Cstolaircraft,

I'm with Hotrod 180 on paying for things as you go. Of course we were making your kind of decisions at a time of very high interest rates. If you get serious about buying, plan and budget for 200+ hours per year and then fly them. Also buy a well maintained ugly airplane with a good engine. Fabric generally gets replaced for beauty, not safety. You don't need a show plane. Hail damage makes some really good airplanes a really good buy. Low power to weight teaches pilots to fly the wing rather than drive around behind a big engine on a little plane.

A good old Taylorcraft with the original 65 hp Continental and twenty year old but modern synthetic fabric and original mechanical brakes is a good flying trainer. You are after time not speed and comfort.

Good luck,

Contact

CamTom12 wrote:... There's a difference between financing your life and borrowing money to better time a big purchase.....

Yes, if you're already on track with your life and your career.
IMHO starting your adult life off with a big loan to pay off for a non-essential item (and no good paying job to do it with) is foolish. The term "instant gratification" comes to mind. There's a helluva lot of people with big credit card bills because of that. Bad enough to have to start off with student loans, but at least they're for something more useful like an education (that will hopefully help your future earning power).

hotrod180 wrote:

CamTom12 wrote:... There's a difference between financing your life and borrowing money to better time a big purchase.....

Yes, if you're already on track with your life and your career.
IMHO starting your adult life off with a big loan to pay off for a non-essential item (and no good paying job to do it with) is foolish. The term "instant gratification" comes to mind. There's a helluva lot of people with big credit card bills because of that. Bad enough to have to start off with student loans, but at least they're for something more useful like an education (that will hopefully help your future earning power).

You're right, that's a point I didn't clarify and I agree with you about 100%.

Loan!? You don't need no stinking loan! What you need is this little gem for a whopping $10K!

http://alaskaslist.com/1/posts/10_Trans ... BC_65.html

Yes! That one.