How to Actually Afford an Airplane

TIP #6: You have to be very passionate about aviation. Even though these tips are for saving money, you will still invest a lot into an airplane. You have to love it and be willing to make sacrifices for it. Not everyone can afford an airplane, but these are steps in the right direction.

My advice is not to be poor. Thanks for coming to my TED Talk. 👍

The two happiest times for me was when I first bought my airplane (Cessna 177 Cardinal) and when I finally sold it. Although I could afford to own and fly it, I just couldn’t come to terms with the never ending outflow of money.

Being a certified pilot since 02/1982, and the only airplane I can afford is the MS Flight Simulator.

The second secret to affordable flying is to live in an aviation community. There are quite a few of these in Florida. Mine has about 30 homes with hangers along with a 2700 ft. grass runway. In addition to having no hanger fees (one of the biggest costs of owning an airplane) we have two instructors and three aviation mechanics as neighbors. Many are either active or retired airline pilots, and all have a genuine love of flying. I find the cost of living here very little more than anywhere else and I trust my neighbors to look out for my interests as I respect theirs. Check it out!

This kind of thing really infuriates me and is the reason I gave up on GA. There is nothing, and I mean NOTHING, that is "affordable" about aviation of any stripe or shape. If I had won the big money lottery, then it might be affordable. But then you account for the outrageous amount of time, effort, study, checkrides, etc, then it becomes very unpractical very fast. GA needs drastic changes very fast or it will die out very soon.

In 1988 as a young student pilot (<10 hrs.) I purchased a C150J to continue my training and enjoy after obtaining the PPL. At my first Annual Inspection I asked the old grumpy A&P/owner of the shop "how much will it cost?" Well he took my head off and replied "If you have to ask, then you cannot afford it!". Even so I continued to use his shop being I was based at that airport (N12). Thirty-five years and five airplanes later, I still remember that grumpy fuckers attitude, I think he assumed I was too young and could not afford airplane ownership.

For those pilots in the snowbelt states, it is highly desirable to obtain hanger storage, which is also becoming more difficult to find, and ridiculously expensive when one becomes available.

Thanks a lot for sharing this video. I fully agree with all you said. But let me add just one thing here about experimental aircrafts. I have built my own RV-12 which I fly and maintain myself for the last 5 years. It is still a quite expensive hobby and it takes a good portion of my annual income. There is no such thing like cheap in aviation.

I complete agree with everything you said! Though, for clarity, my video is about the planes I think are the "best" that cost less than 100k to buy (basically my favourites). Agreed that these dinosaur certified planes will eat you alive if you buy them. Here's a fun fact, In Canada, just owning any experimental plane gives you full unrestricted authority to do any work or inspections you want. I'm in the middle of a full panel upgrade in my RV-3 (that I didn't build) and I don't know what the heck I'm doing 😉 Thanks for the video, big fan of the channel. Cheers from the frozen north

I am totally with you buddy. I came from the military aviation world and really wanted a good 4 seater. Rented a cirrus for a while, was thinking of buying and then I saw the numbers, I ran the numbers so many times and I could not believe how expensive it is to own a cirrus. I ended up building a RV-10 with a lot of help and now I have what is in my mind the most affordable four seater on the market, put in all the good stuff, Thunderbolt IO540 265HP AC, Oxygen, leather, fancy 3 Gucci Garmin G3X Beringer wheels and brakes . Never thought to go this way but the numbers were so good I had to give it try. All that under 350K with builder assist.

Affordable aviation, its almost an oxymoron. For me aviation has been a dream since I was 4 years old. Last summer I finally got into ppg. The equipment was not cheap but compared with other aviation it was way more affordable. Now when I fly i spend about 10 bucks on fuel and a few bucks for oil. Its not going to get me and my family to Florida but just having the ability to lay out my wing at a local park and takeoff into the sky is such an amazing feeling. If you dream of aviation and cannot afford general aviation look into PPG. I fly with a Coast Guard helicopter pilot who says he has more fun flying his PPG. It certainly comes with limitations (weather) being the main limitation but when you finally get a nice calm day and lift off into the sky its an absolutely unforgettable experience. It has truly changed my life. I still hope to get into a LSA someday but for now and forever, I will be a PPG pilot.

In my own case, flying motivated me enough to first buy 11 acres of rural property out of town a ways (45 years ago), to at first fly ultralights and later my RANS S-7 out of. After 28 years my strip was steadily getting encroached upon by new residential construction so I sold out for a shitpot amount of money (due to the increased land value of course) and I used that money to buy 40 acres 2 miles away, out in the boonies once again. Then I bought another 30 acres below when the rancher family who owned it for 100 years hung it up, so I now have 70 acres, all paid for, and on paper I'm a millonaire! All thanks to the initial motivation flying gave me, point being....flying has been very good to me financially in a backasswards way. All this on a construction worker's wages BTW.

I store my CH 750 outdoors. I cound a huge roll of surplus Army canvas online and used my neighbor's leather stitching machine to make a cover. I made some standoffs for all the sky facing surfaces that I use under the cover during hail season so I don't get any damage for that. A hangar here is $400 per month.Outdoor storage off the ramp in a grass field is only $50,00 per month. There is an electrical pedestal I can pull up to incase I need electricity for something. SO between automotive fuel and outdoor storage, the low speed of the airplane, I am saving a bunch on everything including insurance which is only $1175 per year. So yes, Light Sport is definietly a good way to go. The fuel economy with the SUbaru is better than my truck so if the weather is right I can go visit someone 300 miles away, get there faster and cheaper. When I was a kid back in the early 60s GA was growing like a weed. There were a ton of retired used WWII military observation planes available for next to nothing so a lot of just plain old blue collar working stiffs like me could to afford to own a plane AND fly whenever they liked. SOmeone should do a study on the annual income levels need to support the habit. That might be interesting to see.

I looked into getting started in aviation, and did it pretty much as you described at the beginning of the video. I saw the prices on 'certified aircraft' and immediately noped out. I didn't even know there was a difference or another option other than certified factory built aircraft. This video just opened up a whole new world, a new fantastic point of view.

The most brillant video I saw since I'm looking for how much it costs to own an airplane... and it's been for more than 20 years! Thank you very much cause it gives me hope. AVGAS is still another issue and another topic but will see.

I owned a certified plane (1979 Warrior) and now own an experimental (RV-9A). I agree with what you say here. Flying will never be cheap, but experimental is a much better way to go. Cheaper parts and especially cheaper autopilots & other avionics are big factors.

Great video! I like particularly liked your summary at the end.

Thanks so much for this video! I was confused about these discrepancies that you cleared up. Experimental ftw! Hope to make a long ez one day

Thanks for this video man! In the market for a plane and you've definitely shifted my thinking. Cheers.