Stories About your First Year Owning a Plane

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WorksWithPlanes@reddit

I did a proper pre buy with an experienced pre buy mechanic on a 182 (I’m also a mechanic) and did my own cursory.

Long story short. Engine started making metal within 40 hours and I got burned. Had to overhaul it to the tune of 40k at the time.

It’s always a risk and you can never be 100% sure. Best you can do is your due diligence and hope it works out. With that being said owning your own airplane is bitchin’

But very expensive

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taycoug@reddit

Here ya go, homie! You’ll love it. One of the best things I’ve done.

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Technikmensch@reddit

Yikes, your first annual cost more than our 150 cost 6 years ago.

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Technikmensch@reddit

The prices went up a lot after we bought it. Our annual is usually $700-1000. I guess since it's a simple plane and we try to keep up on stuff.

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Foxbat100@reddit

Damn, very cool overview - also love the Cardinal!! I am in the research phase on the west coast and your details are ridicululously helpful

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taycoug@reddit

Glad to hear it! I’ll say I’ve definitely gotten better at getting things done cost effectively since then.

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threeleafcloverspy@reddit (OP)

Awesome, great posts!

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Bought a 2014 Cirrus SR20 exactly 12 months ago, plane is in annual now. Flew it \~270 hours, not including a new paint job my hourly rate for the year was around $185/hr. That is less than what an old 172 rents for near me. One of the coolest things to see is that with all the flying the plane is doing now, every oil analysis that comes back looks better than the previous.

100% worth the purchase to have a plane available to me whenever I want, know the plane in and out, and know it is maintained to my standards! Good luck!

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Slick-62@reddit

Buying (2024) was an amazingly stressful experience for me. After much searching and losing out on Cherokees, Sundowners, and 172s, I finally landed a very nice Cardinal. THE Cardinal guy did the prebuy so I was happy. Circumstances were such that I couldn’t fly it home.

Ferry pilot was a retired airline pilot, Cardinal owner, stationed not too far away, knew the Cardinal guy, and is a cfi so got very much lucky. He signed me off the day after he arrived and my first solo in it was after flying him home.

First annual was $7k+ to replace a lot of worn but not unsafe stuff. Also first year installed GFC500 to replace the antique 300A.

Initially oil showed worrying high iron. Lab suspects it was from low recent time as iron’s gone down with use and lab says it’s wearing nicely.

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ebaydan777@reddit

when you say low recent time, what would you say that is. Just bought a comanche in December and havent been able to fly it every week, actually only once this past month. worrisome?

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Flimsy-Ad-858@reddit

Once a month is perfectly acceptable. That's about how often I get out in my airplane nowadays. Just make that once at least an hour or two of solid high power running.

If it routinely sits for 3-4 months then yeah that's an issue

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Slick-62@reddit

Pre-buy showed some slight rust in the cylinders from sitting so I expected iron to be high initially, and it was. Pre-buy guy said it would clean out with use, which was exactly what happened.

Previous owner went from >50 hrs annually to less than 10 per for most recent couple years (medical issue that took him last year). It sat for extended periods, but was hangared. Iron numbers have dropped significantly with use. 113 to 36 after 3 samples (30 hrs each). I’m just under 90 hrs per year.

If you haven’t done oil analysis yet I highly recommend it.

E: worrisome? No, I wouldn’t think so. As long as once a month isn’t the norm.

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LastSprinkles@reddit

I bought a Grumman Tiger two years ago. The good: being able to wake up and decide you are going somewhere on the day without telling anybody. Being able to take the aircraft away for weeks at a time. This has been amazing for me and I've done trips I wouldn't have done otherwise, flying across Europe and staying for a few weeks before flying back. (I'm based in the UK). You maintain the aircraft the way you see fit, you don't get dodgy maintenance like with some rental places unless you want to. If you come to the aircraft and something isn't the way you'd like you know exactly whose fault it is :).

The bad: Budget more money for maintenance than you'd think. Unless you're buying a new 182 with a manufacturer warranty there are likely to be things that will pop up that will require a significant amount of money to be spent in order to keep the aircraft safe and in good shape. So don't spend every penny on the aircraft (I also wouldn't recommend buying it on finance). My Grumman is from 1979 and I had to reseal the fuel tanks and do a few other minor things that all add up.

Having said that, all in all, I am happy I bought it. I flew more than I would renting and so long as you fly about 100-150 hours per year or so it won't cost you significantly more than it would renting for a similar number of hours (but it'd be tricky get to fly that much while renting IMO).

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threeleafcloverspy@reddit (OP)

The flexibility flying and parking the plane is probably the biggest appeal to me. I want to fly somewhere for the day/night/week/etc. and decide on that moment.

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LastSprinkles@reddit

Yeah makes sense. Group ownership/partnership is another option that can also be good (but I haven't had the best experience because people in partnerships can be very stingy with maintenance).

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Technikmensch@reddit

In 2019 we bought (before the prices went up!) a 150 locally for my daughter to train in. The previous owner was a A&P and had done some work on it. He replaced all the cylinders (one failed in flight after he bought it!), tires, & some other things a couple of years beforehand. We had another A&P do an inspection and he did find some minor issues. The owner fixed them before we bought it.

I did some work myself with the A&P signing off. New radio, the ones in it were from the 70s, Rudder pulleys and the turn coordinator failed that fall, not hard to swap out. It turned out to be cheaper to use the 150 for training all the way to CFII vs renting. My son also might get his license.

It's getting close to TBO. We always send in a sample of the oil to keep an eye on it.

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flyingron@reddit

I was lucky to have friends both who owned the same type (Navion) and who had extensive experience dealing with maintenance to advise me.

I bought mine through a broker. The broker sent me the owners manual (the plane is too old to have an AFM). Me and a buddy read the thing on our flight from IAD out to Madison Wisconsin. I had a brief exposure to Navions before. The buddy was a high time flight instructor who had flown everything from cubs to DC-8s.

I read all the service information on my plane and the various STCs. This is very helpful when dealing with mechanics (especially my initial Appalachian-American guys who couldn't read on their own). With my new mechanic, the first time I needed an oil change, she said bring it over Saturday. I went over and watched her do it. The second time, she handed me a screwdriver and a bucket and told me to go ahead.

My wife was a school teacher and she'd close up her classroom in June and head to the airport and hang out with the mechanic helping to move planes out of our way to get ours in and then Margy helped with the annual.

When the plane was restored, I did a lot of work: installing the new engine analyzer, fuel gauges, weighing the plane, etc... all under the supervision of the mechanic.

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ganderatc@reddit

Owned a 7ECA Citabria for 7 years (2017-2024). Had a prebuy on it before I bought it. Solid plane. Bought it to build tailwheel time.

Spend over 50% of the value of the plane on an engine overhaul in year 2. O-235 camshaft was toast. I also did most of the maintenance myself under A&P supervision so my mx costs were low apart from the engine and avionics upgrades.

Flew a lot the first year, much less after that, and sold the airplane when it no longer fit the mission and I got worried about parts costs. I didn’t make money, but I didn’t lose any either, and I learned a lot. It was worth it to me.

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Ratio_Physical@reddit

Bought a Cherokee 180 back in 2024. Was tied down outside and flown little I over the past few years.

It was and still is a great aeroplane. I flew it across Canada from Ottawa to Calgary, and have been enjoying a ton of cross country flight flights ever since.

Not going to sugar coat though, maintenance and upgrades have been very expensive, along with some uavionix AV30s, vac system pull, new radios, 406elt etc etc I could go on and on. It's been a project ( I like to think it's like Forza with continuos upgrades ). Still want to get a Garmin 175, with the AV link and I'll have it for light IFR.

With all the work that's been put into it, I may have been able (but maybe not) to get a better find, but the plane is getting to where I want it to be, and truly feels like my own now. I plan to hang onto it for quite a while, it's not fastest, but she's pretty smooth and get you anywhere with the right planning.

I'd do it again In a heart beat. For me, it was a long time dream and felt like achieving a major life goal since getting it. I love getting out and have put on over 500 hours in the 2 years...(Still not enough). I have several long distance trips planned, Sedona, grand Canyon, Toronto for a ball game, Chicago VFR fly way, Kitty Hawk NC, Alaska and northern Canada... Perhaps the Florida Keys.... All of it is very much achievable now.

I completely encourage you to move forward and make the purchase ( if not on this one, than another ).

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Santos_Dumont@reddit

Owning the plane is not the most stressful part of airplane ownership.

You get the plane. You fly. Stuff breaks. You spend money to fix it and fly again. You spend a lot of money and fly a lot.

The most stressful part of airplane ownership is when you stop flying and realize you are still paying a lot of money to not fly and need to sell the plane.

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JSTootell@reddit

I lucked out.

I made a friend who happened to be a pilot, who also happened to be a CFI with his own 172. When he decided to downgrade and sell the 172, he got a 150 in a partial trade. He asked if I would like to partner in with him to split costs, because he's rarely going to fly it (just teach his grand kids when they are ready). He then decided he would just rent when that day came, so I bought it completely from him, in exchange he can fly whenever he wants to.

Now I get all his knowledge and experience on tap, and all the pilots and mechanics at the field are all friends so everyone helps each other out.

A friend and I flew it from Washington to SoCal over a few days (not the same CFI friend, but one of his former students). That was a bit over a year ago.

Again, I lucked out.

I do as much work on it myself as possible. One of the mechanics replaced the directional gyro for me when it crapped out while he was renting it and teaching his first student. I did an owner assist annual last year, almost due for this year. But it's been pretty simple so far; it's a 150! 😂

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helno@reddit

Flew halfway across the country and rented a car to check it out. Signed an offer contingent on a rebut and headed home.

Prebuy took a while due to there being not many mechanics. Flew back out with a third guy to act as our safety pilot.

Found plane with a flat tire and while I found and filled a pig I look out and see the plane being hand propped. Turns out it had a push to start ignition switch.

Flew 9 hours in three legs in one day to get it home. My first flight in the plane is the longest I have ever flown it.

Had minor hail damage less than a month after buying it. Insurance cut us a big check which went straight into the engine fund.

First annual was pretty unremarkable. Been an interesting decade of ownership but have yet to have a holy shit this is expensive unplanned moment

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Glittering_Effect984@reddit

I flew my grandpa’s old skyhawk for a couple of years and it made me realize I never want to own my own plane

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threeleafcloverspy@reddit (OP)

Hah, whys that?

I’m not surprised. I think owning a plane is a terrible decision for a lot of people. And a great decision for a lot of other people. Just a bunch of trade offs.

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No-Cell-8208@reddit

Coming up on the end of year one and will have spent as much on MX as the amount I purchased the plane for. Granted, it had sat for two years and was missing the first set of logs, so I was expecting X amount of MX costs. Actual amount ended up being 2.5x that. Trusted a guy with the pre-buy I didn't know and the things he missed were downright professional negligence. I have a superb A&P at my home airport, but he's so good he finds every little thing, which gets expensive.

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equal2infinity@reddit

Bought a bonanza in 2024 from a local guy on my field. Didn’t do a pre-buy because I knew the on field A&P and combed thru the logs. First annual was about $17k which I was expecting. Had to reseal the prop and fix a blown out muffler and crack in the oil cooler. The engine was a concern being a higher time continental, but with proper care I’ve put about 200hrs on it and still seeing great compressions and oil samples. I have the oil changed every 25-30hrs and use cam guard.

I don’t do any of the maintenance because I have a business and would rather just pay someone else. Only had one AOG event which was taken care of fairly quickly over Christmas week. Fuel controller developed cracks in the seals due to the cold temps and was leaking. I had to shop around for the part for a couple of hours but all in I think it was <$1k including install to get me back in the air.

It’s really nice being able to just go fly whenever I feel like it. I’d love to have a partner but it would have to be the right fit. I’d recommend finding friends that have airplanes. Bonus points if they have the same kind of plane. Lots of tacit knowledge out there.

Now that I’ve got my multi I’m casually shopping for a Baron. Do I try to overhaul my engine before selling? will a Baron be too tight in my hangar? Aviation problems I guess.

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aftcg@reddit

30 years of ownership, 11 planes. Math says the first year cost me 20% the value of the airplane fixing the previous owner's failures. 2nd year is about 15%. Years after, 5% if that.

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ScottPWard@reddit

Here’s my experience from my late Dec 2024 purchase. Picked a RV-9A based on the flight school owner’s experience in building 2 other 9A’s, owns a 7A and 10. For me tapping into that knowledge is invaluable. I knew going in I would probably want to upgrade the 430W to something newer. CFI and I flew it back from Utah to DFW and “figured” things out. Anyhow, since I was pulling the 430w, opted for a new audio panel, new com2, new transponder, a few new antennas and upgraded gps receiver for the installed SkyviewHDX. Most of the planes I was looking at would have a panel upgrade when I got it.

Swapped out the single halogen landing lights for all new LED strobes, position, and landing lights. sent a magneto out for overhaul, had over 900hs on it. Replacing / upgrading parts that are wear items neglected by previous owners. About to go into 2nd conditional and plan to replace all tires and tubes. A lot of the work we can do ourselves, which makes it better. I’ve put about 170hrs on it since owning for 16 mos and had probably 4 months of down/weather/vacation time where I couldn’t fly it.

Would I do it again, yes. My mission is 95% just me on XC’s. Have my eye on a Twin Comanche as a possible addition, but goes out of annual tomorrow and needs panel work.

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iamflyipilot@reddit

First annual my A&P found significant damage that required spending about 30% of the purchase price to repair.

GET A PRE-BUY done by someone who is familiar with the pre-buy process and familiar with the aircraft type you are purchasing.

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walleyednj@reddit

In 2023, I bought a ‘74 Bellanca Super Viking. No surprises with the pre-buy. Did 15 hours of transition training (required by insurance). My partner and I put 230 hours on the plane in the first year. Just completed the 3rd annual since we’ve owned it, no surprises. We average about 75-100 hours each per year so far. It’s been an expensive pleasure to own. Love cruising XC at 155 kts.

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swedishlightning@reddit

Have owned my Mooney for a few years now and it’s been stressful/expensive at times, but I still love it.

I bought the plane in Texas and flew it back to VT solo, after getting transition training while still down in Texas. Highly recommend that approach. Hire a local CFI that knows the type to do a couple days of landings/approaches/etc. when you first buy the plane (less if you have time in type already). Then you’ll feel just confident enough to make the trip home. Completing the trip will 1) be an amazing memory/story, and 2) be a huge confidence boost going forward. You’ll be paying expenses for whoever flys the trip, so it may as well be your story/memory. I definitely wouldn’t do the “hire a CFI to help you take it home” thing because sitting for hours in cruise isn’t all that great training; better to just focus on training before you leave, and then not be on the hook for their hotels/meals.

I would also recommend budgeting to fly 25-50 hours as quickly as you can after purchase. First of all, you will want to play with your new toy as much as possible, so get out there and have some fun. Hit all your favorite $100 hamburger restaurants. Go take that long weekend trip that is such a pain to plan when you’re dealing with a rental schedule. Secondly, practicing a bunch when you’re still fresh out of transition training will help you keep your skills up. You’ve got me looking through my log book at the first month or so after purchase, and there are tons of memorable flights.

I was lucky to have nice mechanics on my field who were already super busy, so they were happy get me started on projects and then check my work. I highly recommend working on the plane so you have some baseline knowledge when it comes time to troubleshoot away from home.

Ownership isn’t all that hard when you break it down into the individual pieces (registration, insurance, annuals, ADs, nav data, etc.). One item that gets missed frequently is registering the ELT to yourself with NOAA (easy google search) so that if it goes off, the call/search for you instead of the old owner.

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Treader1138@reddit

Only about 5 months in, and loving it.

I found a unicorn while browsing Marketplace on a Wednesday night and bought a plane ticket to see it that weekend. It’s a TW-converted straight-tail 172 with an O360. Prebuy revealed some concerns, but nothing out of the ordinary for a 70 year old plane. My first annual is next month, and I know it’s going to be ~$10k but I told myself I wouldn’t be one of those owners who skimps on mx. It’s nothing crazy, but basically taking care of the big tickets from the pre-buy.

Other than that, I go up whenever I want, and get to experience flying with my family. It’s the dream.

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thatTheSenateGuy@reddit

I don’t know how to link my old comments on Reddit mobile… but I’ve mentioned this a few times.

I got a less than satisfactory prebuy; wound up finding a wing structure issue that resulted in both wings and some of the wing attach structure to be replaced. Was down 14months and cost around 30k to fix (luckily the Musketeer wings are not a hot commodity so they were much cheaper than a Piper or Cessna wing from salvage yards)

I’ve had to replace most of the engine accessories at this point.

So my advice is to make sure the prebuy person is good and puts in effort for you and is looking out for you.

Beyond that I have enjoyed having the plane; there are always annoying and teething issues but I’m happy to have it and to fly it.

As for how did I find details; I looked online and AOPA resources. I did this during Covid so the market was wacky.

I do oil changes occasionally; but if I have other maintenance to do at the same time I just give it to the shop as they can do it faster.

I did fly back MI to CA with a CFI relative.

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ClayCrucible@reddit

Here you go! My one-year post owning my 182RG, which I wrote just about a year ago. https://www.reddit.com/r/flying/s/nHVvTcEAEz

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threeleafcloverspy@reddit (OP)

Those write ups (original and the year update) were great. They’re the kinds of things I was hoping to read.

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rFlyingTower@reddit

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

I’m close to pulling a trigger on a 182 and I’d love to hear people’s experiences their first year owning a plane. Good and bad. How did you learn the little details of aircraft ownership? Did you do any work yourself? Were you able to fly it home yourself?

The wiki has some links to posts, but they’re all 10+ years old.

And if it makes sense to just post your story separately that’s cool too.

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