I know it's a ways out. But it is a goal. What things do I need to know?

First and most important concept, by a factor of three orders of magnitude... is to make an honest, calculated, un-emotional assessment of what type of flying you want to do or will be doing for 80-90% of your flying. That will be the driving force behind the general direction you should go. Believe it or not, the cost or your budget is not the first factor.

That assessment needs to include whether you really need 4 seats and will use them. I'll guess that 75% of the (non-commercial operators) here who have four seats only fill all 4 of them them 20% of the time. If you have a wife, two kids, and the St. Bernard dog, who will always be flying with you, then not only do you need a 4 seat airplane but you need a REAL 4 seat airplane.

If you are going to be flying alone most of the time, and occasionally try to convince the wife to go for the $100 hamburger ride in the plane... then your needs can be met by a 2 seat airplane.

If you are buying an airplane to go boondocking and land on mountaintops way out on the back side of the planet, or if you need something to eventually get your instrument/commercial/space captain rating in... that answer drives the decision in other directions.

Once you figure out what you really need (and what you want), you at least have a place to start concentrating your search. THEN you can start looking at Ford vs. Buick vs. Porsche, and full-size cargo truck vs. hatchback econo-box, etc.

You have a HUGE advantage in that you can start thinking about this stuff now, flying different airplanes, and seeing what kind of flying you really do in actuality.

madpilot wrote:I know it's a ways out. But it is a goal. What things do I need to know?

What's your favorite color of Maule tail dragger

mp, we need to get together for a beer...if you partake I got a book I'll loan ya. It's not the best and all-be-it, but it's called Airplane Ownership and will get you some base knowledge and help you understand some things about the process and all. I read it a few times, and then with that base, I went and talked with many, many owners about their experiences and so forth...including some folks that used to buy and sell planes for a living.

Doing a lot of research prior to buying something as costly as an airplane is of course good advice. And analyzing your own needs beforehand, to better define the type of bird you want or need, is of course great too.

However, don't over-analyze it. Because when you own an airplane, and assuming you can afford to fly it as often as you want or need, it's a whole 'nother world than when you just dreamed of it.

Besides, your wants and needs are subject to change anyway. What works great early in your flying "career" (even if you're not a pro) may be just as great for the rest of your life ... or after you gain some flying confidence and hang out with other pilots and read stuff in mags and on the web, you may well find yourself yearning for something very different in fairly short order ... be it faster/higher/carries more/goes more of the places you want to go or just newer/prettier/or whatever.

The only way to tell what you really want is to go out and buy an airplane and then fly it - a lot. Then sooner or later you'll know if you picked the love of your life, or if she's just another girlfriend in a long succession. I know some pilot/owners who buy a plane, fly it for six months, and then trade off to another, just because they can ... and I know other pilots who bought their first (and only) airplane 25 or 30 years ago and have never strayed.

Bottom line - the only way you really know if "she's the one" (or one of many) is to buy her and fly her.

RobBurson wrote:

madpilot wrote:I know it's a ways out. But it is a goal. What things do I need to know?

What's your favorite color of Maule tail dragger

Amen! Start looking at Maules.

sent from my Droid using Tapatalk

Some really good advice there from the previous posters. I would just add that once you figure out what kind of flying you will enjoy most, go up with a buddy pilot for some test flights on some different model planes. Hang out or network (like you're doing here) with other pilots of the type of plane or flying you are interested in most. 5 years is a long way out. That means you have plenty of opportunities to ask more questions, do more research, get more instruction, become more proficient.

Some really good advice there from the previous posters. I would just add that once you figure out what kind of flying you will enjoy most, go up with a buddy pilot for some test flights on some different model planes. Hang out or network (like you're doing here) with other pilots of the type of plane or flying you are interested in most. 5 years is a long way out. That means you have plenty of opportunities to ask more questions, do more research, get more instruction, become more proficient.

Then get your Maule! Just kidding

There is knowledge that will help you make prudent decisions no matter what type of aircraft you decide to go with. Maule, Cessna, Piper, whatever...it's possible to get a poor deal or a great deal on any of them, but as long as you are armed with a good understanding of what aircraft ownership entails-- the real costs, responsibilities, and feasibility of use, you can avoid getting surprised. Owning is expensive. Flying is expensive. Do not try to justify it as anything more than a hobby. Do not tell yourself that you will travel further faster, no matter how fast you cruise, because everything in aviation takes more attention to detail and more time spent preparing to not die. It will never be easier than hopping a Southwest flight. But more fun? YES.

A Maule will empty your bank account just as readily as a Cirrus. There is no such thing as too much due diligence during pre-buy. Borrow Tadpole's book and read it. It's not a seller's responsibility to make you happy, it's your responsibility to acknowledge and accept the imperfect things you concede on any aircraft. Even brand new ones have issues.

Engine blew up? It's all you man. No handing the keys back to the FBO and driving home to sleep well at night. That's why engine hours factor into aircraft price so heavily. Overhauls are $20k. A new engine is $25-50k. An ounce of prevention is worth its weight in gold. Certain things will always factor into resale price. Other people consider these, and you should too because you will eventually sell the aircraft.

Good luck! It's exciting to be in your position and dream of the possibilities. Paralysis-by-analysis is certainly a possibility, but that's fun too. I am right there myself.

I'm a cheap skate. I don't come from a wealthy family. I had to wait till I was 48 to afford my own plane.

I would have built my own experimental but I didn't have time because I still work after I retired from the fire department.

IMO the best bang for the buck is a Maule if you don't have time to build an experimental.

I could have bought several aircraft in the price range I had to work with. I got a 2000 Maule with 90TT .6 of an hour on a Lycoming rebuild. If I had opted for a 206, 180, 185 in the same price range I would have been looking at something probably from the 60s or 70s with lots of hours. I wanted something I could fly without lots of time replacing houred out parts.

Happy shopping

Hi, my name is Gary, and I am a backcountryaholic
It's like bein a junkie. I make $100(which is harder and harder to do these days), I go buy gas and go fly.
Buy whatever suits your needs best, but stay away from backcountry flying, unless you got really deep pockets, full of money. Stick with flying to some asphalt covered airport, 1/2 mile from where you live, with a good cafe. Have breakfast and go home.

You won't need to worry about max. power, stol kits, vg's, big tires, flying low(birds,towers, etc), size of your N numbers. You'll have much more money for those important things like dining room sets, matching washer/dryers, etc.



Na, it's all good, but can be pretty spendy. Like said earlier, keep it affordable. No fun to have a nice plane and not be able to afford to fly it.
Gary

If you have time, a set of decent tools, and a bit of money, what about buying a kit plane and piecing it together over 5 years? That way you have the satisfaction on building it and knowing every nut, screw, and bolt on the thing. A bit more freedom from regs as well. Lots of great choices out there these day no matter what flying style you have in mind.

My .02

Get out now before it's too late.

gb

EZFlap wrote:First and most important concept, by a factor of three orders of magnitude... is to make an honest, calculated, un-emotional assessment of what type of flying you want to do or will be doing for 80-90% of your flying. That will be the driving force behind the general direction you should go. Believe it or not, the cost or your budget is not the first factor.

That assessment needs to include whether you really need 4 seats and will use them. I'll guess that 75% of the (non-commercial operators) here who have four seats only fill all 4 of them them 20% of the time. If you have a wife, two kids, and the St. Bernard dog, who will always be flying with you, then not only do you need a 4 seat airplane but you need a REAL 4 seat airplane.

If you are going to be flying alone most of the time, and occasionally try to convince the wife to go for the $100 hamburger ride in the plane... then your needs can be met by a 2 seat airplane.

If you are buying an airplane to go boondocking and land on mountaintops way out on the back side of the planet, or if you need something to eventually get your instrument/commercial/space captain rating in... that answer drives the decision in other directions.

Once you figure out what you really need (and what you want), you at least have a place to start concentrating your search. THEN you can start looking at Ford vs. Buick vs. Porsche, and full-size cargo truck vs. hatchback econo-box, etc.

You have a HUGE advantage in that you can start thinking about this stuff now, flying different airplanes, and seeing what kind of flying you really do in actuality.

Wow thanks to everyone for responding. I'll respond to one post at a time as able

Really if I'm being honest I'd have to say most of the time I'll be flying on my own or with one other person, wife one of the kids, friend ect. I'd love to do backcountry and would enjoy that the most, as I love to camp and fish. Have a wife and two kids but don't see them coming with me all the time. So a four seated would be impractical. Defiantly wanting at "pick up truck" to haul me to fishing spots and camping with the wife or friend.

Tadpole wrote:mp, we need to get together for a beer...if you partake I got a book I'll loan ya. It's not the best and all-be-it, but it's called Airplane Ownership and will get you some base knowledge and help you understand some things about the process and all. I read it a few times, and then with that base, I went and talked with many, many owners about their experiences and so forth...including some folks that used to buy and sell planes for a living.

We do need to get together. I don't personally drink, but have no problems pounding a soda while someone sips some suds. Especially over airplane talk. I'd love to borrow that book. Let me know a good time for you.

nmflyguy wrote:Doing a lot of research prior to buying something as costly as an airplane is of course good advice. And analyzing your own needs beforehand, to better define the type of bird you want or need, is of course great too.

However, don't over-analyze it. Because when you own an airplane, and assuming you can afford to fly it as often as you want or need, it's a whole 'nother world than when you just dreamed of it.

Besides, your wants and needs are subject to change anyway. What works great early in your flying "career" (even if you're not a pro) may be just as great for the rest of your life ... or after you gain some flying confidence and hang out with other pilots and read stuff in mags and on the web, you may well find yourself yearning for something very different in fairly short order ... be it faster/higher/carries more/goes more of the places you want to go or just newer/prettier/or whatever.

The only way to tell what you really want is to go out and buy an airplane and then fly it - a lot. Then sooner or later you'll know if you picked the love of your life, or if she's just another girlfriend in a long succession. I know some pilot/owners who buy a plane, fly it for six months, and then trade off to another, just because they can ... and I know other pilots who bought their first (and only) airplane 25 or 30 years ago and have never strayed.

Bottom line - the only way you really know if "she's the one" (or one of many) is to buy her and fly her.

Wow you post makes me as giddy about buying a plane as when I first started dating. Very well put.

Zane wrote:There is knowledge that will help you make prudent decisions no matter what type of aircraft you decide to go with. Maule, Cessna, Piper, whatever...it's possible to get a poor deal or a great deal on any of them, but as long as you are armed with a good understanding of what aircraft ownership entails-- the real costs, responsibilities, and feasibility of use, you can avoid getting surprised. Owning is expensive. Flying is expensive. Do not try to justify it as anything more than a hobby. Do not tell yourself that you will travel further faster, no matter how fast you cruise, because everything in aviation takes more attention to detail and more time spent preparing to not die. It will never be easier than hopping a Southwest flight. But more fun? YES.

A Maule will empty your bank account just as readily as a Cirrus. There is no such thing as too much due diligence during pre-buy. Borrow Tadpole's book and read it. It's not a seller's responsibility to make you happy, it's your responsibility to acknowledge and accept the imperfect things you concede on any aircraft. Even brand new ones have issues.

Engine blew up? It's all you man. No handing the keys back to the FBO and driving home to sleep well at night. That's why engine hours factor into aircraft price so heavily. Overhauls are $20k. A new engine is $25-50k. An ounce of prevention is worth its weight in gold. Certain things will always factor into resale price. Other people consider these, and you should too because you will eventually sell the aircraft.

Good luck! It's exciting to be in your position and dream of the possibilities. Paralysis-by-analysis is certainly a possibility, but that's fun too. I am right there myself.

Thanks much Zane. Your words are greatly appreciated and taken to heart. Hopefully I'm taking the right step by setting a goal out far enough that is attainable and research and due diligence have time to take place.

RobBurson wrote:I'm a cheap skate. I don't come from a wealthy family. I had to wait till I was 48 to afford my own plane.

I would have built my own experimental but I didn't have time because I still work after I retired from the fire department.

IMO the best bang for the buck is a Maule if you don't have time to build an experimental.

I could have bought several aircraft in the price range I had to work with. I got a 2000 Maule with 90TT .6 of an hour on a Lycoming rebuild. If I had opted for a 206, 180, 185 in the same price range I would have been looking at something probably from the 60s or 70s with lots of hours. I wanted something I could fly without lots of time replacing houred out parts.

Happy shopping

An experimental is a option and not out of the question. Where I to go with that when would I need to start building to have an air plane in five years if I had, say 20 hours a week to work on it? Talk to me about Maules. To be honest Maules and husky's are what are grabbing my eye.

shortfielder wrote:Hi, my name is Gary, and I am a backcountryaholic
It's like bein a junkie. I make $100(which is harder and harder to do these days), I go buy gas and go fly.
Buy whatever suits your needs best, but stay away from backcountry flying, unless you got really deep pockets, full of money. Stick with flying to some asphalt covered airport, 1/2 mile from where you live, with a good cafe. Have breakfast and go home.

You won't need to worry about max. power, stol kits, vg's, big tires, flying low(birds,towers, etc), size of your N numbers. You'll have much more money for those important things like dining room sets, matching washer/dryers, etc.



Na, it's all good, but can be pretty spendy. Like said earlier, keep it affordable. No fun to have a nice plane and not be able to afford to fly it.

Gary

Any specifics on how I can keep it affordable?

mountainmatt wrote:If you have time, a set of decent tools, and a bit of money, what about buying a kit plane and piecing it together over 5 years? That way you have the satisfaction on building it and knowing every nut, screw, and bolt on the thing. A bit more freedom from regs as well. Lots of great choices out there these day no matter what flying style you have in mind.

My .02

I'd love to build as I'm working on an a&p. Currently not a lot of time to build, and a place to build is non-existent. (see my reply to rob). What would you recommend for a kit in the husky/maule fam? Any danger of buying piece meal and having the kit go away? Is reliability an issue?

Thanks for the help and advice.