What now?

Q

QuixoteAg

Filing Flight Plan
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Oct 29, 2009
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Quixote
I started flight training in 1995 and had to quit due to medical reasons, followed by marriage reasons, money, etc. I just decided in September to get back into it and i had my check ride yesterday and am now a ASEL rated pilot :)

a great feeling of satisfaction and accomplishment.

I'm now thinking about how best to build time / next goal

I have a son that is a Freshman in college 8 hours drive away - an obvious destination for the family this spring when the weather is nice.

Some options:

  1. I have an opportunity to join a partnership (10-12 guys) on a 172 at a local field for $5K deposit
  2. Piper Cherokee 140/150 partnership (50/50) for $10-$15K
  3. Opportunity to partner on a Piper Comanche 260 for $25-$30K
Background:

  1. Time in C152
  2. Time in C172
  3. Time in PA28
  4. ONE flight in a Mooney (felt like a Camaro compared to a Pinto)
Family:

  1. Me - 220 lbs
  2. Her - 150 lbs
  3. Son #1 18 years old- 160 lbs but will hit 200
  4. Son #2 12 years old- 120 lbs
I'm thinking that the SMART money is to buy into the 172 and if i need a faster plane, rent.

Thoughts?

How much time / money is involved in an IFR rating?

Thanks!
 
What's the schedule like on the 172? 12 guys, one plane. Sounds kinda crowded to me. I'd do the Comanche myself if I had the cash. You can always fly it at 172 speeds by pulling back on the throttle. But it will do your whole mission.

That said, you haven't thought about continuing costs. The biggest bang for your buck will be the Cherokee, half the fixed costs for a cheap airplane you can fly all the time. The 172 will be cheap, but will you be able to fly it when you want? The Comanche will have higher fixed costs, but you get more bang for your buck.

Bunch of things you're not telling us, though. Which, if any, of these aircraft are in a hangar? What are the partners like? Owning with one farging bastich is worse than a bunch of good guys.

IFR can take as long as the PP and be just as expensive, or so I'm told. Word has it that the IFR ticket is the hardest to get. I don't got it, so that's all heresay.

Oh, and welcome to POA.
 
How many hours a year do you realistically think you will fly?

What are the rental options in your area (in addition to the partnership options you listed)?

What are the CFI-I options in your area? Are they available to instruct in your plane if you go the partnership route, or are they tied to the FBO's flight school?

Does the rest of your family really want to travel by small GA aircraft? I'd want to have a pretty good handle on that one before I bought anything.


Trapper John
 
Welcome to PoA. Welcome to the community of pilots.
 
Welcome and congrats on your rating!

If your son in college is an 8 hour drive away, that likely turns into a 3-4 hour flight by 172. A bit on the long side but still doable, provided the weather is nice. For your family, any of the options that you list are on the small side. If it's you, your wife, and your 12-year-old son going somewhere then that's probably fine (but still a bit tight). The problem is a 10-12 way partnership is going to make it difficult to get the plane on weekends when you want it to go take trips like that. You're probably better off in one of the 50/50 deals mentioned. The Comanche will result in even quicker times, and getting your complex endorsement isn't a big deal (I did mine in a Comanche right after getting my SEL).

For instrument rating, figure similar cost/time to what your private took. This is very helpful if you want to make trips with any sort of reliability, but you then need to keep up your proficiency, and the best way to do that is - you guessed it - fly more. :)

First thing to do is define your mission. Once you do that, the rest of what you do becomes clearer. What your mission is sometimes defines itself as you go along. If you're not sure yet, renting may still be a good option until you know what you want to buy or buy into.
 
Welcome to the Board and to the fraternity of flight!

Many (most) of us start flying believing everyone we know will want to fly with us every chance we offer.

Doesn't always happen that way...:frown2:

So, as others have said already, don't dive headlong into anything until you know for sure you will be flying instead of driving, and that you will have passengers.

Another consideration -- you are just beginning to learn (you've probably already heard, the PP is a "License to learn"). Get out an fly solo as often as you can, fly some long XC, get some dual in areas you haven't yet mastered, get a tailwheel endorsement, then get the IR.
 
Welcom to POA and to being a pilot! I have been told that unless you will be flying 100 hrs or more per year it's cheaper to rent. You might want to put some numbers to it and like the others have said- Spend some time flying solo and also plan to take the wife and son up for some flights on nice days and see how she takes to it before jumping into ownership.
 
Jeanie said:
Welcom to POA and to being a pilot! I have been told that unless you will be flying 100 hrs or more per year it's cheaper to rent. You might want to put some numbers to it and like the others have said- Spend some time flying solo and also plan to take the wife and son up for some flights on nice days and see how she takes to it before jumping into ownership.
Click to expand...

Or, buy it now before she finds out she hates it.:D
 
Thanks everyone...

I think I should wait till I have some more hours (at least more than the ONE that I currently have) before I make the decision. Stay with renting until I know what the real mission outline would be as well as whether my wife will be able to handle GA for those trips to see her boy. So, my thinking is:


  1. Build yours in rental planes locally
  2. Get endorsements for high performance & complex
  3. For those trips to see our son, rent a Mooney, Comanche or similar plane.
  4. Pray for light winds & sunny days to fly in.
Thanks again.
 
Welcome Q!

With a growing family like that you may want to consider something that can handle some more payload than a 172. Something like a PA28-235 or a C182.

My SO and I own a PA28-161 and it is at max payload when we both get in it with all our luggage.
 
Jeanie said:
Welcom to POA and to being a pilot! I have been told that unless you will be flying 100 hrs or more per year it's cheaper to rent. You might want to put some numbers to it and like the others have said- Spend some time flying solo and also plan to take the wife and son up for some flights on nice days and see how she takes to it before jumping into ownership.
Click to expand...
What she said.
Meanwhile, try to stretch out those 35 mile cross country flights to 50 nm. It may not seem like a big deal now, but those cross country hours will be like gold when it dawns on you that the IFR ticket could come in handy.
If you have a 35 mile destination, no problem. Just pick a small field another 15-20 miles on the other side of it to do a touch-and-go before you stop for lunch at the 35 mile destination.
Your wife may fly with you some, but my wife was not as excited about flying as me. She would go if I asked, but she had mixed feelings about it.
There are some guys with fly-girl wives, lucky buggers! But some don't feel that way.
Shop around for a club with fewer strings and lower fees. You should find something that you can stick your toes in the water without getting in over your head.:blueplane:
ApacheBob
 
QuixoteAg said:
Thanks everyone...

I think I should wait till I have some more hours (at least more than the ONE that I currently have) before I make the decision. Stay with renting until I know what the real mission outline would be as well as whether my wife will be able to handle GA for those trips to see her boy. So, my thinking is:


  1. Build yours in rental planes locally
  2. Get endorsements for high performance & complex
  3. For those trips to see our son, rent a Mooney, Comanche or similar plane.
  4. Pray for light winds & sunny days to fly in.
Thanks again.
Click to expand...

That's a sound plan. I think you'll find that after a year or another 100 hours you'll have a much better idea WRT your wants/needs/funds are. The one other option that jumps out at me is (assuming no major issues, see below) to buy into the 172 and get your IR in that. You could still rent something else for any long XC that wouldn't work in the 172 for schedule conflicts or cabin load reasons and with the 172 fixed costs split so many ways, the IR should be cheaper.

But that only works if the 172 partnership is a good deal. That means that the club is well run, has good bylaws plus a fair scheduling poli and operating rules that are enforced, an equitable exit plan, and of course, a good airplane. A potential side benefit would be one or two good CFIIs in the club that will provide the instruction at a reasonable rate. IME, a well run club can reduce training costs by as much as 25% over FBO rentals and instructors.

One other tidbit is that in addition to the above mentioned issues for evaluating a club or partnership, is that compatibility with the other members is at least as important as the rest. Now if the group is large (i.e more than 3-4 individuals) it's likely that you won't "appreciate" at least one member but in that case the members you do get along with can act as a buffer making the relationship tolerable. But the dynamics of a small group are more like a marriage where everybody needs to get along or it just doesn't work.
 
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