Kirk Ellis wrote ...
Hmmmm.....without my wife I would not be in a position to
even entertain the thought of owning an airplane. Even the
idea of searching online to gain insight into the financial
feasibility of such an endeavor would have been ludicrous.
But the information I've gleamed recently has shown what
options are available and what path to take. For now, she
comes first because it's all about compromise. Thanks for
your wisdom and for the advice, opinions and the sharing of
experience by all of those who have posted in response to
my question.

OK Kirk, reality check time: The owner of Pilots Haven (Academy of Aviation
dot com) KFRG recently told me that not a single "middle class person" who
was a recreational pilot or pilot wannabe has walked thru his doors in the
last eight months. Yet he's busier than ever renting G1000 Skyhawks to upper
crusties and major airline pilot wannabes working thru to the comm ticket in
TAAs. No matter how much people rationalize that "in real dollars against
inflation it's no more expensive to fly blah blah blah", the truth is it has
gotten pretty tough for Joe Average!

So what'dya wanna do, take a timeout or fly?

If you have 150hr in 10 years, and you probably spent half that in the first
two years getting your ticket, you spend less than 10 hours a year flying.
If most of that was $100 burger flights, you are probably so out of practice
on the basics that it scares you to think "what if?". So here you are.

Now here forward are the options:
1. Run
2. Rent
3. Buy needs (as in meets), not want.

If you Run you'll never return, that's just the stats.
If you Rent you'll continue on the 10hr/yr road which leads to Run.
If you decide you're not a commie pinko thru the fence looking wannabe; then
here's your road to happy financially manageable ownership:
a. Get together with your partner (wife, not flying partner) and tell her
you really really really need to do this. If you can't get at least a
reluctant buyin, go back to option #1. If you get the green light, from that
moment on NEVER NEVER NEVER mention aviation costs in her presence again
EVER!
b. Now go have a beer with your real partner (flying partner) and agree that
a simple 2 seater like a Tomahawk or C150/2 would probably meet 90% of your
NEEDS, and a Cherokee 140 would be the limit (you can always rent if you
need more). If after 20 minutes the discussion has moved on to Bonanzas or
Mooneys, go back to option #1.
c. You've now reached a magic moment, here's where you agree with your
partner to visit an accountant to form a Del Corp, establish a Corp checking
acct with $20000 ($10K each), and spend the next 3 months renting a plane to
go kick some airplane tires.
d. You both agressively research everything AOPA has about partnership
agreements, perspective owner info, and the purchasing process on their
website.
e. Then go and ask every airplane owner you meet who his A&P is (write down
the name and number), then visit that guy and tell him you are looking for
an entry level plane for around 20 to 25K (he will add another 10k in his
head, so stay low. No one knows why this happens, but it works the same way
with weddings). Even if the A&P route comes up dry (which it almost never
does), you'll probably use one of these guys for your PreBuy inspection. If
the distance is too far for him, he'll probably know an A&P nearby where you
find your plane.
f. Look in ASO and Controller and Trade-a-Plane and AOPA and the half dozen
other free classified sites on the net.
g. Use the $20K as a starting number, remember that nobody pays ASKING
price, and plan on using a Bank Loan to finance about half the plane. The
bank will tend to slow the process a bit (a day or two), but they are your
friend in this process to make sure you get a clean title. AOPA is kind of a
one stop shop for both insur and loan, and since your numbers are low end
you don't really need to shop around.
h. Any more advice and you'll have to pay me.

Mike Spera's post was a bit pessimistic, but his numbers were dead on for a
single owner 180hp 4-seat plane. Re read my post in this thread that
mentions "ego driven mission creep" and stick with a 2-seater that from
Northern FL will easily make the trip to Key West (with a fuel stop of
course). Then plan on using some of the money I saved you (from the $50K)
and get some hours in the plane, it's back to basics time!!!

Good Luck.