Any Members in Arkansas?

Nice plane! I’m trying to convince the wife that we should buy one after she graduates from grad school.

 

Good luck. I've been working on my wife for awhile. Problem is she works with lots of pilots who tell her the true cost of ownership.

 

What he said below. It is not for the faint of heart, and if it wasn’t going to be a career for me I probably wouldn’t have it. Owning the right plane at the right price can be more affordable than renting to build time.

Also, have you found the Aviation BS and Photo Thread? That and the Arkansas thread are the 2 I mainly hang out in.

 

I'd still prefer to have my own plane, but even a cheap plane is a risky venture to fly 100hrs a year. My hope is my son plans to attend Embry Riddle after getting out of the Marines. If he is flying too, my wife might relent. Although she's not happy with me right now for getting my daughter into motorcycle riding.
I plan to join the Oz flying club in Bentonville this summer as they've added several more planes this year already. I just get tired of driving to Bentonville. Would much rather have a plane hangered at Drake.

 

I did that drive for a while when I was doing commercial training and it does wear you out, especially the rush hour traffic coming down I49. Only flying 100hrs a year will probably put you in the category of renting being cheaper, but there is absolutely something to be said for owning and never having to worry about scheduling or somebody else breaking the plane right before your scheduled trip.

I’m jealous of your daughter, motorcycles are one thing my parents both didn’t approve of. I finally convinced them of how much better a 2-wheeler is for campus there and got a 1980 Honda CT70 that I engine swapped a 125cc 4-speed into. That paid for itself within one year of having it in terms of campus parking permits. Never could get them on board with the idea of a DRZ400 or something of the likes. Now that I’m back in Dallas, the desire to ride has gone way down because of the traffic.

 

My daughter has always been adventurous. She wants to start flying too, but I'm not paying for her lessons. She's in medical school right now, so she doesn't really have time anyway. My wife wishes she was a little tamer and doesn't like her doing risky things. I just remind her she will do them with or without us, so wouldn't it be better if she did it with us. Used the same logic for my son when he started riding. Was kind of a sneaky way of deflecting her displeasure of me riding motorcycles. Blame it on the kids.

As far as plane ownership, I think really for me it will become an issue if I can no longer keep my medical and need to fly LSA. It's pretty hard to find LSA rentals.

Hmmm...maybe my daughter needs a boyfriend with a plane...

 

This would strictly be for fun. I’m not building hours for a fixed wing career. As tempting as it is to do the military rotor wing transition to the airlines, I really like the HEMS schedule. I will have to check out the Aviation thread.

 

I have a 2 year old daughter. I told my wife that if she expresses any interest in flying, I will pay for her lessons. As a teen, I wanted to take flying lessons more than anything. Unfortunately, I couldn’t afford it and neither could my family.

 

Getting an Experimental plane would cut a huge portion of money because of the parts and maintenance. If it’s just a fun machine, I’d get a fun 2-seat experimental. Maintenance and parts are the two most expensive aspects of owning a certified aircraft IMO

 

A friend of mine has gotten into paramotor because it's cheaper and there are fewer requirements to maintain. He doesn't have the same range as a small plane but he is much more flexible on where he can take off and land.

 

Yeah, had she expressed an interest earlier it might have been in the cards. Instead I have funded her motorcycling, hunting/fishing trips and her semester in New Zealand. At least I got a cool T-shirt out of it.

 

Thank you everyone for the info!!! We were planning to take 23 up there. I camp back in the hills off of Barnes road every fall but haven’t had a chance to really explore much past Byrd’s. We’ll be checking out all those restaurants so thanks again for the info!!!!

 

You're a good dad to fund that for her. Too many kids miss out on study abroad opportunities because of the money. A semester in Australia was a wonderful experience for me!

 

We did live in Germany for 3 years and she has traveled a lot, but you're right. She got used to spending spring breaks in Paris or Switzerland. A lot of people never get to see and experience anything outside the US. She shook hands with Prince Charles and Camilla in New Zealand and ended up on the front page of the local newspaper when she was in school there. I know she's been to at least 18 countries and probably more. It was hard on her when we moved back to Arkansas.

She was home this weekend and brought up flying again. I told her after med school she could do it. She wants to spend time in Central America as a doc, and being able to fly would actually come in handy. I pointed out she could run coke for the cartel at the same time and triple her profits. I could see the wheels spinning.

 

Great experiences! Did she go to the U of A? I have a friend heavily involved with the nursing program there who is a Junior right now I believe

 

No, she went to Harding and she's at UAMS now. She finds Little Rock to be a bit more exciting than Searcy.

 

I have toyed with the idea of a kit plane. I suggested to my wife that we buy a certified first. I can knock the rust off and start building up my fixed wing skills and she can learn to fly. All the while I can start building an RV-10. I agree with you in that maintenance and parts play a large part in the expense of owning a certified airplane. Our base A&P says he will never own a certified airplane for that very reason. He gets his maintenance for free. LOL

 

I can't imagine why.

 

I'm in central-ish Arkansas...Clarksville to be exact.

 

Welcome aboard, Glen! You're right in the thick of things and not far at all from some great trails. I think I'm a lil jealous...