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#11
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Buying recently rebuilt or fixing one up?
Jon Woellhaf wrote:
: wrote : ... : I am early in my training and have not even soloed yet. I would not : even consider buying anything until after I have earned my : certificate. : Why not? I bought my 182 before I had my Private. It's the cheapest way to learn to fly. Of course it comes with the normal issues of plane ownership (education before purchase, maintenance, chance of having large annual expenses, etc). Ignoring those as "things you would have to learn anyway," the only drawback is having a few more things to consider during your training if your plane has issues. Otherwise, there are lots of plusses... you can fly *A LOT* more on your student license because the direct cost per hour is much lower. You come to know one plane very well rather than swapping around different rentals. You will be putting lots of hours on in a short period of time... good for an airplane. etc, etc. Although I rented for my private ticket, I spent the last half of it looking for a plane to buy (with 2 other partners). By the time we'd found one, it was simply easier to prepare for my checkride than to get checked out in my own plane (I was flying 172's and bought a PA-28-180). If I had to do it over again, I'd buy a plane (maybe with a partner or two again) and learn to fly it. Spending $1k on fuel and oil is setter than wasting $4k-$6k on rentals. The posters who've said, "you don't know what you want" are right to a degree as well. As a student pilot, many are often happy to have anything that will get them in the air. Talking with other pilots and owners will help make your decision. Besides.... if you buy a Cherokee for $30-35k, put 150-200 hours on it in 1-2 years and get your ticket in it, it's not worth much less than it was when you bought it except the maintenance you had to do on it. -Cory -- ************************************************** *********************** * Cory Papenfuss, Ph.D., PPSEL-IA * * Electrical Engineering * * Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University * ************************************************** *********************** |
#12
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Buying recently rebuilt or fixing one up?
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#13
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Buying recently rebuilt or fixing one up?
As a general rule, you never get out of an airplane what you put into
"fixing it up" unless you can do the work yourself. Avionics in particular only retain 50 cents on the dollar invested. Engine overhauls do better, as do cosmetics, but you never get 100% back in terms of resale value. Much cheaper in the long run to buy the plane you want. If you know exactly what you want, however, it'll take a long time to find it. Used aircraft are like old houses, with weird add-ons that make you think, "What was he thinking when he had that installed?". The only advantages to fixing are that 1. you do get to choose your installer/overhauler, and that does make a difference in the quality of the result; and 2. you get to choose exactly what equipment you want. |
#14
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Buying recently rebuilt or fixing one up?
-----Original Message----- From: Paul kgyy [mailto Posted At: Sunday, September 02, 2007 4:07 PM Posted To: rec.aviation.owning Conversation: Buying recently rebuilt or fixing one up? Subject: Buying recently rebuilt or fixing one up? As a general rule, you never get out of an airplane what you put into "fixing it up" unless you can do the work yourself. Avionics in particular only retain 50 cents on the dollar invested. Engine overhauls do better, as do cosmetics, but you never get 100% back in terms of resale value. Much cheaper in the long run to buy the plane you want. If you know exactly what you want, however, it'll take a long time to find it. Used aircraft are like old houses, with weird add-ons that make you think, "What was he thinking when he had that installed?". The only advantages to fixing are that 1. you do get to choose your installer/overhauler, and that does make a difference in the quality of the result; and 2. you get to choose exactly what equipment you want. Another advantage to fixing one up deals with cashflow. It might be possible to buy an aircraft that will need an engine in 400 or so hours if you most likely will do an STC upgrade to a different engine at that time. It could be a lot cheaper to buy with the smaller engine, build time with lower operational costs, reduce the insurance charges (by building time), and then put in the bigger engine later. Of course I'm not talking about buying a project plane, but one that could safely be flown for a few years before needing the engine upgrade. |
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