carbon cubs, but I'm a big guy at 6'5" and 260lbs, and with a little fuel I couldn't take anyone. So 600lb useable weight would be nice.

Any ideas?
Click to expand...

Cheap and powerful aren't a common combination. Maybe one of the RANS taildraggers with a Rotax 912? Probably the cheapest time builder would be a Cessna 150, but at your size that's not going to work.
 
I can carry 460 pounds along with 16 gallons of fuel (full tanks) in my Merlin Gt.

Empty weight 740 pounds, gross 1300. Burns 4-5 gallons an hour, but ain't very fast.
 
Cherokee 140 or C-150/152 are my two low cost powered aircraft ownership options......
 
mtnflyr said:
Instead of starting a new thread,

What's the cheapest plane to build hours towards a commercial?

Ideally it would carry 2 people, but just me 80% of the time, I could keep it outside in summer, most likely not fly it very far, 2 hour flights would be common. Power would be nice. I live in the high desert at 4500msl, and summers can get up there. Going over 7800msl mountain passes would be very common, 10,000msl passes would be on my radar.

I'd like to lean towards something slow and powerful, burns 5 gph..a tail dragged with tundra tires would be awesome. Once you fly about 20 minutes east from the local airport there's not much there other than some hills, lakes, rivers, and dry lake beds..so I am looking at more of a bush type plane.

I have looked at carbon cubs, but I'm a big guy at 6'5" and 260lbs, and with a little fuel I couldn't take anyone. So 600lb useable weight would be nice.

Any ideas?
Click to expand...

Here you go: https://www.rans.com/s-21-outbound

You have to build it yourself and it won't be real cheap. Maybe you can find a used 0-320 for less money than the specified engine.
 
mtnflyr said:
Instead of starting a new thread,

What's the cheapest plane to build hours towards a commercial?

Ideally it would carry 2 people, but just me 80% of the time, I could keep it outside in summer, most likely not fly it very far, 2 hour flights would be common. Power would be nice. I live in the high desert at 4500msl, and summers can get up there. Going over 7800msl mountain passes would be very common, 10,000msl passes would be on my radar.

I'd like to lean towards something slow and powerful, burns 5 gph..a tail dragged with tundra tires would be awesome. Once you fly about 20 minutes east from the local airport there's not much there other than some hills, lakes, rivers, and dry lake beds..so I am looking at more of a bush type plane.

I have looked at carbon cubs, but I'm a big guy at 6'5" and 260lbs, and with a little fuel I couldn't take anyone. So 600lb useable weight would be nice.

Any ideas?
Click to expand...

How about this one: https://www.trade-a-plane.com/searc...=MX-7-180A&listing_id=2202542&s-type=aircraft
https://www.trade-a-plane.com/searc...=MX-7-180A&listing_id=2202542&s-type=aircraft
Now i gotta get back to work...
 
IMG_1102.JPG
Anthony M. said:
I've been considering getting a private pilot license but am concerned with the cost of flying afterwards (rental costs, fuel etc.). I'd like to know if there is a very inexpensive type of plane that would cost only a few thousand dollars to fly a few hundred hours a year. Like an enclosed ultralight? Can these planes be rented? Would I have to train on such a plane instead of a Cessna?
Click to expand...
Cheap to learn, no medical or registration needed.
 
That is not correct; an ultralight flown by a licensed pilot is still an ultralight and bound by part 103. There are no additional privileges for having any pilot certificate.

If it's an "ultralight like" LSA or experimental, that's a different story.

citizen5000 said:
As long as you have a Sport with radio endorsement or a Private you can fly an ultralight equipped with a Mode C transponder and a radio into any controlled airspace (Bravo will likely deny you due to lack of speed but C, D, E and G will not be a problem).

By 2020 you will need ADS-B "out" also.
Click to expand...
 
Anthony, if you're still here, welcome to the wide world of aviation!...along with a glimpse of the personalities that make up the pilot community. ;) Don't let the subtle mix of sarcasm with good info turn you away from a dream. I'm betting that most of the long time flyers here started out the same as you...young and oblivious to the real all in costs of aviation, but determined to make it happen. I was in that category when I got my license in college and poor at 22. The best advice given so far is to find a legitimate way into a career path that provides sufficient excess funds to pursue flying. Anyone who has flown for any length of time knows that airplanes are powered by money...The abbreviation "AMU" stands for "aviation money unit". Start with the equation 1 AMU=$1000. So understand when someone makes a first post on a forum hoping to fly several hundred hours a year for only a couple AMUs all in and doesn't return to the thread for followup, at first there is laughter, then advice. Hopefully, someday as a pilot, you can look back and laugh at your initial post here...then of course you might already be reading and laughing troll style. Most here would make a sincere effort to offer help and advice, so if you're not a troll, post back....

Otherwise, as the late Johnny Carson might say "may your next drink of beer taste like yak excrement..."
 
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Wait! Somebody actually addresses an OP comment after the first page? What's going on here????

Cheers
 
What would be the minimum number of flying hours per year to make getting a license worth it? I'd really just like to fly for fun but want to be able to fly enough to keep my skills sharp.
 
Anthony M. said:
What would be the minimum number of flying hours per year to make getting a license worth it? I'd really just like to fly for fun but want to be able to fly enough to keep my skills sharp.
Click to expand...

Average of an hour a week, or 50/year would be what I'd try and maintain as a minimum to be safe... but just my opinion, no magic number


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gsengle said:
Average of an hour a week, or 50/year would be what I'd try and maintain as a minimum to be safe... but just my opinion, no magic number
Click to expand...
That's a lot more than I average.

But, I just have a little taildragger LSA.
 
Wing suit

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