Buying vs Renting

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photofly
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Re: Buying vs Renting

Post by photofly »

Lol. If you're dumber for reading it, how do you feel having contributed to it?
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challenger_nami
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Re: Buying vs Renting

Post by challenger_nami »

Owning an airplane takes money, discipline and dedication. I bought my airplane for my PPL and sold it after my CPL.
Best decision I ever made.

If you buy an aircraft, be sure you have the discipline in your flight planning. If you don’t, you might end up putting yourself in danger and no one can stop you... example: you end up VFR into IMC etc ...That is how so many private pilots end up crashing.

At least if you are renting, there are eyes on you and there are safeguards to stop you if your decisions don’t add up.

If you have what it takes, then buy. It’s an awesome experience.
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jakeandelwood
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Re: Buying vs Renting

Post by jakeandelwood »

challenger_nami wrote: Sun Sep 20, 2020 10:52 am Owning an airplane takes money, discipline and dedication. I bought my airplane for my PPL and sold it after my CPL.
Best decision I ever made.

If you buy an aircraft, be sure you have the discipline in your flight planning. If you don’t, you might end up putting yourself in danger and no one can stop you... example: you end up VFR into IMC etc ...That is how so many private pilots end up crashing.

At least if you are renting, there are eyes on you and there are safeguards to stop you if your decisions don’t add up.

If you have what it takes, then buy. It’s an awesome experience.
So what safeguards are you talking of? No one babysat me when I've rented a plane, ive had to turn around and divert in crappy weather in a rental, no one told me to, I could have kept going. I find it the other way around, i'm more cautious now that I own my own plane, if I rip the nose wheel off on my own plane it's my problem to sort out, not like a rental where I call the flying club, say sorry and call a cab.
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challenger_nami
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Re: Buying vs Renting

Post by challenger_nami »

jakeandelwood wrote: Sun Sep 20, 2020 8:02 pm
So what safeguards are you talking of? No one babysat me when I've rented a plane, ive had to turn around and divert in crappy weather in a rental, no one told me to, I could have kept going. I find it the other way around, i'm more cautious now that I own my own plane, if I rip the nose wheel off on my own plane it's my problem to sort out, not like a rental where I call the flying club, say sorry and call a cab.
Unless you rent from another private person, you most likely rent from a Flight Training Unit. They usually have a dispatching system which requires the renter pilot to produce the evidence that they have properly done their weight and balance, flight route planning, weather and fuel planning etc. And the airplane usually go through proper inspection in accordance with commercial requirements.

True that Some dispatchers don’t know/care about their jobs. There is always room to cheat that dispatching system and go around it for someone who is willing to. But for most parts, the system works.

Preflight planning is where most of the risky issues relating to private general aviation can be prevented. And the place which rents the airplane to the pilot, kind of forces the pilots to do their home work and flight planning.

If you get into crappy weather in flight, yes, it’s you who should make the decision what to do next. It’s called pilot Decision Making. No one can/should/will tell you what to do when you get in that situation. But if you had done your weather planning homework, you would not be in that situation.

On the other hand, the pilot who own the aircraft, does not answer to anyone. (S)he can just go flying whenever desired, without doing any sort of planning. And that’s where things can potentially go bad for private pilots and airplanes:
. Fuel Exhaustion
. Encountering Forecasted Bad Weather
. VFR to Forecasted IMC
. Preventable Engine Failures

If you don’t believe me, review the TSB & NTSB reports on general aviation accidents.

By the way, thank you for confirming my points:
Yes, if you rip the nose gear off, you need DISCIPLINE ... you can not just walk away from it. Your airplane, your baby.
Also, you need MONEY, like I said, to fix that nose gear.

Disciplined Private General Aviation Is safe and Enjoyable.
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digits_
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Re: Buying vs Renting

Post by digits_ »

My longest flights I've ever done were in a rental 172. I think I might have been the only one that landed a rental plane in Eureka. Find a rental place that is willing to work with you. I rarely fly my own plane more than an hour from my home because I don't want the hassle if something breaks.

99% of the flights any PPL pilot does, can be done both in a rental or your own plane. Each has its advantages.

The FTU might have some extra checks in place, but that will rarely protect you on longer trips.
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goldeneagle
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Re: Buying vs Renting

Post by goldeneagle »

digits_ wrote: Mon Sep 21, 2020 7:02 am I think I might have been the only one that landed a rental plane in Eureka.
I'm curious, what kind of plane was it, and where did you get fuel up there ?
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digits_
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Re: Buying vs Renting

Post by digits_ »

goldeneagle wrote: Mon Sep 21, 2020 9:46 am
digits_ wrote: Mon Sep 21, 2020 7:02 am I think I might have been the only one that landed a rental plane in Eureka.
I'm curious, what kind of plane was it, and where did you get fuel up there ?
It was a 172: viewtopic.php?f=25&t=75176

Bought some barrels of fuel from a guy in Resolute Bay who had a stash in Eureka.
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As an AvCanada discussion grows longer:
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-one will be accused of using bad airmanship
propfeather
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Re: Buying vs Renting

Post by propfeather »

digits_ wrote: Mon Sep 21, 2020 10:22 am
goldeneagle wrote: Mon Sep 21, 2020 9:46 am
digits_ wrote: Mon Sep 21, 2020 7:02 am I think I might have been the only one that landed a rental plane in Eureka.
I'm curious, what kind of plane was it, and where did you get fuel up there ?
It was a 172: viewtopic.php?f=25&t=75176

Bought some barrels of fuel from a guy in Resolute Bay who had a stash in Eureka.
He's the Emperor of Resolute
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photofly
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Re: Buying vs Renting

Post by photofly »

I met two beefy German guys at BIEG a few years ago, going back to Germany from Canada in their rented club 172. (It had some skind of extra tank permanently installed in the baggage compartment, but they were BIG people and I didn't want to think about the W&B too much.)
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digits_
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Re: Buying vs Renting

Post by digits_ »

photofly wrote: Mon Sep 21, 2020 11:56 am I met two beefy German guys at BIEG a few years ago, going back to Germany from Canada in their rented club 172. (It had some skind of extra tank permanently installed in the baggage compartment, but they were BIG people and I didn't want to think about the W&B too much.)
I love hearing stuff like that. It's surprising though, considering how stringent European Aviation and its rules are, that clubs allow this kind of thing. It's great!
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As an AvCanada discussion grows longer:
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Posthumane
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Re: Buying vs Renting

Post by Posthumane »

Obviously this buy vs. rent conversation has gone on for as long as rental airplanes were available, and in many different forms. I've broken down the costs of the planes that I've owned on this site, and I agree that mathematically it makes sense to rent if you fly little (<50 hrs per year) and own if you fly lots (>100 hrs per year), with the in between being a grey area.

However, after some years of contemplation, I've come to the conclusion that the owner's personality is a larger factor than the mathematics. Ultimately, private pilots generally fly as a hobby (with the exception of some that use aircraft for business), and mathematically the best option is to not fly at all. That saves you all the money. But that's a cop out answer, since the assumption is that the person asking wants to fly. So if you are flying because you want to, then it's also important to consider the kind of relationship you want to have with your airplane. If you are the type of person that wants to show up at the airport, your airplane is fueled, maintained, ready to go, and you just fly it and return it when you are done, then you will be happier renting even if it costs you more. Conversely, if you are the type of person that likes to take care of your possessions, if you like to do light maintenance, if you like not having someone watching over your shoulder, etc. then you are probably going to be happier owning.

There are some years when my aircraft ownership may have come out *slightly* cheaper than renting when broken down by hour, but most years it didn't. But I'm still happy owning an aircraft. The reason for it is that I like to tinker, I like to fly my airplane to visit family for a few days and park it, I like trying to optimize my situation regarding parking, fuel, etc. That's just my personality. I also find it a lot easier to justify spending $50/hr in fuel to fly somewhere when I've already spend the money and maintenance and insurance, which leads me to want to fly more places than if I had to spend $160/hr on a rental.
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Re: Buying vs Renting

Post by pelmet »

propfeather wrote: Mon Sep 21, 2020 11:50 am
digits_ wrote: Mon Sep 21, 2020 10:22 am
goldeneagle wrote: Mon Sep 21, 2020 9:46 am

I'm curious, what kind of plane was it, and where did you get fuel up there ?
It was a 172: viewtopic.php?f=25&t=75176

Bought some barrels of fuel from a guy in Resolute Bay who had a stash in Eureka.
He's the Emperor of Resolute
Ozzie or something like that.
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