NEVER Buy an Airplane Without Knowing This First

When I was buying an airplane, it was incredibly helpful for me to think through my airplane buying criteria in terms of the mission I needed the airplane to accomplish. Answering the six questions in this video should help you identify your average mission that you need a plane to accomplish, which should help you narrow down your airplane search.
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[@highendaudio]

Cirrus SR22 here. Great useful load. Climbs like a frighten turtle. Fast as F! Technologically advanced. FIKI. Fly’s like a fighter jet. And the best part no one talks about: lack of drag. No bits and bobs and arms and rivets hanging off it.

[@steveh2027]

What are your thoughts on adding pilot skill to that list. There are planes I want and could probably afford but I just don't have the skill for it at this point 😂

[@shakey2634]

I have a relative that has owned many airplanes throughout his long life and he has often said, "Buying an airplane is cheap, it's owning it that's expensive."

[@EmilyTienne]

The only thing that’s changed since your friend told you this is that buying one, even old and decrepit, is now expensive too.

[@shakey2634]

@@EmilyTienne His point was that once you purchase that plane, you still have an asset. One that you can sell at maybe a small profit in the future. All your other expenses leave and generally don’t come back.

[@EmilyTienne]

@@shakey2634 You’re right, planes hold value very well, much like real estate. The finest sports car will not. That said, people who would normally enter GA for pleasure or business can’t afford even a five year old airplane. This makes GA a more exclusive endeavor than it’s ever been, and that in turn inflates costs even more. It’s a vicious circle.

[@HyperSpaceProphet]

182 is a pretty capable airplane. I had a p model and loved it, but I needed more carry and faster and wanted a twin for over the mountains. So right now I own a 340...can still land on a 2500 ft strip with the Rstol kit but can also fly fast. Plus deicing and IFR . Having said all that, I miss my 182. BTW, twice as fast costs at least three times more per hour. maybe 5 times. One other thing to consider...Pressurized or not? Pressurized is a big deal of you wanna go high (and fast). I am not likely to ever own an unpressurized plane again. Love your videos. I learned many of the lessons you teach the harder way.

[@andrewagner2035]

Greetings from Cape Town. I have owned a C182 in the past, but now have 2x Cessna U206G

[@ericsd55]

In addition, ya gotta have about 20-30% the value of the plane in cash sitting around in a liquid account to pay for stuff that will pop up. There really isn’t any airplane warranty for us normal people. Sauce: I’ve owned 7 aeroplanes over the years. Currently own a Baron. And yes, speed and useful load increases at the cube root in cost, it seem. lol

[@rickunruh8132]

Very practical. Thank you.

[@GoPetty43]

When I started flying in 1989 (gulp, now I feel old) the generally accepted rule was to buy the plane that would do 90% of your flying and rent the rest of the time. This is pretty close to your 80% rule. But there's a big problem with that. 30 years ago you could walk into an FBO and rent a 182, 182RG, a Cherokee 235 or a Bonanza pretty easily. It wasn't a big deal and as long as you were flying regularly there really weren't a lot of proficiency requirements. That isn't accurate today. At my home field the only "20%" plane available to rent is an SR22. It's rental rate is $450/hr and they require you to fly it for 2 hours every month to stay proficient. There is also a 4 hour day rate if you keep it overnight. So if you wanted to take it on a long weekend you are going to have to pay for two hours of proficiency flying within the previous month and 12 hours for the weekend. That's $6300 to pay for a 2 hour checkout and 3 days at 4 hours/day. If you chose to maintain currency in that aircraft for one year it would be another $9900. That's $16,200 spent on renting your "20%" airplane, or an extra $1350 per month you could just spend buying a more capable plane to start with. If you have a legit need to rent an upgraded plane once or twice a year you really need to consider what that is going to cost and include that in your decision. If the budget is there to make that rental, the budget is also there to just get the bigger/faster/better plane. And rent is money you will never get back. On the more expensive plane you may actually get a return on that investment when you sell it.

[@ItsEverythingElse]

ROI, lol. Owning is way more expensive than buying and you aren't getting most of the owning costs back.

[@GoPetty43]

​@@ItsEverythingElse That's true regardless of which plane you buy, so why not buy the one that meets all of your needs? My hangar is my biggest ownership expense and is likely more than all of my other expenses together. Spending a little more on a plane that does more and will likely be worth more when you sell it is still better financially than renting. Getting something back, even if it is a fraction of your investment, is better than the nothing you get back from renting. And let's not forget that we're talking about a hobby that can in no way be financially justified anyway.

[@rafaelfigueroa2479]

Hardly hangar is the higher cost. Maintenence and fuel is way more. Also with bigger planes all costs increased, operational cost of a small plane is 200 an hour as it can be 2000 with light jets.

[@GoPetty43]

@@rafaelfigueroa2479 I said MY hangar was MY biggest expense. Do you have some familiarity with my finances above and beyond my own that I need to know about?

[@MarekKnappe]

@@GoPetty43 Not saying that it's not, but my hangar is compared to 1.5h flying expense (per month), and with only 1.5h per month my insurance would be bigger - so either you have very expensive hangar, or something is weird :)

[@Four_Words_And_Much_More]

More common sense. I love it. TY

[@johnmohanmusic]

My mission: Transport me and occasionally my wife and dog on trips between 300 and 1200 nautical miles to visit friends and family with the best combination of speed and efficiency possible. Solution: Mooney M20E, M20J or M20K 252 MSE. Also, we both are fairly thin with long legs. As such, the perfect fit in a Mooney interior.

[@keithhoward9238]

Great informative video. Forgot about TOC aspect of ownership.

[@brettdodge8699]

Welcome back!

[@Grhb778]

De Havilland Beaver on Straight Floats in the Summer and Wheel Skis in the Winter 😎

[@curryblackwell1769]

Another great video. Honest, and very informative. I'm flying in and out of Addison while my son is in Flight, school. Maybe I will run into you. Thanks again.

[@AirplaneAcademy]

Thanks! And cool, if you see me come say hi!

[@MarekKnappe]

I think there is one more factor that you didn't talk about, it's $ per hour of flight. I'm flying 172 and it's great plane, but with 35 liters AVGas per hour and 120kn, it's very expensive for crusing, and since I do flights with one or two people (90%) I start thinking of buying some ultralight plane (like areobat) that would get 18l/h normal grade gas, and that would allow me to fly a lot more often :)

[@drvaleriejuliebrousseau9607]

Sorry to hear your are flying alone… if I every come around your area, I will reach out… !

[@justplanefred]

I'm just curious is there much more room in the left seat on a 182 vs a 172? The discovery flight I took in a 172 my knee was pretty firmly on the trim wheel housing to the point of being rather uncomfortable at times...

[@charlesfrantz230]

great video, Bet your glade you bought your airplane 8 years ago. I want to get into a 182 so I started looking WOW. Why a 182, I'm 6'4" at 250 so the clubs 172 was very uncomfortable what I do most now which is XC flying. WOW did I mention the cost. Anyways I try to catch all your videos, happy and safe flying. Charlie

[@Richard-xe1it]

I agree! 182 prices are stupid right now.

[@DrewHanks2083]

How far are you from Nashville, Tennessee? I would love to go flying with you. Lol.

[@deltaecho1776]

I don’t even have a pilots license, but I want to soon. For me I like tech and advancements. So a diamond aircraft for the safety, glass panel, diesel engines, and fadec is most appealing. It’s beyond me why most ga planes are still using 50+ year old tech on new aircraft.

[@danielwirth8388]

If you need copilot fly kggg I'll fly with ya❤

[@GusHeck]

I don't know about the 80%... that's probably a good starting point, but then I think you have to ask are there any less common missions that I can't survive without. I'm yet to buy any plane, and I suspect most of my flying will be solo just like you, but it's unacceptable to make this level of investment if I can't ever take my wife and some luggage to a destination, or if doing so puts me in the position of pushing the useful load limits, or reduces the range substantially. Also those missions will be much safer if I am IFR rated (and current) and the plane is IFR capable, because such trips typically would need to be planned in advance and a wider envelope of weather in which they can be conducted safely would reduce the number of "hard go/no go decisions" required, and reduce the chance of being stranded by changing forecast and missing work on the return. Stranded is better than dead, but it's not desirable either. So even though it's a minority mission, its still important to me. Car buying decisions can be like that too. I have a ICE truck not because I typically need a truck but because I rarely need to tow a fully enclosed trailer that weighs 5000lbs for long distances. Otherwise I'd be fine with a hatchback EV... (I miss my mazda 3)

[@SuperchargedSupercharged]

500 lbs. payload, while going 650 miles