There are very few absolute truisms in life. I believe I know two of them:

1. If it flies, floats, or fornicates it is far cheaper to rent.

2. If it has tires, tits, or testicles it will eventually give you trouble.


Having said that, you don't need a $100K Super Bugsmasher as your first
airplane. There are tens of thousands of elderly 150s, 172s, Cherokees, and
the like that may not have the sex appeal of a 200 knot bent-gear aircraft,
but they will not eat your pocketbook for lunch either.

You don't need a hopped up 172 with a 200 horse twisty prop to get you to
your Sunday fly-in. The elderly 150 may not get you there in fifteen
minutes ... might take half an hour ... but 90% of the fun of a fly-in is
getting there. Same with most of life.

Depending on whether you are a low wing wimp or a high wing manly guy, you
can start off with a Tripacer (Piper's Milkstool) and work your way up
through the ranks over the years to what you can afford. You may have the
milkstool your whole career. That's the way it goes. Same with a 150 (or a
120/140 if you are a tailwheel kinda guy) and work your way up through the
170/172 series.

Yeah, after 40 years of the 120-170-172 gig I've got a 182. It keeps me on
the edge of poverty, but it is what I can afford. Do I drool at 210s?
Sure. But I didn't jump into a Citation while the ink was still wet on my
private.

Jim



"Jon Kraus" wrote in message
...
Lou,

It varies tremendously but the one constant is that airplane ownership is
EXPENSIVE when compared against renting. That is unless you fly 200 hours
a year (most pilots average 50-75 hours a year).