If you won the lottery, what airplane would you buy?

bflynn said:
Honestly, helping others was the part that was most fun to think about...
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You don't have to win the lotto to help others. :)
 
I haven't checked my ticket yet, but one of the winners is from Missouri. I have one ticket on my own, and I'm in a pool with 40 others....so there are 41 chances for me. I'll know by noon today whether I can keep goofing around online at work or whether I can just stay home to surf. And since I have to split the jackpot with someone else I'm only going to give you guys 1/2 of what I promised I would if I won.
 
Mtns2Skies said:
You have a significantly higher chance of being killed by a vending machine or by a stray coconut.
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My odds should be better than most considering the warning signs. :goofy:

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For the record, I play the lottery maybe two or three times per year.
When I do, it's just a dollar or two that I consider an investment towards my ability to daydream a little more clearly while I'm at work. :wink2:
 
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Ted DuPuis said:
You don't have to win the lotto to help others. :)
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You're right - and I do anyway.

But I can't give the school money to build a building or fund a new section of Williamsburg be excavated. At least not by myself...these are worthy things (IMO) and I've supported them for a long time. It would be nice to really support them one day.
 
Everskyward said:
All I can say is that I've been exposed to quite a few people who are not what they appear to be...

And not just here. :D
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Heh. That's every person you meet, if you subscribe to the Dr. House School of Human Behavior. Everybody lies.
 
bflynn said:
You're right - and I do anyway.

But I can't give the school money to build a building or fund a new section of Williamsburg be excavated. At least not by myself...these are worthy things (IMO) and I've supported them for a long time. It would be nice to really support them one day.
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Something like 80% of funding for most nonprofits comes from private donations. Of that, it's something like 75% comes in denominations of under $100. The remaining 20% of funding is from grants.

Point is, the wealthy can and do make a large impact, but most of the money comes from people who donate amounts we can all afford. I know a lot of folks look at the small amount they can personally contribute and think it's insignificant, but it isn't, because there are many people who can contribute a small amount. If every Facebook fan of Cloud Nine donated $10 towards our engine fund, we'd be sitting pretty.

Based on my personal experience, we probably have 50-75% of our funding from grants and large dollar contributions. But we run a slightly different kind of non-profit that lacks the broad influence of a school or the like.
 
The lottery is one way that people who don't pay taxes, pay taxes.:rolleyes: It is truly a tax on the ignorant, says the guy who never plays. :D I can't tell you how many times I've seen someone buying scratch offs along with beer and cigarettes at the local gas station.:mad2: They don't have a pot to pee in and they are spending money on such frivilous junk!:mad2:
Ted DuPuis said:
I'd believe that. There's a lot of lotto players in the scratch-offs and the like, and they usually are people who can't afford it, but hope to strike it rich.

I remember back when I was trucking, I went in the truck stop paying for gas. Some guy throws his scratch-off on the ground, saying "Damn! That was my last $20!"

Really? No wonder I can afford a plane.
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wabower said:
Sop by sometime and I'll introduce you to the King Air 350 owners who formerly owned a PC-12. Until the fan quit one night at FL260 with a bunch of their wives returning from a tournament of some kind.
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If you can buy and operate either one without it cramping your style, I would opt for two turbine engines everytime over one. I know they seldom fail, but when your one engine does decide to retire, it gets really quiet........for a little while.
 
N747JB said:
The lottery is one way that people who don't pay taxes, pay taxes.:rolleyes: It is truly a tax on the ignorant, says the guy who never plays. :D I can't tell you how many times I've seen someone buying scratch offs along with beer and cigarettes at the local gas station.:mad2: They don't have a pot to pee in and they are spending money on such frivilous junk!:mad2:
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That always happens in payday and its annoying standing in line waiting for the person in front to scratch 4 tickets and collect their 3 dollar winnings. :mad2::mad2::mad2:
 
N747JB said:
If you can buy and operate either one without it cramping your style, I would opt for two turbine engines everytime over one. I know they seldom fail, but when your one engine does decide to retire, it gets really quiet........for a little while.
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If I hit the lotto, realistically I would still one to afford to operate the aircraft long term, so I would probably go with the PC-12.

What is the order of the operating and maintenance cost differences between a PC-12 and a King Air 200/350 variant? Is it significant? If it's a wash then the two mills make sense, but I cannot see how doubling the engine MX cost in the turbine arena can be insignificant. I fly professionally behind a PT-6, I'm willing to fly my family behind it, considering I already do it behind an O320, which is a heck of a lot less reliable.
 
NineThreeKilo said:
Lotto winnings, go look up my posting about the midgets, I'de get those 7/8th WWI bi planes, mount some paint ball guns and have some friends with my pilot friends!
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As long as there's so much thread drift already, I'll mention that the politically correct term is "Little People." :wink2:
 
denverpilot said:
Heh. That's every person you meet, if you subscribe to the Dr. House School of Human Behavior. Everybody lies.
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Maybe even more so when you do charter where you meet all kinds.

Then a few years later you see someone's name in the local news. Ohhh that's what happened to them...
 
hindsight2020 said:
If I hit the lotto, realistically I would still one to afford to operate the aircraft long term, so I would probably go with the PC-12.

What is the order of the operating and maintenance cost differences between a PC-12 and a King Air 200/350 variant? Is it significant? If it's a wash then the two mills make sense, but I cannot see how doubling the engine MX cost in the turbine arena can be insignificant. I fly professionally behind a PT-6, I'm willing to fly my family behind it, considering I already do it behind an O320, which is a heck of a lot less reliable.
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Garrette FTW
 
With all that money I'd want something different that you won't see at every other airport you go to. Like:
A GA8 Airvan for hauling friends plus camping gear
An Aircam on floats for farting around in
An Avanti for going places FAAST
and a Cessna 195 pretty much just for ramp appeal and a round engine I guess
 
Heard of one large lottery winner who stated, "Winning the lottery was like putting Miracle Grow on all of my personal faults."
 
dell30rb said:
Probably not. I think many folks would find it surprisingly slow, and are probably expecting 200 knots and pressurization.
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Nah, we know its only slightly faster than a 172 and burns ten times more gas....but we can burn that gas with a dozen friends!
 
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N747JB said:
Story on the news tonight said something to the effect that the average person spends $55.00 per month on lottery tickets!:yikes: I didn't catch the whole story, but the $55.00 per month caught my attention, since I average less than a dollar per month, someone is spending over $100.00 to make the average.:dunno: The story said the people that play the most are the ones that can least afford it, not exactly high quality investigative journalism, but interesting.:D
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Since I've never bought one, nor has anyone in my family, the rate is skewed even higher. The reason is all of us are reasonably good at math!
 
Not practical, but if it was enough, this would certainly be on my list...
 

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I have always believed that gambling is nothing but a tax on the poor and stupid. The state makes billions off poor and stupid people hoping to become rich and stupid but managing to become poorer and stupid, all the time.
It's why bookies have to have leg breakers to stay in business. Stupidity is not limited, like intelligence. It goes on and on...
 
You can say anything about the lottery, gambling, sports cars, motorcycles, guns, or aircraft. It's all in the same boat folks. It's what someone chooses to do with their money so stop [repeatedly] raining on their parade. It is getting really old.
Myself, I buy mass quantities of dog food and dog treats to keep my 3 happy. They eat better than me. SO WHAT! Now you have something else to rain on.
 
silver-eagle said:
You can say anything about the lottery, gambling, sports cars, motorcycles, guns, or aircraft. It's all in the same boat folks. It's what someone chooses to do with their money so stop [repeatedly] raining on their parade. It is getting really old.
Myself, I buy mass quantities of dog food and dog treats to keep my 3 happy. They eat better than me. SO WHAT! Now you have something else to rain on.
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I think the difference is that many people have a gambling addiction that creates problems in the form of spending too much money on lotto tickets, and we end up supporting them with food stamps, etc.

Yes, people can be just as stupid with anything else, but at least the others provide some more useful value, and don't seem to have the same addiction level.
 
silver-eagle said:
Having the better part of 425 mill, I'd consider starting a museum (or buying one) and outfitting it with everything from a Wright Flyer to current aircraft, all in good flying condition. If built right, the museum becomes self sustaining and I can sit back and enjoy the toys in the stable.
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I cant help but think that one guy in LakeLand already did that... hmm... ;)
 
Florida Cracker said:
I have always believed that gambling is nothing but a tax on the poor and stupid. The state makes billions off poor and stupid people hoping to become rich and stupid but managing to become poorer and stupid, all the time.
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You're pretty much right if you consider the probability of winning vs losing.
It's really about behavior patterns and how the individual uses judgment. Of course if it wasn't for the stupid people, there wouldn't be any huge payout lottery games either.

I've seen people buy 30-40 tickets at a time for the 1:bazillion chance of winning. Then they do it again the next week...and the next week...year after year. That adds up to a lot after a while...as in eventually, while still losing, they probably spend more than they would have likely won if they did win, which they didn't.

OTOH, the occasional single ticket is a reasonable gamble. Multiple tickets really don't increase the odds significantly anyway until you're talking hundreds of thousands of tickets every week.


I've never bought a lottery ticket before. When I happened to be in a gas station and it said half a billion dollars, I decided the odds were idiotic beyond even crazy fantasy however for $2, which is less than the almost expired milk in the fridge, I might give it a go. $2 for a one time chance of instant retirement? Sure why not. Maybe try again in a year if it's over say $400 million. Heck, the auto insurance company rapes me way worse than that and I get nothing out of that either..except I'm giving them about 300 times that amount every year..talk about a total waste of good money.
 
I spend a few bucks on the lottery every year. I heard being poor and stupid makes you a better pilot.
 
I didn't win, so this whole issue is moot. . .

Wells
 
If I got over $30M here would be my list:

PA-18
Super Cyclone (C185) on floats
M20K Encore
Epic LT
PC-12 NG
An-2, pimped out with corporate interior.
 
I am one of those weird people that really has everything I need to be happy. I'd keep the current house but rent vacation homes.

I'd probably consider doing some upgrades and mods to my Comanche. Maybe put a G530w and autopilot perhaps even engine analyzer with fuel flow or totalizer. I'm not sure if I would upgrade to a Twin or not if so probably a Twin Comanche. If I knew I was going to buy a jet and try to fly it I would definately get a few hundred hours in a twin first.

So for about $160 per hour I can get to CA or FL in 5 hrs 5:50 to the farthest points or if I go with a jet it would likely be 10x that amount but only half the speed of 2 hrs 15 minutes or 2 hrs and 40 minutes. That is a bunch of money for only 2-3 hrs per trip.

Heck it might be better to do the Av Shiloh thing and totally go crazy on my Comanche and just fly every where in it unless I need to bring 7 of my family/friends then you netjets.

I think I would get a netjet card for the 6 or 12 vacations a year. If I were to buy a Jet I think it would probably be either the Eclipse 550. It burns about 50 gallons per hour in cruise or the Avanti II if I really felt I would have more than 2-3 people with me very often.

I guess I would watch who goes with me the first year with the Comanche or netjets and then make the determination.

Perhaps even keep the netjet card and buy the Eclipse but only if I was able to pass the pilot proficiency on the Eclipses otherwise what is the point?
 
Actually, I kinda like my 150 -- but it would be a lot more fun with 180 HP and STOL setup.

In addition, I'd buy a small helo, a powered parachute, a SeaBee with Tokyo tanks and either an O-2B or a tuna-tank 310. The PPC and the SeaBee would go to Hawaii, where I would spend most of the year, with the rest here on the mainland for various uses during fly-in season.

If I won over $200 million, I'd want an OV-10 instead of the other twins.
 
TBM 850 for getting there
Pitts for fun
Some kind of amphib (Grumman widgeon?), lots of lakes in the Tennesse river valley

And then learn to fly a Helo.

But it would be hard to do this all with doing track days on the superbike, being out on the lake......
 
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LA-4-250
Mooney 201
CE-560

Rotorcraft if I had any money left after building my private airport on the water with a ramp for my lake and various boats.
 
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