Buying a Plane......Which One?

AKBill said:
I have a nice 1974 Beech B-19 Sport I may sell for $30K or so. Owned it since 1996, lots of spare parts. Slow, comfortable, dependable, doors both sides, O-320, 1200 SMOH. PM me if interested.
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Does it have the optional rear bench?
 
I'm going to disagree with the rent crowd as well. Understand from the outset that buying a plane will NOT save you money. If that is all you are concerned with, then yes, rent.

But there's so much more advantage to owning a plane. I kick myself for not buying earlier. It's so nice having the plane that is dedicated to you (or perhaps you and a partner). You can leave your stuff in it. You know what maintenance has been done and by whom. You don't have to ask anybody before you fly it. You don't have to worry about getting it back if you want to delay for any reason. You get to choose what avionics and other features you have.
 
flyingron said:
I'm going to disagree with the rent crowd as well. Understand from the outset that buying a plane will NOT save you money. If that is all you are concerned with, then yes, rent.

But there's so much more advantage to owning a plane. I kick myself for not buying earlier. It's so nice having the plane that is dedicated to you (or perhaps you and a partner). You can leave your stuff in it. You know what maintenance has been done and by whom. You don't have to ask anybody before you fly it. You don't have to worry about getting it back if you want to delay for any reason. You get to choose what avionics and other features you have.
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As a new plane owner I quite agree, but after finishing the PPL. Renting is best while training. Let someone else handle the ownership hassles; learning to fly is enough of a burden.
 
I've owned a few planes, including the Cessna 150 you mentioned. 100 mile trips? Great! 200 mile trips? Ok, I guess. 300 mile trips? If I have to. 500 mile trips? NO FRIGGIN WAY! And you mention riding motorcycles (I've had my share of those too)...a motorcycle is WAAAY more comfortable/fun/easy to do 500 miles than a Cessna 150.
As far as rent vs buy, all I can say is I'd much rather bounce a rental on landing, instead of your own plane (and trust me, you WILL bounce your share of landings).
 
Usable load (people +fuel+baggage) is important for cross country flying.

For a Cessna 150, the usable load is about 470 lbs. That allows two skinny adults, who packed little more than toothbrushes, and half a tank or so of gas. Kind of like traveling on the motorcycle.
 
Kind in the same situation, close to my check ride. I notice the piper cherokees been much cheaper than the cessnas 172.

Planning in getting a time building plane after the check ride, in my radar are(in that order):
- Grumman Tiger
- Beechcraft Musketeer 23 or 24
- Piper Cherokee
- Cessna 172 or 177

Any other one I shouldnpay attention to?
 
flyingron said:
I'm going to disagree with the rent crowd as well. Understand from the outset that buying a plane will NOT save you money. If that is all you are concerned with, then yes, rent.

But there's so much more advantage to owning a plane. I kick myself for not buying earlier. It's so nice having the plane that is dedicated to you (or perhaps you and a partner). You can leave your stuff in it. You know what maintenance has been done and by whom. You don't have to ask anybody before you fly it. You don't have to worry about getting it back if you want to delay for any reason. You get to choose what avionics and other features you have.
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I hate renting. It never feels like home. I know my plane inside and out. I know how I left it. I know where everything is instrument wise. I just feel more comfortable doing the same thing every time.
 
I did it all wrong. Bought a Tiger before I got my medical even. I’m glad I trained in my own plane but there are disadvantages.

The biggest is that you suck to begin with. Slam a rental on landing and you hand the keys to the sucker that owns it. I was slamming the single most costly non-house purchase down time after time. It worked out great but it was another factor in my head while trying to learn a new skill as well. No regrets, just another factor.
 
TheFB said:
I did it all wrong. Bought a Tiger before I got my medical even. I’m glad I trained in my own plane but there are disadvantages.

The biggest is that you suck to begin with. Slam a rental on landing and you hand the keys to the sucker that owns it. I was slamming the single most costly non-house purchase down time after time. It worked out great but it was another factor in my head while trying to learn a new skill as well. No regrets, just another factor.
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That's the reason I didn't start looking before.

Don't do it at home, go to a friends house. - Mentality.
 
@squincher - some comments on the medical buried in this thread are very important.

You said you’ll get the physical first . . . Don’t.

There are lots of things that can result in a denied medical normal people never think of. Do you take BP meds? Have you ever (since birth) taken an anti depressant or ADD drug? Ever had a DUI?

Dont tell us here, but I highly recommend scheduling a consultation with an AME. DO NOT fill in the online FAA forms for a physical. Just meet with the dr and walk through what it would be.

The reason is, the AME can give you a pretty good read on whether they would issue a 3rd class medical or deny you. But as a consultation (1) they don’t communicate the outcome to the faa and (2) you cannot get a denial (because you never went for an FAA 3rd class medical).

To be clear, the reason I suggest this is, if you find out you’d likely be denied, but weren’t denied, you can still pursue Light Sport (and some pretty modern well equipped planes and FUN!).
If you go for a medical and are denied for any reason, you cannot ever fly Light Sport (unless you overturn the medical denial which is rare).

So don’t seek the medical until you know you’ll actually get it.
 
Terry M - 3CK (Chicago) said:
@squincher - some comments on the medical buried in this thread are very important.

You said you’ll get the physical first . . . Don’t.

There are lots of things that can result in a denied medical normal people never think of. Do you take BP meds? Have you ever (since birth) taken an anti depressant or ADD drug? Ever had a DUI?

Dont tell us here, but I highly recommend scheduling a consultation with an AME. DO NOT fill in the online FAA forms for a physical. Just meet with the dr and walk through what it would be.

The reason is, the AME can give you a pretty good read on whether they would issue a 3rd class medical or deny you. But as a consultation (1) they don’t communicate the outcome to the faa and (2) you cannot get a denial (because you never went for an FAA 3rd class medical).

To be clear, the reason I suggest this is, if you find out you’d likely be denied, but weren’t denied, you can still pursue Light Sport (and some pretty modern well equipped planes and FUN!).
If you go for a medical and are denied for any reason, you cannot ever fly Light Sport (unless you overturn the medical denial which is rare).

So don’t seek the medical until you know you’ll actually get it.
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:yeahthat:
 
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