How do you afford your aviation habit

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AcroGimp

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AcroGimp
So, the running joke is how do you make a small fortune in aviation, answer - start with a big one.

Having been in on an aviation start-up (employee not investor), I can testify this is very true.

My real interest here is to find out more about how we as members find the money portion of the time-weather-money formula that results in our ability to commit wonton acts of aviation. Partly for inspiration, partly for comiseration, and because it is sometimes fun to see what other folks do to pay for their fun.

I'll start. I am Manager of Product Support Engineering for an engeering services company in San Diego, CA. I have been in Reliability/Maintainability/Safety Engineering and Technical Documentation in the aerospace/defense area for almost 20 years with a 4 year diversion into losing vast sums of money proving myself as a very poor (quality/capability) small business owner.

I currently don't get to fly anywhere near as much as I want to given I am still paying off said small business experience (call it a PhD from the school of hard knocks), and I have a daughter about to go to college.

Once I clear some tax issues I intend to purchase my first plane (likely a single-seat aerobatic/sportplane) since it is far easier to rent practical planes than fun ones.

I still have a severe entrepreneurial bent (can't shake it it seems no matter what I spend) and have some things I want to do, largely outside aviation, to create the big fortune that I can turn into a small one.....

'Gimp
 
Like many of us, I drive a 90's model car so I can fly a 70's model plane.
 
I work for RR Donnelley, a huge print company. I started when I was 18 and I am 40 now. I have put in at least 60 hours a week every week since the day I started..

I buy and sell tons af portable gps's, headsets and pilot stuff. Kinda fell on this on accident but now have some good suppliers that I get products from that I can make money on.

I do not sit in the bar and drink with my buddies on the weekends. They all ask how I afford to own 2 airplanes. I tell them if they didn't buy a 12 pack and a pack of cigs each day they could afford airplanes also.

I am pretty tight on other stuff. I drive cheap vehicles. Base model Tacoma truck that does not even have power windows.

I work my ass off so I can have cool airplanes. It all boils down to what you want mainly. If I had a fancy car, bass boat, went on expensive vacations etc. I would not be flying...
 
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My wife and I are at the peak of our earning potential. We also don't have any other expensive hobbies (no boats, jetskis, snowmobiles). And no kids.
 
My SUV is 10 years old. I live in a house that is about half of what I could afford if I didn't choose to own an airplane.
And all of this is only possible because my wife and I own a fairly successful small business and she loves to fly as much as I do, and maybe even more. (But her BMW is a lot newer than my Mitsubishi).
 
I have my own business. Made a lot of money in 2006-2007 and bought a light sport plane with cash. Not so rich now, but the ongoing expenses of a paid-off airplane are not prohibitive.
 
I am a workaholic from a long line of workaholics. I work hard all week long, and many weekends and make time for flying as it is the only thing that has managed to keep me sane.
 
A combination of good fortune, a decent paying skill set, and the discipline not to get myself into debt when I was younger and didn't make much money.
 
I'm retired ,I have my priorities ,flying and boating and traveling. I figure go all out till the money runs out. Also go to the limit as long as your health goes with you. My passion is flying so I do whatever it takes to keep flying. Do what you love ,love what you do
 
I used to work in aviation (not flying) and got tired of making awful money just because I loved what I did.

Now I work in solid waste engineering as a consultant. Basically, a landfill owner/operator hires us to watch them build a landfill and we prepare a report for the regulators that says "it's good." This type of work pays OK, and I get a LOT of hours. To top it off, my wife and I are double income, no kids.

Fortunately, I've attempted to structure my life in such a manner that I could quit/get fired from whatever i was doing, work at mcdonald's and pay the bills.

I'm now at a crossroads where I'm not sure if I want to keep doing what I'm doing and fly for fun, or if I should test my backup plan by attempting to fly for a living.
 
My airplanes are worth the same as my hangar, and they are individually worth more than my house. Our cars are 8-10 years old. I haven't washed my car in a year, but you should see the wax job on my aerobatic plane.

The rest of the time I am working- it makes no difference, but I make myself available 24/7 for the people who depend on me. Between working, trying to work out, and flying that's about it (except the occasional single malt Scotch, preferably 15 years old if possible).
 
Someone else pays me to fly
 
Harvest lots of spare parts from bent up cars and trucks. Apply "buy low, sell for as much of a high as possible" mentality.
 
Don't quit your day job.

VA Aviator said:
I used to work in aviation (not flying) and got tired of making awful money just because I loved what I did.

Now I work in solid waste engineering as a consultant. Basically, a landfill owner/operator hires us to watch them build a landfill and we prepare a report for the regulators that says "it's good." This type of work pays OK, and I get a LOT of hours. To top it off, my wife and I are double income, no kids.

Fortunately, I've attempted to structure my life in such a manner that I could quit/get fired from whatever i was doing, work at mcdonald's and pay the bills.

I'm now at a crossroads where I'm not sure if I want to keep doing what I'm doing and fly for fun, or if I should test my backup plan by attempting to fly for a living.
Click to expand...
 
Got married. :) My parents put money aside for me for when I got married. I got married late (35) and well I got married on the cheap - not quite court house but pretty close. My parents said I could use the rest of the money for whatever (I think they intended for a house - my husband had a perfectly good house) so I paid for flying with "wedding money" :)
 
I made the tradeoff....quit golfing for good so I can pay for PPL training lol. at least partially. I did sell a stock I own today that should cover the remainder of my training hahah. after that, who knows, we'll see.
 
My share of royalties from 3 oil wells on the cotton farm in west Texas bought by my grandfather and father in 1941. The family sold out in 1972, but retained a share of the mineral rights. I'm probably the only one here who cheers higher oil prices.
 
Retired, both my wife and myself drive old cars-1998 & 2000 I'm an IA so no labor for maintenance. Airplanes are modest 1951 PA-22 1946 7BCM We live on an airpark so no hangar rent. My wife is an excellent money manager. :)
Paul
Salome, AZ
 
I'm an engineer with an MBA. I fill a lot of roles in one the subsidiaries of a very large holding company. Project management, strategic planning, internal consulting, and plenty of stuff which (IMO) only feeds the bureaucracy. I hate that stuff, but the bureaucracy must be fed. ;-)

I made good money as a new college graduate, saved a fair amount of it, used it to pay for the night school MBA, then worked two jobs (Engineering and teaching night classes at a local Tech school) to afford my pilot's license and first airplane.

At some point, the day job paid enough to let me stop teaching at night, so I used the "spare" time to build the RV-6. I didn't get married until after I had the RV-6 finished, my "ultimate" house purchased, and the Border Collie properly trained. It has been a heck of a fall since then. ;-)

I am frugal. I try to get value when I purchase things and (generally) only purchase things I need or really want. I drink infrequently, don't smoke, and don't have expensive daily needs like $4 cups of coffee. My only extravagances are flying and a few nice trips a year.

Also, I do a lot of the work (plumbing, electrical, landscaping, carpentry) around our house. I enjoy the hands on part as a contrast to my professional responsibilities, and it saves us quite a bit of money too. Besides, when I need something from our machine shop at work, I get a fair amount of respect as "The only engineer we have who's actually built anything." ;-)
 
Business has been good since ~1972, so the planes haven't been a problem.
 
No wife, no kids, no dependents, modest tastes (no cruises, expensive vacations, etc).
 
I own a software business, work from home, don't have kids, don't have cable TV and don't have may "things" either.
 
I drive a dump truck. It was hard to pay the bills with it so I bought 8 more. I let them take care of my needs:D
 
I know we talk about flying a lot more than I do it these days ....

I never did like going to town. I figure every day I stay on the farm is worth a lot of $.

Used to, it cost $100 every time to go to town, now it's $200 easy.
 
Children are grown, through college, with good jobs, married to spouses with good jobs. House and cars paid for.
 
My car is 18 years old. I earn good money as self employed, but still just a wage slave. Aircraft is paid cash, thankfully. Maintenance and fuel is manageable on my income, but there's no room for much else. Dual engine O/H at the moment will cost north of $60K and will clean me out for next year.
 
I'm a CPA with own practice. I get a ton of referrals to help people who are fighting with their favorite uncle named Sam. I audit companies and peer review other firms for their licensing. Don't go on expensive vacations and lease a CRV. Own my own modest home. Don't go to bars.
 
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Got the wife to curtail her "shoe habit".:D
 
Got totally out of debt (thanks Dave Ramsey!) and paid cash for my plane. Work an IT job that is stressful but pays well and allows me to fly almost every good weather weekend. Funny how cash flow works when you have zero debt!
 
Deployed to Iraq. All the money saved bought plane # 1. Deployed to Afghanistan. All the money saved bought plane # 2.

Retired military and current Part 135 pilot takes care of operating costs.
 
I have to add:
I pay for my aviation habit (with my 47 year old Cherokee) the same way my neighbor pays for his brand new lifted 4x4, custom Harley, two ATVs, gunsafe full of rifles and pistols, and a snowmobile.
 
Prostitution takes many forms - I sell myself to the oil industry on a daily basis. It's not so bad after the first five or six years...

It helps that I avoid debt but could do better there - still have a mortgage on the house. Maybe by this time next year that will be gone. Then again, maybe I'll be fired tomorrow...
 
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