Is it ever worth it to buy an airplane for the sole purpose of instructing?

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Worried-Ebb-1699@reddit

Be mindful of if your company allows outside flying.

Could be a moot point if they say no.

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youll have to decide whether you want to do this as a hobby or a business. if business, then you can claim and deduct expenses (insurance, fuel, aircraft depreciation, etc.) to offset renevue. you’ll have to show some profit. if you continue to show losses every year, then it’s deemed a hobby and all expenses are disallowed but you’ll still be taxed on the revenue.

if you’re doing for the love of instructing and you have other income which can support the hobby then it doesn’t matter.

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DDX1837@reddit

Is this on top of your airline gig? Or are you leaving the airlines and doing this as a retirement thing?

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BrtFrkwr@reddit

It's been done, but the insurance will eat you alive. Set up an LLC for it so some numb-nuts student doesn't kill himself in the plane and you lose everything.

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AngryCamelTeeth@reddit

It’s only worth it if you look at it in terms of the students subsidizing you owning your own plane.

If you’ll be using this trainer yourself for some mental health flights or short trips with the fam, then sure. Otherwise, it’s going to be a lot of stress and setting money on fire.

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HangarLolo@reddit

Find a school to rent your aircraft and pay for maintenance. Fantastic investment.

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ZOB_oo_land@reddit

Depends on your definition of "worth it". After insurance for instruction there's a 0% chance you make money if you're just teaching on your own. Better option might be lease back to a flight school and do some work with them, which is what I do.

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livebeta@reddit

It makes more sense to do an Advantage Aviation style instruction

CFI/I and students are part of a flying clubs with group insurance and using club planes.

Racking up those hours and required inspection hours isn't very wallet friendly

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grumpycfi@reddit

I'd struggle to see how you break even, tbh. Insurance alone for instruction is gonna be a lot. Like you need to fly it several hundred hours per year for it to amortize properly a lot. So if you don't plan to at least teach that much, I'd say skip it. You're probably better off making friends with a local flight club and seeing if you can work through them.

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ABlix@reddit

I know a CFI that did that...basically had his own flight school with one plane. He ended up selling the plane and the flight school once he went to the airlines. I can try reaching out to him and putting you in touch if you had questions, just DM me. It's been a while since we've connected though so no promises.

It's a fun idea, but just remember:

1) You'll basically be operating a business. You'll need the proper insurance, you'll need to find clients, market the business, field phone calls, invoice, etc...it's going to be a lot of work! If you're excited about the idea anyway, then do it. You probably won't make money, but who knows.

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BisonFree2915@reddit (OP)

Right, definitely a lot of work. Would be very happy with just breaking even. Thanks for the reply!

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FlowerGeneral2576@reddit

To make it worth it, you’ll have to instruct a decent amount, and your airline may not like that very much. Your CPO will have to be on board with it first.

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rFlyingTower@reddit

This is a copy of the original post body for posterity:

Airline FO and CFI/CFII looking to get back into some GA instructing for the love of the game. Anyone bought a 172 or something of the sort for the sole purpose of instructing? Thoughts? Experiences? Thanks!

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