If you own your own aircraft, could you discuss:

1. The make and model.

1966 Piper Cherokee 180

2. Whether you bought it new or used (if used, a bit of history on
it).

Used in 2000.

3. The cost to buy it.

30 AMU

4. The way you financed the purchase.

22 AMU insurance settlement from my previous airplane plus a bank loan.

5. Your approximate yearly costs for operation, maintenance, and
insurance.

Annual $1200
Insurance $800
Hangar $160 per month
Engine replacement last year $15,000. Should last us 10 to 15 years.
10 gallons of fuel per hour. Usually manage to find it under $3.50 per
gallon.

6. Your approximate yearly investment in training, licensing, medical
exams, etc. (to keep current as a pilot, as opposed to just the costs
related to a specific aircraft).

Medical and flight review every 2 years. $80 each.

I'm just curious about how much it actually costs to own and fly an
aircraft. I get the impression that it requires either being quite
wealthy or making severe sacrifices and never flying anything better
than a junky tin can.

Flying is flying. Better to have flown a junky tin can than not to have
flown at all. The sky is not impressed by what you own. Anything given
up to fly is not a sacrifice. Hours in the air given up for something
else is a sacrifice.
--
Gene Seibel
Hangar 131 - http://pad39a.com/gene/plane.html
Because I fly, I envy no one.