Having some fun...

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/aircraft-ownership-value-perspective-dave-irvin/?published=t

Well said!

No way to even begin cost justifying my aircraft, even when i was flying it 200-300 hours a year to visit my villages up in Norton Sound, but i have a treasury of experiences and memories that are priceless.

Well said!

No way to even begin cost justifying my aircraft, even when i was flying it 200-300 hours a year to visit my villages up in Norton Sound, but i have a treasury of experiences and memories that are priceless.

slowhawk offline
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Posts: 463
Joined: Thu Aug 07, 2008 8:33 am
Location: Skagway
Aircraft: 1956 Cessna 172 TW/O360

SlowHawk- you get it! my point was not to ignore the cost, but rather take into consider the other benefits to aircraft ownership. The people I have met. the experiences I have had could never be duplicated or purchased. The independence and freedom it has provided is unbelievable. Enjoy the journey!

Wow, that Mt. Jefferson photo!

I would have to say that owning a Maule has been a reasonable cost experience. We have never bought brand new vehicles; but good used ones and kept them in good shape. Cars are not an investment; they are a necessary expense.

When getting back and forth to the NM place driving was getting the best of us, we jumped into an aviation solution. Getting the PPL was the hardest, expensive and time consuming aspect (money you won't get back; I can see why one would balk at the training costs if considering an ATP career, but it is getting better). Once we decided on the mission profile and reviewed the potential candidates, the Maule fit the job perfect. It cost us no more than what everyone around us spends on a new pick up. Since I hangar it at the ranch, I have no recurring hangar costs. The annual is less than $1000/year. The rest is periodic maintenance that anyone would have to incur keeping a car/truck roadworthy. Gas and oil costs more but the cost of using the 1/2 ton capable Maule round trip to NM is cheaper than our 1 ton truck or 1/2 ton suburban. At 130 mph and 8 GPH that translates to 16 mpg across the ground. That is better fuel economy than our ground transportation at twice the speed. Couple these economics with the aforementioned pilot community camaraderie, it has been an absolute BLAST!

But if I had an aircraft that needed a $30,000 landing gear saddle, that would blow me out of aviation. Thank you, BD Maule, that I don't have to play that game.