I’m cheap. What plane should I buy <$10k

skier

skier

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Skier
Has to be airworthy.

minimax?
Flybaby?
Hummel?
Fischer Flying Products?

I’m also selfish and have no friends so single seat is fine. No mission other than to get in the air.

what say POA
 
Powered parachute.

Actually, you might consider fractional ownership.
 
I think @Half Fast answered it well. You can get a Six Chuter for under 10k and have a lot of fun,
 
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Geosync said:
SGS 1-23H-15 glider. You’ll never go back to powered flight once you’ve tasted the nectar(cult) that is soaring.
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Probably challenging to get one under 10k. But some homebuild wood gliders or some 1-26’s you might.
If reasonably priced tows are available close by then a great way to build flight time.
Did 5.2 hours and 300+ miles in my LS-6 (my 3rd glider, my 1st was a $6500 1-26) yesterday.

Brian
 
brcase said:
Probably challenging to get one under 10k. But some homebuild wood gliders or some 1-26’s you might.
If reasonably priced tows are available close by then a great way to build flight time.
Did 5.2 hours and 300+ miles in my LS-6 (my 3rd glider, my 1st was a $6500 1-26) yesterday.

Brian
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1-26s are super fun. And cheap! And art-deco classy! A lot of my glider time is in them. They have to be about as cheap of a way as you can fly, although last time I checked they weren’t exactly giving away tows...
 
skier said:
Has to be airworthy.

minimax?
Flybaby?
Hummel?
Fischer Flying Products?
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I sold Carlson for under $10k. Bought it for $12k, put some time on it. But I also totaled and re-built it. The total bill of the re-build was about $15k, and it took twice as long as building it from the kit took to begin with. Got basically a better airplane out of it, but because it had a damage history (was destroyed), buyers were cautious and eventually I let it go for a song to a nice gentleman in Iowa. If you can find a deal like that it's going to beat any of the above.

Sticking to the listed above: if you are small enough to fit into Hummel, it's the best, because of the 4-stroke engine. But it's seriously small. I cannot even sit in one, let alone fly it.

Stay away from 2-stroke engines.
 
What about an ultralight?
 
skier said:
Has to be airworthy.

minimax?
Flybaby?
Hummel?
Fischer Flying Products?

I’m also selfish and have no friends so single seat is fine. No mission other than to get in the air.

what say POA
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The guy I sold my Fisher 404 to (for around $5K) is trying to sell it now. I like the Fisher designs, nice and solid with their geodetic construction. Minimaxes are good planes too. Flybaby is more of a traditional airplane. I don't know much about the Hummel designs.
 
I've only known a couple of Fly Babies to go for more than $10,000, and they were gorgeous examples (recently built or restored) or the biplane version. Bought mine in 1996 with 75 TT (25 SMOH) for $10K, probably would go ~$8K-10K now.

If you're willing to handprop and don't require a transponder, A65-powered Fly Babies typically go for $6K-$8K. Cheapest one I saw went for $5,500. Hadn't flown for ten years, but the new owner had an A&P go over it for a couple of days, then he flew it home. Single-seat airplanes are tough to sell, so deals are pretty common.

I'm obviously biased, but I think a Fly Baby is the best pick because:

1. Continental engine. Very reliable powerplant, parts not a real big issue, and any A&P knows how to keep one running.
2. Size. The Fly Baby isn't a glorified ultralight; they typically have an empty weight of ~650-800 pounds. It'll handle windy days, not get blown around like a kite.
3. Cockpit room. Pete Bowers was 6' 2", we've currently got a 6' 6" owner (albeit he did modify the cockpit a bit for more room).

Ron Wanttaja
 
zaitcev said:
Sticking to the listed above: if you are small enough to fit into Hummel, it's the best, because of the 4-stroke engine. But it's seriously small. I cannot even sit in one, let alone fly it.

Stay away from 2-stroke engines.
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I think you'd have to be pretty good at scrounging, but if you can build or buy a Hummel H5 for $10k that would be my choice.
 
zaitcev said:
Sticking to the listed above: if you are small enough to fit into Hummel, it's the best, because of the 4-stroke engine. But it's seriously small. I cannot even sit in one, let alone fly it.

Stay away from 2-stroke engines.
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Nothing inherently wrong with 2-stroke engines if they're properly operated. But any of the planes listed can have a 4-stroke; both my Fisher 404 and my friend's Minimax had 4-strokes, and I've seen Hummels with 2-strokes.
 
You can find a minimax Vmax (full VW engine version) for well under 10k. They fly nice.
 
I still have the storage problem in Connecticut. With the exception of the PL-4, which is sheet metal I’d be concerned about leaving most of the options outside.

I’ve thought about a 1-26 before, but the nearest glider operation is (I believe) 2 hours away. What is maintenance like on them?
I’d expect it to be cheaper than a powered plane, but is it?

———————————

I’d really like to find a group of 10 guys and start a club around a single seater like you all mentioned here. $1k buy-in. $1k annual dues to cover hangar, insurance, annuals, and unplanned repairs. After that costs are mostly fuel which for the planes you mentioned are around 4 gal/hr.

Sure the plane doesn’t Have much utility, but it’s dirt cheap for something that gets you in the air. Heck, if you already had your 4-seat travel plane this may be a fun toy for occasional flights.

Cost could even come down further if the plane fits in the hangar with another plane one of the members already has.
 
skier said:
I still have the storage problem in Connecticut. With the exception of the PL-4, which is sheet metal I’d be concerned about leaving most of the options outside.
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Last I checked there were hangars available at 42B (Goodspeed)...
 
In many places, pilots keep gliders in their trailers at the glideport. It typically costs nothing if they stay within the area that belongs to the club. The only exception I know is Fault Line Fliers in Texas, who for some reason have no trailers whatsoever, and those gliders that are available, are kept already assembled under a long shade structure. Anywhere else, you can spot a glider place by a row of these white sousages on wheels.

The biggest reason I got rid of the Carlson was the need to pay $250/month on a $6k airplane. I was buying a whole new airplane every 2 years just renting a parking spot.
 
zaitcev said:
In many places, pilots keep gliders in their trailers at the glideport. It typically costs nothing if they stay within the area that belongs to the club. The only exception I know is Fault Line Fliers in Texas, who for some reason have no trailers whatsoever, and those gliders that are available, are kept already assembled under a long shade structure. Anywhere else, you can spot a glider place by a row of these white sousages on wheels.

The biggest reason I got rid of the Carlson was the need to pay $250/month on a $6k airplane. I was buying a whole new airplane every 2 years just renting a parking spot.
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Heck, if you go by the numbers, I bought my airplane five times in 15 years. That's just how it goes; if I had thought about it, it would have been solder sooner!
 
zaitcev said:
The biggest reason I got rid of the Carlson was the need to pay $250/month on a $6k airplane. I was buying a whole new airplane every 2 years just renting a parking spot.
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I'm currently paying $550 a month in hangar rent for an $8K airplane.....

Ron Wanttaja
 
wanttaja said:
I'm currently paying $550 a month in hangar rent for an $8K airplane.....
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Ouch!! What SEA area airport?

For comparison, Houston area, I'm renting a rather crappy, dirty old T hangar with electric for $400/mo. The airport just put up a new hangar row, the rent on those is $500/mo. No thanks...
 
jbDC9 said:
wanttaja said:
I'm currently paying $550 a month in hangar rent for an $8K airplane.....
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Ouch!! What SEA area airport?
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Auburn (S50), south of Renton. Been in this hangar for ~20 years now, at the airport since 1984. Previous hangar was open with a crappy, leaking roof. One winter day, I was replacing a landing gear leg with the wind blowing rain in the opening and water dripping onto the wing. I said "#$%^ this %^#@," and signed up for one of their new hangars on the north end.

Mind you, it's a very NICE hangar. There's plenty of room for a second airplane, but I like being able to disassemble mine and leave the parts scattered about. Also have a lot parts/junk being stored in there, including the pickup truck and wooden entertainment center I mentioned in other threads.

It's also just a ~7 minute drive from where I live. I can actually see the hangar building from my house.

It's a pain paying that much to store a cheap wooden airplane, but I manage to offset much of the cost with my writing income. At least, that's what I tell the wife.....

Ron Wanttaja
 
You need to get into a time machine and go back 30 years. Then you could have bought from me a mid-time engine AA-1A for $8000.
 
wanttaja said:
Auburn (S50), south of Renton. Been in this hangar for ~20 years now, at the airport since 1984. Previous hangar was open with a crappy, leaking roof. One winter day, I was replacing a landing gear leg with the wind blowing rain in the opening and water dripping onto the wing. I said "#$%^ this %^#@," and signed up for one of their new hangars on the north end.

Mind you, it's a very NICE hangar. There's plenty of room for a second airplane, but I like being able to disassemble mine and leave the parts scattered about.
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Ah, makes sense I suppose, nice airport, nice hangar, close in to “The Big City”. Auburn looks pretty sweet, I just parked there for a coupla nights while buzzing around the Puget Sound area in my RV-8; nice transient ramp at the south end, a walk gate to get to the Days Inn, nice runway, nice SS fuel service... I’m jealous! My home airport is public use, privately owned and pretty run down; the T hangars are cruddy and the “asphalt” taxiways are more like patches and potholes. Ugh.
 
Clipped wing Challenger II. $5000-$8000
 
Half Fast said:
Powered parachute.
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Back when Sport Pilot was new, I was going to add the PPC rating and instructor endorsement (?). Once around the patch was enough to kill that idea. Apparently I’m still terrified of heights! :eek:
 
If you just want to get in the air for fun and do it cheaply, hang gliding and paragliding are the best choices, and probably the most fun as well. If you want a motor, look at an ultralight trike. You can get a nice one for less than $10,000, a really nice new one goes for $20,000. If you get this one, you can skip the airport.

 
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