"Richard Kaplan" wrote in message
s.com...

"Tom Sixkiller" wrote in message
...


You might add a (6) Ability to take overnight trips.

I would only add that if your overnight trips require IFR equipment not
available in a rental airplane.

As much as it is frustrating to pay 9 hours minimum rental for a 2-3 day
trip, almost certainly this would be cheaper than buying an airplane.
Suppose your rental airplane costs $80/hour and you have to pay for 4
hours
you do not use -- $320 is nothing compared with surprise maintenance bills
you could get owning an airplane. Suppose you make 10 such trips in a
year
for $3,200 in rental "overcharges" -- you will pay far more in
maintenance,
hangar/tiedown, and insurance for an airplane you own.

In my case, it's more like two or three a month. And around here, anyway,
$80 an hour will get you a VFR equipped 172 - not something I care to take
frequent trips from the Colorado front range to SLC, PHX, GTF, etc. Even the
flat land trips are usually 300nm or more.

I equate rental aircraft to rental cars: you pay all the maintenance costs
along with the profit margin of the rent-a-car company. Fine if your trips
are infrequent, especially if those infrequent trips are merely pleasure
trips rather than business. In my case, each business trip has $100K-$250K
or more on the line.