Looking for my first plane.. on a budget.. open to suggestions

If you've only got $35k to spend on a plane, then that almost assuredly means your operating budget is going to be very limited as well.

You need to be a 4-way partnership if the most you can spend on a plane is $35k. In the end, having a much nicer aircraft while spending a lot less >>>> the one scheduling issue a year you may have (and you probably won't have one at all).
 
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How about looking at experimental aircraft. There are a lot of 2-seaters out there that have a useful load >500lbs that cost <$35,000.
 
skier said:
How about looking at experimental aircraft. There are a lot of 2-seaters out there that have a useful load >500lbs that cost <$35,000.
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He spec’d a payload of about 450 lbs and then mentioned five hours fuel.
 
Bonchie said:
If you've only got $35k to spend on a plane, then that almost assuredly means your operating budget is going to be very limited as well.

You need to be a 4-way partnership if the most you can spend on a plane is $35k. In the end, having a much nicer aircraft while spending a lot less >>>> the one scheduling issues a year you may have (and you probably won't have one at all).
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I have to disagree with this, but I do understand your point about a partnership and then having access to a nice plane overall. We bought our Cherokee 140 for 29K and it is probably one of the nicest Cherokee 140s you will ever see. Interior completely redone with tan leather, new carpet, new paint, panel completely redone with standard 6 pack configuration. I've done my entire IR in it (granted we have had the AI, and two VORs/LOC/ILS go out on us and had to be replaced). Really the only thing I wish I had was 160HP and an IFR GPS.

My dad has a large operating budget, but he is very frugal by nature and did not want to spend a lot on an airplane. Just food for thought.

If you can bump the budget to 40-50K then you can really get a nice short body Mooney (I know the OP can’t do this)
 
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cfd408 said:
thanks.. but at $43k.. out of my price range without a shared ownership
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43K for that thing??? Holy cow maybe I don't know the Grumman market well, but I wouldn't pay anywhere near 43K for that thing.
 
Grummans tend to be a bit more expensive then their Piper / Cessna equivalent. I am not sure why. The savings on rivets alone should make them cheaper.
That is cheap for a Tiger.
 
CC268 said:
If you can bump the budget to 40-50K then you can really get a nice short body Mooney (I know the OP can’t do this)
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I've seen a number of short body Mooneys selling for what the OP wants to spend, all perfectly serviceable. I've seen older Bo's for sale for that as well. But by old I mean from the 50s. Either will do his mission. Either may nor may not become maintenance hogs. They'll old airframes that are also very complex.
 
steingar said:
I've seen a number of short body Mooneys selling for what the OP wants to spend, all perfectly serviceable. I've seen older Bo's for sale for that as well. But by old I mean from the 50s. Either will do his mission. Either may nor may not become maintenance hogs. They'll old airframes that are also very complex.
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Hence why I said this:
CC268 said:
There is a fella on here who bought a very nice Mooney for 36k I believe. I was pretty shocked he got that nice of a Mooney for that price. I am a total snob and don't feel comfortable in aircraft that look beat to hell (even if they are totally airworthy). My dad and I looked at a few Mooneys in the 30k range and they were pieces of junk in my opinion. I sort of wrote it off that you wouldn't find a Mooney in good shape for that price. I think if your patient enough you can find a nice short body Mooney in that price range.
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steingar said:
Yeah, but folks keep denying it for reasons I know not. I saw a bunch in that price range. I paid more, but mine is spanky and I traded it for my Cherokee.
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Haterzzz
 
Clark1961 said:
He spec’d a payload of about 450 lbs and then mentioned five hours fuel.
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I'm open to experimental.. just means more research into the history behind a particular make and model. and as always a pilot must be flexible when it comes to useful load and density altitude... especially when a 90° day turns a 5885ft field elevation into 7000+...
 
Bonchie said:
If you've only got $35k to spend on a plane, then that almost assuredly means your operating budget is going to be very limited as well.

You need to be a 4-way partnership if the most you can spend on a plane is $35k. In the end, having a much nicer aircraft while spending a lot less >>>> the one scheduling issue a year you may have (and you probably won't have one at all).
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you make a valid point... which leads to another question.. best way to find people for a partnership.. think I'll start another thread for that one!
 
Clark1961 said:
He spec’d a payload of about 450 lbs and then mentioned five hours fuel.
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My Glasair I has a payload of around 582 lbs and 5 hr endurance at 168 kts.
 
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CC268 said:
43K for that thing??? Holy cow maybe I don't know the Grumman market well, but I wouldn't pay anywhere near 43K for that thing.
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I agree that is a little high for that aircraft unless the market has changed a lot in the past 12 months. It probably wouldn't go for as low as 35K, though. As I mentioned above, in 2015, I bought a 77 Tiger that looked similar to that one (orig. paint, orig. interior, old radios, mid-time engine w/good compressions) for 29.5K. It had 5000 hrs TT and some damage history, but had excellent repairs done. I flew it a little over 100 hours, went through one uneventful annual, and sold it in Dec 2016 for 30.9K. Upgraded to a Vans. Since the sale, I have seen several other Tigers for sale in the 30-40K range, which somewhat fits the OP's requirement.
 
steingar said:
Yeah, but folks keep denying it for reasons I know not. I saw a bunch in that price range. I paid more, but mine is spanky and I traded it for my Cherokee.
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Hey man, you can't use that word twice in a 24 hour period. I'm watchin' ya...
 
Join a club for a year. Get a lot of flying in and find out what type of plane you like.....high wing low wing etc. great way to share costs and meet other folks. May change your mind completely on what type of plane you want.
 
CC268 said:
43K for that thing??? Holy cow maybe I don't know the Grumman market well, but I wouldn't pay anywhere near 43K for that thing.
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I hear ya. I wouldn't pay 50K, let alone 70K for a bleeping Archer either, and I'm a PiComing die hard mind you. Cult pricing abounds.

--break break

OP, don't get too discouraged. Recognize there's a batch of folks on here who punch above their fighting weight. That is to say, they got sweetheart deals on purchases well below market for special reasons (estate sales, inheritances, medical outs, death or distressed divorce sales of their buddies etc). You just don't hear much about it cuz it's considered humblebrag. I just found out what my buddy paid for his turbo comanche and let's just say the dude is looking at almost a 50 percent discount over current asking rates, and the airplane hasn't eaten him out of house and home yet. Granted, not something a first time owner can generally pull off, but my point is you never know if you can strike a deal under special circumstances and avoid the partnership route.
 
steingar said:
Short body Mooneys sell for that all the time and will fly in the teens.
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A good suggestion. Enjoy 145 knots, constant speed prop, and minimal penalty on the maintenance bill. The Mooney gear is low maintenance compared to others with hydraulic systems.
 
One more that might fit the bill, which is forgotten about most times. The C175. There's one on Barnstormers for under $30k, with O-360 conversion.
Not the best radios in the world, but certianly a good trainer, and open for upgrade later.
 
Tfoster100 said:
Join a club for a year. Get a lot of flying in and find out what type of plane you like.....high wing low wing etc. great way to share costs and meet other folks. May change your mind completely on what type of plane you want.
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I think that's some pretty sound advice. A good idea to get involved with not only the flying but also the maintenance aspect of the airplanes as well. Might shed some new light on what you like vs. dislike.
 
SixPapaCharlie said:
Grummans tend to be a bit more expensive then their Piper / Cessna equivalent. I am not sure why. The savings on rivets alone should make them cheaper.
That is cheap for a Tiger.
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The reason Grumma Tigers cost more is that they have the maintenance cost of a Cherokee 180 but have nearly the speed of a 180hp “C” model Mooney and with more legroom. Plus the sliding canopy makes summer ground ops and climbs to cooler altitudes much more comfortable.
 
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