Anyone want to talk me out of...

I think that I'll do like my CFI said when I first started messing with
airplanes. He said just "take all of your receipts and put them in a
box and DON'T look at them!!" Doing the "head in the sand" thing works
out good for airplanes.

Jon Kraus
PP-ASEL-IA
Student Mooney purchaser

Dan Luke wrote:

Anyone want to talk me out of buying my first airplane?


Heck no! Why shouldn't you postpone your retirement like the rest of
us?

I don't really know how much I've spent on my airplane (I might faint if
I did) but I do know it's given me more enjoyment than any other "toy"
I've ever owned.

Go for it!

I am definitely going to be watching all of the pre-buy. I love messing
with mechanical things!! As for partnerships go.. I found a guy in my
flying club that has way more money than me and not as much time. I
thought that this would suit me perfectly. :-) Time will tell I guess...

Jon Kraus
PP-ASEL-IA
Student Mooney purchaser


Louis L. Perley III wrote:

"Jon Kraus" wrote in message
...

buying my first airplane? Better hurry because Monday we have the
prebuy inspection to go thru. If that goes well then probably by the end
of next week I'll be an airplane owner (co-owner actually). I have
really gotten a lot out of this and the Mooney owners news and email
groups. It appears that we have found a clean '79 M20J for a decent
price. I am paying more then I originally bugeted but welcome to
aviation right? I figure that I would take the plunge in a plane that I
can use for a while with out feeling like I need to upgrade right away.
I have a feeling that that is what would happen if I would have bought a
152 or Warrior. The Mooney can hold 4 people and cruise at 150 knots on
10 gph. I think that will satify me for a while anyway. Anyone have
any regrets about airplane ownership they care to share?

Jon Kraus
PP-ASEL-IA
Student Mooney purchaser



Jump right in, and if you can, participate in the prebuy (take the day off
if you have to, or call in sick it wouldn't be lying, as aviation can
properly be termed an illness, although it's a healthy kind of illness),
you'll learn alot and your mechanic can point out many things to look out
for that will come in handy as an owner. Mooney's make a pretty decent
instrument platform as well from what I hear. Regardless of what kind of
plane you buy, be it a Cessna 152 or a King Air, by this time next year
you'll be thinking about getting something a bit more. This is just human
nature I guess. If it fits your normal mission profile, great! Just don't be
one of those people who buys a plane and then never makes the time to fly
it.. This probably won't be much of a problem since it'll be co-owned. I
hope you know your co-owner real well and have a pretty solid agreement in
place between the two of you. I can speak from experiance that if it's not
laid out in detail, it can fall apart pretty quickly, this would be my only
caution. I've had 1/2 of an aircraft that's ended up sitting on the ground
for two+ years because my co-owners refuse to get things done, and when I
said to heck with it and offered to pay to get it annualed out of my own
pocket, they refused, and since the ownership is 50/50 I'm powerless to do
anything about it (shops on the field won't touch it because they don't want
to get in the middle of the situation, which is understandable). Only
recently, when they've decided to move from the area have they been willing
to let me buy out their half of the airplane. Hopefully we'll get that taken
care of this week and it will no longer be an issue.

Jay,

As usual you are right on the mark... I don't really relate to the crack
addicts but if crack smelled like 100ll than maybe I would.. :-)

Jon Kraus
PP0ASEL-IA
Student-IA

Jay Honeck wrote:

buying my first airplane?


Ha!

Asking that here is like asking a bunch of crack addicts what they think
about drug abuse...

;-)

Go for it!

In article ,
Jon Kraus wrote:
So are you saying that a Mooney is more expensive to maintain then any
other complex aircraft?

So are you saying a random $500 expense would be unexpected for any
complex aircraft?

The Mooney actually has a relatively simple gear system. It's everything
else that's hard to get to. The plane is basically built around some of
the torque tubes. Avionics access it from a panel outside the plane which
is tricky to re-seal.

--
Ben Jackson

http://www.ben.com/

"Jon Kraus" wrote in message
...
I think that I'll do like my CFI said when I first started messing with
airplanes. He said just "take all of your receipts and put them in a
box and DON'T look at them!!" Doing the "head in the sand" thing works
out good for airplanes.

Jon Kraus
PP-ASEL-IA
Student Mooney purchaser

Jon: That's good advice!!!!!! I can't speak for a
Mooney,but My little 150 holds it's own in that department. I had occasion
to look up the total cost for
the last 12 months and I am trying to forget the number so I will not
mention it here. :-)

P.S. I wouldn't trade a minute of ownership for all the
tea in China. Go for it!!!!

Bob Barker N8749S

"Ben Jackson" wrote in message
news:t9F5d.373592$8_6.19934@attbi_s04...
In article ,
Jon Kraus wrote:
So are you saying that a Mooney is more expensive to maintain then any
other complex aircraft?

So are you saying a random $500 expense would be unexpected for any
complex aircraft?

The 172 I own 1/5th of just went to the shop for a look-see at a few things.
Oil change, new ignition lead, and a carburetor adjustment followed. Exit
$725, stage left.

I'll have to be making a lot of money before you catch me owning a complex
airplane on my own.

Best,
-cwk.

Ben Jackson wrote:
: the torque tubes. Avionics access it from a panel outside the plane which
: is tricky to re-seal.

Since the M20J/K this is no longer the case.
--
Aaron Coolidge

Montblack wrote:
: Montblack
: I'm looking at a project plane myself - first $100 bill is still in my
: pocket.
Hey Montblack, you're back! BTW, you weild a mean grill...
--
Aaron Coolidge

Well, it's mostly about money money money. A Mooney like that will
probably run about $50 an hour to run (25 for gas, 10-15 for
maintenance, 10 for reserve plus hangar and insurance), not counting
cost of purchase. If you have the money, and a partner who will pay
his bills, sure go ahead. I hope you are aware that airplanes are
going for less than their appraised value right now its a buyers
market. Lets hope its up from here. 10-20% off asking book is not
unusual, though the most important thing is to get a plane that will
do for few years as is. That means it has the avionics you will be
happy with. Make sure you sit in those back seats, they are small.

I used an escrow service to hold the deposit (though I have heard that
AOPA has discontinued theirs). Make sure you find a reputable one. Be
careful where you register it as there are sales tax issues (Delaware
corps etc but they are a bit of hassle). Some cities have sales tax. I
recommend collecting the engine reserve in the planes checking acct as
then you have some cushion. You might consider getting a plane credit
card and paying it off out of the planes checking acct. That way you
don't have to hassle gas tank issues, just charge by the hour. An LLC
for ownership is the way to go, though it does cost some money unless
you can copy someone elses paperwork. When you sell, just sell the LLC
etc. But lots just take ownership in their name. YMMV on that on that
one. A second on the home is much better interest rate wise and tax
wise than financing the plane and using the plane as collateral.

Be picky about the engine compression test and oil usage as these are
signs of engine wear. Find a good mechanic if you can. Annuals don't
have to cost that much if you do the work yourself.

Good luck!
Jon Kraus wrote in message . ..
buying my first airplane? Better hurry because Monday we have the
prebuy inspection to go thru. If that goes well then probably by the end
of next week I'll be an airplane owner (co-owner actually). I have
really gotten a lot out of this and the Mooney owners news and email
groups. It appears that we have found a clean '79 M20J for a decent
price. I am paying more then I originally bugeted but welcome to
aviation right? I figure that I would take the plunge in a plane that I
can use for a while with out feeling like I need to upgrade right away.
I have a feeling that that is what would happen if I would have bought a
152 or Warrior. The Mooney can hold 4 people and cruise at 150 knots on
10 gph. I think that will satify me for a while anyway. Anyone have
any regrets about airplane ownership they care to share?

Jon Kraus
PP-ASEL-IA
Student Mooney purchaser

("Aaron Coolidge" wrote)
Hey Montblack, you're back! BTW, you weild a mean grill...
--
Aaron Coolidge

Hey Aaron,

It's been since December of last year. Very weird having no internet at home
for 10 months.

That library lurking gets old in a hurry.

Grills. I just hauled the goofy things, it was Joey and Ron who were the
mean grillmasters g.

We did see Jim depart one morning, his *monster* grill being towed behind
that cursed van of his. Luckily, my trani held up for the return trip to the
Twin Cities. My water pump and O2 sensor, however, did not fare so well post
OSH 2004.


Montblack