How do we (you) afford to fly?

Not sure if I can afford.. but the plane is paid off, I can still pay any bills that comes up including large ones. I used to track expenses, now I dont, its easier that way lol

the day i cant pay airplane bills or any other bills, i will happily sell the plane and take up another hobby ... like may be setting up $100 bills on fire, might be cheaper
 
it's really quite simple.... don't fritter money on things that are less important things than flying.

Kind of like how I'm able to afford retiring early... by spending less than my income.
 
Not my airplane. I get paid to fly it.

Folding army cot and c-ration heater in hangar. Hunt for food with bow and arrow, bathe in streams with home-made lye soap.

(Full disclosure: Second line may be a slight exaggeration-- or an outright lie.)
 
All of life is metered by a time curve and a money curve. If they intersect and you can operate under the curve then life is good.

Didn't get married until late and kids didn't happen
No debt
Old vehicles (bought new and still driving)
Both professionals (me engineer, her DoD Intel Analyst)
Saved and invested first.

When I got back into GA a few years ago I said "this is going to be a grand a month habit" and that's been about right. But that grand gets me an average of 10 hours a month of flight time (although this month will be more, just did FDK to VQQ)
 
iu
 
CharlieD3 said:
How many of you use your aircraft for "real" travel?

ie. Going over 500 miles, staying a while (days to weeks) instead of flying in tubes or driving or RVing?

Do you prefer it over "conventional" methods?

Yes, there can be delays due to wx etc. But who cares?

Heck, the airlines are getting delayed for days due to old weather half a country away...
Click to expand...

We do, though Covid has slowed things down a bit. We definitely prefer it over car travel. Only take the airlines on long trips and most trips to NYC. Wx concerns shape our travel but only rarely results in delays. Instruments are required for serious travel.

I’d add to the definition of ‘real travel’ trips of any length if they get you there faster than a car and serve a purpose beyond the $100 hamburger. Airpark living is what makes that work. Visiting friends on a lake 100 miles away is real travel. Playing golf 60 miles away works fine as long as the course is close to a runway. With that said, our last trips out of NC were the Bahamas, Nova Scotia and Pgh PA.

Flying an OBAM aircraft is the only way we can afford such a cruiser in retirement. (Owner Built And Maintained)


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro
 
Flying club, and I’m a do-it-myselfer around the house. Relative to my neighbors I save $5k or more a year on landscaping and home maintenance. And my wife and I like to cook, so we don’t eat out all that often.
 
Hustling on the golf course.
 
I'm new in the aviation world and have only rented. Looking for a club currently. So, expenses probably aren't as high as others... yet.

Software engineering pays well. Hobbies are cheap/free ignoring my server hardware and aviation interests. The server hardware $ doesn't compare to the aviation $$$. :)
 
I am going to sit down on the corner with a sign saying "Will work for Avgas"!
 
CharlieD3 said:
How many of you use your aircraft for "real" travel?

ie. Going over 500 miles, staying a while (days to weeks) instead of flying in tubes or driving or RVing?

Do you prefer it over "conventional" methods?

Yes, there can be delays due to wx etc. But who cares?

Heck, the airlines are getting delayed for days due to old weather half a country away...
Click to expand...
I love the long XCs
 
Ed Haywood said:
Delayed gratification and compound interest. Started maxing out IRA/401k in my 20's, now I am in my 50's.
Click to expand...



Same here. Plus paid extra on the mortgage to retire a 30 year loan in 12. Kicking the kids out of the house helped, too. Now if I’d also had enough sense to shoot the horse,......

I’ve found that “affordable” has a lot to do with priorities and desires.
 
CharlieD3 said:
How many of you use your aircraft for "real" travel?

ie. Going over 500 miles, staying a while (days to weeks) instead of flying in tubes or driving or RVing?

Do you prefer it over "conventional" methods?

Yes, there can be delays due to wx etc. But who cares?

Heck, the airlines are getting delayed for days due to old weather half a country away...
Click to expand...

Numerous times, Idaho every year for camping and hunting. Utah is only an hour, but I go out there and camp for the weekend a few times a year. A couple of trips to MN for a float rating, an annual, and hangin out with friends, and a helicopter hog hunting trip in Texas.
 
CharlieD3 said:
How many of you use your aircraft for "real" travel?

ie. Going over 500 miles, staying a while (days to weeks) instead of flying in tubes or driving or RVing?

Do you prefer it over "conventional" methods?

Yes, there can be delays due to wx etc. But who cares?

Heck, the airlines are getting delayed for days due to old weather half a country away...
Click to expand...

I do. Not always over 500 miles. We fly to from Atlanta to Lexington to visit our daughter. That's 380 miles of driving, about 6 hours on a good trip. Or it's 1:30 - 1:45 of flying. I've driven it only twice in 6+ years and once was over 7 hours; first time was to move her into her dorm her freshman year.

We flown to Pueblo, CO earlier this year to visit another daughter, that was 1,000 nm each way. And then to Kenosha, WI, which was over 500 nm each way, and did it non-stop.

Last year I flew out to eastern Oregon. Then stopped at Rapid City on the way back, my wife met me there (flew commercial) and we toured the sights. Then she flew back with me. One stop for lunch from Rapid City, SD to Atlanta.

We like flying private. We can bring all sorts of stuff with us. We set our schedule.



Wayne
 
Hang glide - I think I spent $1500 per year on lessons, equipment depreciation, glider inspections, club fees, and parachute repacks.
 
Rich Holt said:
And school teachers oddly enough.
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Tell me about it. The wife works but isn’t regularly employed. Only debt is the house for another three years. I pay for almost all household expenses yet still have some budgeted for flying. I guess enough to cover six or so hours a month which is enough for me.
 
CharlieD3 said:
How many of you use your aircraft for "real" travel?

ie. Going over 500 miles, staying a while (days to weeks) instead of flying in tubes or driving or RVing?

Do you prefer it over "conventional" methods?

Yes, there can be delays due to wx etc. But who cares?

Heck, the airlines are getting delayed for days due to old weather half a country away...
Click to expand...
I’m also a huge fan of the long XCs. Between this and the 100th airport thread I’ve finally cleaned up my logbook and ran some stats. This year I’ve flown little over 14k miles, with 3 trips over 800nm each way and 7 trips 300-500nm each way. Some of these are really hard to do commercially. I did have 3 trips scrub this year due to weather - one of those I went ahead and did the trip commercially. I bought 1st class tickets (which since it was last minute only cost me half of what flying myself would have cost). I’d still choose flying private over airline.
 
GaryM said:
Flying club, and I’m a do-it-myselfer around the house. Relative to my neighbors I save $5k or more a year on landscaping and home maintenance. And my wife and I like to cook, so we don’t eat out all that often.
Click to expand...
Same. And I grow a bunch of food on my tiny lot too, don't tell my HOA.
 
I work in federal law enforcement. I pick up on average one overtime shift per week. With my current club rate, that covers 2 hours of flying per week plus my plane payment. Plane should be payed off in 17 months or so, then I'll be able to afford to fly even a little bit more. Goal is to fly at least 100 hours per year. Trying to hit commercial either late 2022 or definitely by 2023.
 
flyingpreacher said:
I work in federal law enforcement. I pick up on average one overtime shift per week. With my current club rate, that covers 2 hours of flying per week plus my plane payment. Plane should be payed off in 17 months or so, then I'll be able to afford to fly even a little bit more. Goal is to fly at least 100 hours per year. Trying to hit commercial either late 2022 or definitely by 2023.
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Reminds me of me.... I used to figure 4 hrs OT would pay for an hour with the instructor... Got my PPL in a hurry that way...
 
Cheap air plane and a good co-owner
No debt
We do all of our own work under the supervision of an AP/IA
 
FormerHangie said:
Hang glide - I think I spent $1500 per year on lessons, equipment depreciation, glider inspections, club fees, and parachute repacks.
Click to expand...

How the heck do you get into hang gliding? Looks like so much fun, but my wife would kill me if the hang gliding didn’t. Maybe once the kids are gone... would love a thread on this subject.

For my part, when I think about how and why I am able to afford aviation, it’s really because I went on a major personal finance kick in my early 20s and read every Dave Ramsay type book I could get my hands on and sorted my financial life out. In my opinion, you can afford some involvement in aviation at almost any income level if you have that part in order.
 
pmanton said:
Retired. No mortgage or car payments. No CC debt. Live on an airpark--no hangar rent. I'm an IA so maintenance is free. I have a supportive wife.
Decent retirement income. That said, at 83 having TWO planes is kinda dumb.
Click to expand...

This is living the life!


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro
 
AA5Bman said:
How the heck do you get into hang gliding? Looks like so much fun, but my wife would kill me if the hang gliding didn’t. Maybe once the kids are gone... would love a thread on this subject.
Click to expand...

I flew HG for a while, then took a break, and expect I'll pick it back up in retirement. There is a great school near me, and others around the country if you Google some.

https://www.flylookout.com/

My 1st time running off the side of a mountain:

i-n6hDNfg-X3.jpg

Another mountain training flight launch:
i-ScxnsDg-X3.jpg

No flying, IFR conditions:
i-nsHFxMD-X3.jpg
 
Bill said:
I flew HG for a while, then took a break, and expect I'll pick it back up in retirement.
Click to expand...
Back in my sailplane days, I used to facetiously describe disinterest in hang gliders by saying “I don’t want my body to be the landing gear on any aircraft”! Seriously, just joking here but….

Retirement is generally connected with aging and I honestly can’t imagine launching this creaky machine off that ramp, let alone going ‘gear-down’ on landing.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro
 
CharlieD3 said:
Reminds me of me.... I used to figure 4 hrs OT would pay for an hour with the instructor... Got my PPL in a hurry that way...
Click to expand...

Heh - during summers in high school I'd work the front desk and wash airplanes for the flying club. I'd exchange a day of work for an hour of dual in a 152. I was always broke, but those were some good times!
 
Bill Watson said:
Back in my sailplane days, I used to facetiously describe disinterest in hang gliders by saying “I don’t want my body to be the landing gear on any aircraft”! Seriously, just joking here but….

Retirement is generally connected with aging and I honestly can’t imagine launching this creaky machine off that ramp, let alone going ‘gear-down’ on landing.
Click to expand...

Point! Yes, some landing are a little rough on the "landing gear" lol.
 
As it’s been said, I can’t afford not to fly. My immediate family is scattered and all over, the amount of time the aircraft gives back to me is significant. Driving that many miles just isn't an option any longer, it's just to dangerous. ;)

CharlieD3 said:
How many of you use your aircraft for "real" travel?

ie. Going over 500 miles, staying a while (days to weeks) instead of flying in tubes or driving or RVing?

Do you prefer it over "conventional" methods?

Yes, there can be delays due to wx etc. But who cares?

Heck, the airlines are getting delayed for days due to old weather half a country away...
Click to expand...
 
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