Fly More Save More by Scott Smith

Favoriteflyer

He is obviously one of the subscribers to the business theory: "You may be losing money on every widget, but you can make up for it in volume." I have been a pilot (and aircraft owner) for over 42 years, and retired CPA; taught Accounting and Finance in addition; his logic is that which would be perfect for the inside of a bubble gum wrapper,

empannin

Hi,

Are you referring to this?

I did not read the whole article yet but I would say most owners pay more per hr vs renting but this comes with the flexibility of owning vs renting too. You can still find a 172 renting for < $100 wet (Although more likely $120+) from the graph above the break even point is ~ 350 hrs or $35,000.

Resq5hvy

I know my plane is a money pit but the flexibility it affords us is meaningful. We have been able to do a few out of town horse shows with my daughter and have her home for school on Monday when her horse did not get home till about the time she got up for school. Her coach does not feel pressure to get her home and can drive during non-rush hour traffic.

The greatest thing owning vs renting has given me is time. Not more productive time but time to set up the cockpit, warm the engine, preset frequencies, I don’t care that the tach is counting up. I am not rushed to takeoff and get on with the flight. I fly at my speed not “I gotta get this thing parked, it is costing me too much money.” I don’t care if I do a 360 for spacing, I offer to let others go in front of me when I feel the least bit of pressure from someone. I think I am flying safer.

I also know every MEL/CDL the plane has. I also know every quark and know real fast when something is off just a little.

My CFI friend is teaching his wife and my SIL to fly. Not being stuck to 1 hour blocks he can teach till their brains are full. He says lessons are easier. They can stop mid way and do a debrief, go back out and fly some more.

I most certainly do not regret buying my plane.

griff390

https://piperowner.org/talk/discussion/comment/1444405#Comment_1444405

Resq:

THIS!!!

I've had similar thoughts and experiences (minus a daughter and horses).

For years, I used my plane for business. The flexibility of a private aircraft allowed me to see multiple customers per day, and go when I wanted and how I wanted.

I don't miss having to be at a commercial airport 2 hrs before departure, pay $59/day for parking, or go through the ever-so-pleasant TSA strip search. I haven't even mentioned how I enjoyed the copious legroom on commercial planes, waiting to see if my bags show up on the luggage-go-round, or the ever so popular rental car roulette.

You know, it almost sounds like I'd rather fly myself! 🤣🤣

jacobsja

And despite running the engine a bit longer due to lack of pressure from the rental meter running, will argue that lower maintenance costs more than offset taking that extra time to do stuff.

Renters hop in the plane and apply "rental power" from takeoff to landing. Sure, the engine's rating allows it to fly this way (providing the mixture is correct), but there is enough evidence to support that engine lives also have a tighter correlation with fuel consumption and looser correlation with revolutions.

Renters might, or might not, fess-up to some damage which leaves it as a discoverable item in the future, and possibly leads to secondary repairs which cost more than repairing the original issue. By owning the plane, preflights are much quicker as the owner does not have to go into hyper-vigilance inspection mode as the plane is a known item.

CFI's who do not truly understand the principles of fuel mixture might train pilots to apply techniques potentially harmful to the engine's life. While owner pilots might also fall into this trap, the behavior typically self corrects sooner or later.

So, all of the above are more items which have the potential to bring down insurance costs and total costs.

Griff, about that stress of going through TSA. I wear a kilt and essentially dare the TSA to figure out whether there is anything under that layer.

Resq5hvy

I forgot about the TSA. @griff390 for the win.

@jacobsja I forgot about the fact the plane is exactly the same condition I left it. It is so nice having no surprises something has been removed from the plane.