Airplane purchase | TheaterFire

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skyhawk85u@reddit

I bought the plane before the (second) wife. Actually the first plane was purchased with the (wrong) wife but that was so long ago I don’t remember how that happened

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Kemerd@reddit

It’ll never be a good financial decision. But it is worth it I think. Airplanes tend to hold their value well too, so think of it as an investment

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You'll never get the money out that you put into a plane. Between mx, insurance, hangar, and gas, the plane may sell for close to what you bought it for but the amount youll put into that will exceed it. And if your close or past tbo expect to sell it below asking.

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Kemerd@reddit

I sold my plane for about $20-30K more than I bought it for, including all maintenance items (oil, tires, annuals), avionics upgrades, etc; kept track with a spreadsheet. And I got about 200 hours of essentially free flying out of it, minus gas.

Although I did upgrade the interior and have a shop do up the avionics.

It is doable if you take care of your aircraft, it costs some sweat equity.

I know a ton of guys who sell planes for $100K more than they bought them for 5-10 years after. Beats the stock market!

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EnthusiasmHuman6413@reddit

Marriages hold their value too if you treat them as an investment.

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MarthaKingsButtplug@reddit

Have you considered buying the airplane and renting the companionship?

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old_flying_fart@reddit

"Has anyone just asked for forgiveness?"
It would be cheaper and quicker to ask for a divorce.
This is a relationship question, not a flying question.

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nightlanding@reddit

"That is what my first wife said"

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MLZ005@reddit

Do you like your spouse even. I love planes but I’d love my partner more

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Granite_burner@reddit

That’s a nasty can of worms to open.

How much does your partner love you if they are dead set against something they know you love?

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RelevantFail7799@reddit

Why not just rent the plane?

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InvestigatorOne2@reddit

If it floats, flies, or fornicates, rent it!

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MeyersonAdam@reddit

Past performance is no indication of future success, BUT I sure wish I’d bought about a dozen small planes in 2008🤷‍♂️

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gromm93@reddit

Shares in Tesla would have been a much better bet, and you would be able to afford a dozen airplanes today with that cash-out.

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MeyersonAdam@reddit

I bought (and sold) those. Not as much fun as a plane. I also remember trying to figure out how to get Bitcoin when it was less than a dollar a coin. So many missed opportunities 🤷‍♂️

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gromm93@reddit

Oh I totally agree.

But as investment opportunities go, missed or otherwise, airplanes aren't really appreciating assets. They're a mechanical apparatus that wears out over time and use, thus usually depreciating.

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You-Tubor@reddit

I sold a plane in 2024 for $35k more than I paid for it 5 years earlier.

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jimngo@reddit

Sure, that could happen for any airplane. But $40,000 annuals can also happen.

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Rangeexpert3@reddit

Sometimes it is sometimes it isnt. This is highly dependent on the person and the situation.

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shrunkenhead041@reddit

Get one or two good partners, then get a plane. If you are selective about your partners, it is a much less financially painful way to own a plane than trying to do it yourself. It is also better for the plane, because it is rare that a single pilot owner flies it enough to keep the engine happy.

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jimngo@reddit

Just rent. Or perhaps your SO could be convinced to allow you to join an ownership club. But at least in my house each spouse has "veto power" and it's respected when that person feels strongly enough to use it.

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Rangeexpert3@reddit

Depends, are you licensed to fly it? You didn't mention that important detail. If you have 0 hours I could see why your SO it against it.

OTOH if you have lots of hours and fly often, have you tried compromising? How about buying a share of a plane?

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EnthusiasmHuman6413@reddit

Have you considered respecting your partners opinion. “Absolutely non-negotiable” sounds like a pretty strong one.

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LikenSlayer@reddit

If thats the case, they wouldn't be married. Terms of conditions can always be negotiated.

First, you try the carrot, and then you use the stick!

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Celestialdischarge1@reddit

You've got it backwards, -they- get the stick, -you- get a shallow hole in the ground.

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EnthusiasmHuman6413@reddit

I’ll try this next disagreement.

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LikenSlayer@reddit

I'm coming up on 25yrs of marriage. Terms can always be met for both parties

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ricktherick@reddit

Waste of money is not a fair term. If you get enjoyment out of it, it's not a waste. If she's looking at it as the most cost efficient way of going somewhere, then yes, it is, but that's not the point, is it? If you don't spend money on things you enjoy for the pure enjoyment of it, you would have no vacations, never go out to eat, never go to concerts, etc.

I took my wife flying with me in rentals before I bought my plane to some fun, but hard to access destinations. In the northeast US, we went to block island, Martha's vineyard, nantucket, cape cod, motauk. She gets no joy out of the flying part the way I do, but she likes that a small plane can take us places that we otherwise probably wouldn't go, at least not nearly as often. Now she couldn't imagine us not having the plane, especially because we sometimes travel with the dogs, and that's quite complicated to do on airliners.

As someone who's been married over a decade, no, I wouldn't just ask for forgiveness, but I don't think this forum is about marriage advice.

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AlexJamesFitz@reddit

Why not start with a club or partnership first? If it's solely about the financial aspect, those are lower-cost-of-entry ways to get in. Then maybe you take her on some flights to some cool places she likes and see where it goes from there.

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EliteEthos@reddit

The physical purchase is only part of it.

Collectively, it’s a bad use of money.

Are you a pilot already? What are your plans with it? How often will you fly it?

Renting is a good alternative to not eat the full maintenance bills that come with ownership.

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Mundane-Reality-7770@reddit

Im an owner and airplane ownership is an incredibly stupid way to spend money...but the enjoyment and availability makes up for it.

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EvelioCigar@reddit

Much better than owning a boat.

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Mundane-Reality-7770@reddit

Disagree. I can legally fix my boat myself. I also have a much higher likelihood of not dying if the engine quits.

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EliteEthos@reddit

This.

It’s maddening to know that I possess the skills to mechanically fix my plane but I still have to find a shop, wait for them to have availability and then pay through the eyes for them to do the most basic things… just because they have to sign the logs

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Mundane-Reality-7770@reddit

Looking to overhaul my io540 k1a5. I can find an io540 k1g5 which shares almost all of the same parts except the accessory case. The k1g5 is on the pa32 tcds...it just excludes my serial number. Can I overhaul this k1g5 myself and bolt on my accessory case? Physically yes? Legally? Even if I had an a&p sign off on my work no.

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EliteEthos@reddit

Yup. It drives me crazy. And with things being certified, the few manufacturers charge stupid amounts of money for parts just to put the “FAA-PMA” on it.

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EliteEthos@reddit

Same. I agree… to an extent. I own a 150 and have a clear purpose for it. It works… for now, but I can completely see the circumstance when it no longer does.

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Mundane-Reality-7770@reddit

Pa32. It's purpose is to take me on vacation as well as somewhere fun for meals. I can fly commercial most places way cheaper and faster than flying myself. I can also find better local restaurants around than at airports. But dammit flying is fun

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LikenSlayer@reddit

Sounds like you entered into the negotiating phase. Asking someone not to follow their dreams or ambitions is forcing them to live a life they dont want. Physically taking control over them.

I've talked to many people at the final stages of their life. Not once did they talk about what they achieved, things they bought or saw.

It was always about what they didn't do, but wish they had attempted.

"No one is getting out of this game alive"

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ExpensiveCategory854@reddit

I have the opposite issue, just don’t have the $$ to buy one yet.

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walleyednj@reddit

“Has anyone just asked for forgiveness?”

This sounds like an absolutely ideal setup for the divorce where you lose half of everything and the plane.

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ptownpcs@reddit

My wife bought a stable five years ago… new SR22T G7 required no convincing 😆.

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Goop290@reddit

Can confirm money pit. How often do you use your boat?

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Vee-One-Rotate@reddit

I’ve owned my own plane since 2019. For me, it is a complete waste of money. 🤷🏼‍♂️

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poser765@reddit

Ask for forgiveness applies to like buying an Xbox or some shit. Maybe one of those green egg smoker things. Not, NOT, a $125k Mooney or whatever.

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Ill_Maintenance8920@reddit

I usually find this kind of discussion hinges on something else. They think the purchase takes away from other goals. Sounds like the power dynamic is tilted in their direction for finances normally, so they feel it’s their responsibility to protect the goals set in place.

Also look into fractional ownership.

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bigbyte_es@reddit

I got my ultralight license years ago while I was dating the girl that now is my wife. One day I came home and told her that I’ve bought an airplane.

We had the argument all couple have when the man buy something related to his hobbys and, at the end is YOUR money that YOU earned so there is no argument possible.

If you really can afford it and you’ll have enought money so the daily life with your partner (dates, holidays, etc) will be the same be a man and buy what you want.

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EvelioCigar@reddit

ALL the women in my life know of my flying, racing and motorcycles (owned a 172XP, raced Porsche 911's and was Road Captain for a famous MC): these are ALL non-negotiables. It's what attracts them.

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NoConcentrate9116@reddit

Cool guy alert

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flyghu@reddit

I told her I wanted to buy a plane. She said do it. I love my wife.

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PlasticDiscussion590@reddit

If you’re self employed could the airplane be used for business purposes and written off? If so you can take a significant portion of the purchase price against your income. That assumes a lot of things, talk to a cpa.

It’s also completely likely your SO is thinking clearly and you should listen. It’s easy to get focused on a thing and lose sight of the big picture.

I bought my first plane with my wife’s reluctant permission. The second one she was less excited about, but we used it as a family quite a bit. She wasn’t sad to see it go, but not happy either. Now that we don’t own an airplane we’re happier, and we travel more to more places.

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draggingmytail@reddit

I really need to look into this. I do realestate investing, primarily land. And I can easily justify using the plane to scope out properties.

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PlasticDiscussion590@reddit

Be sure to look into recapturing the deduction if you sell. You either have to roll it into another purchase or write the irs a big check.

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appenz@reddit

I am using my PC-12 (and previously an SR22T) for business and pleasure. It's a fair amount of paperwork and you pretty much need to retain a firm to make sure everything is properly documented and classified. But if a major part of your use is business, it does make a substantial difference financially.

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CLRTOLND@reddit

Can you actually afford it?

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grumpyoldman10@reddit

It is a big waste of money. Ask her what she plans on spending all that money on after you kick the bucket.

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Disastrous-Isopod626@reddit

Airplane purchase should only be made if one can truly afford it for an extended period of time. Analysis of your actual use and actual costs must be made. Hourly use costs include fuel, oil, landing fees, parking fees, ground transportation fees. Hangar / tiedown fees, insurance fees, depreciation, repairs and maintenance costs. I’ve owned an airplane for decades and it is not low cost. Flying clubs are a very good alternative. One flying club i belonged to was so inexpensive that it still amazes me. Renting can be very expensive, but if you will fly infrequently, is much less expensive than owning. Good luck with whatever path you choose.

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Mundane-Reality-7770@reddit

Form an LLC after your wife approves

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Puddleduck97@reddit

I explained the financials and we had a rational discussion about it.

Knowing that provided that they are looked after, they don't depreciate all that much, helped.

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redditburner_5000@reddit

Have you asked why they feel that way? Knowing why would help you course correct your messaging.

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StrollinThruChaos@reddit

I had to buy her a new kitchen….

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Rich-Cut-8052@reddit

I am a mechanic so I picked up a ramp queen super cheap and started rehabbing it without telling my wife. I told her after a year, she wasn’t happy about it but I took her for a flight and was granted forgiveness. Now she has gotten savvy about the whole thing and has loudly announced that if I get a boat she is divorcing me. She means it!

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Tman3355@reddit

So when you gonna tell her about the boat...? 😂

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Tman3355@reddit

My wife was dead set against it until recently. I just get sending her reels of airplane camping and fly-ins. And just kept sewing the seed. But I'm also an airline pilot so flying isnt unfamiliar to her but she doesn't like the idea of small planes.

Now that we have a kid and all my family is more than 4 hours drive away the thought of being able to see the grandparents in a quick 2 hour hop is really starting to appeal for her.

One word of caution is that convincing is just the tip of the iceberg, you need to make sure that you dont get the "i told you so" after. I went and saw a plane and it was a crazy deel but passed because it needed work that would leave it down for a month or so. My wife said thats okay but I didnt want her first experience of ownership to be the maintenance hangar right out the gate. I want to give her the good experience so when the inevitable maintenance comes shes wishing for it to be done to go again rather than hating it from the start.

Have you taken her up in a rental before? Id start there.

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ammo359@reddit

For what it’s worth… I have enough cash to buy an airplane, but am still renting because I just don’t see these prices holding very long. The public perception is shifting away from “pilot shortage” and toward “pilot oversupply”, seems like we’re due for 152s selling for under 50k.

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RexFiller@reddit

You have to put it in perspective of how much is it going to cost and how it will affect your other finances, etc. If youre buying a plane before a house, kids, etc and it will put you in a rough spot then probabaly not a good idea. If your spouse only hang up is they dont like aviation then join the club and fly without them. It sucks but its better than not flying at all.

If they are dead set against it then nothing you say will suddenly make them want a plane but when they see you flying to fun places with your friends instead of them they might change their mind. Also no spouse wants to do laps in the pattern and PPL maneuvers so dont even think about that to win them over.

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FishrNC@reddit

It may not be the money but the perceived danger of single engine, owner operated, aircraft. I know, not true, but try to convince some people it isn't.

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rFlyingTower@reddit

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

How do people go about convincing their SO it’s ok to purchase a plane?

My “better” half is dead-set against it. Considers it a complete waste of money. Has zero interest in aviation. We are self employed, aircraft would be purchased with cash but it’s an absolute non-negotiable for “this stage of life” apparently.

Has anyone just asked for forgiveness?

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