So today found me flying over to Ft. Lauderdale to look at yet another Cessna 172 SP 180 HP single engine aircraft. Why, you ask? Well, I guess it's because I can and choose to do so.
Now, wife is not so shot on the idea, claiming this type even used is three or four times the cost of our first house. I remind her that that was forty damn years ago, and a 1971 Piper Cherokee still costs 26,900 (this week's Controller ad as a source). So, sure - 42 years of marriage later and I doubt she'd want to live in a $27,000 home - and figuring that she would live in a 300,000 thousand dollar home in St Louis, a 120,000 aircraft is relative. So, maybe I found a suitable aircraft for my son (and ultimately me) to build hours in, as he next pursues his instrument rating, later his single engine instructor and a multi engine rating. He wants to pursue a career as an Air Transport Pilot, but when a single engine aircraft costs 150 an hour to rent, and he needs a good 1,500 hours to get there, one can actually see the value of owning a plane.
I figure we can both build hours and then sell the plane when he gets a job flying jets. He intends to keep his night job, pursue his CFI (certified flight instructor) and once he has that he can use it to teach his own students.
When you consider it costs $150 a hour to rent a same type aircraft and he needs a good 1,000 hours, by buying your own aircraft, you're saving $150,000 dollars, and can later turn around and sell it for probably 90% of what you paid for it. That's a damn fine return on investment.
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