How to Actually Afford an Airplane 

TIP #6: You have to be very passionate about aviation. Even though these tips are for saving money, you will still invest a lot into an airplane. You have to love it and be willing to make sacrifices for it. Not everyone can afford an airplane, but these are steps in the right direction.

My advice is not to be poor. Thanks for coming to my TED Talk. 👍

The two happiest times for me was when I first bought my airplane (Cessna 177 Cardinal) and when I finally sold it. Although I could afford to own and fly it, I just couldn’t come to terms with the never ending outflow of money.

The second secret to affordable flying is to live in an aviation community. There are quite a few of these in Florida. Mine has about 30 homes with hangers along with a 2700 ft. grass runway. In addition to having no hanger fees (one of the biggest costs of owning an airplane) we have two instructors and three aviation mechanics as neighbors. Many are either active or retired airline pilots, and all have a genuine love of flying. I find the cost of living here very little more than anywhere else and I trust my neighbors to look out for my interests as I respect theirs. Check it out!

This kind of thing really infuriates me and is the reason I gave up on GA. There is nothing, and I mean NOTHING, that is "affordable" about aviation of any stripe or shape. If I had won the big money lottery, then it might be affordable. But then you account for the outrageous amount of time, effort, study, checkrides, etc, then it becomes very unpractical very fast. GA needs drastic changes very fast or it will die out very soon.

In 1988 as a young student pilot (

For those pilots in the snowbelt states, it is highly desirable to obtain hanger storage, which is also becoming more difficult to find, and ridiculously expensive when one becomes available.

Thanks a lot for sharing this video. I fully agree with all you said. But let me add just one thing here about experimental aircrafts. I have built my own RV-12 which I fly and maintain myself for the last 5 years. It is still a quite expensive hobby and it takes a good portion of my annual income. There is no such thing like cheap in aviation.

I am totally with you buddy. I came from the military aviation world and really wanted a good 4 seater. Rented a cirrus for a while, was thinking of buying and then I saw the numbers, I ran the numbers so many times and I could not believe how expensive it is to own a cirrus. I ended up building a RV-10 with a lot of help and now I have what is in my mind the most affordable four seater on the market, put in all the good stuff, Thunderbolt IO540 265HP AC, Oxygen, leather, fancy 3 Gucci Garmin G3X Beringer wheels and brakes . Never thought to go this way but the numbers were so good I had to give it try. All that under 350K with builder assist.

In my own case, flying motivated me enough to first buy 11 acres of rural property out of town a ways (45 years ago), to at first fly ultralights and later my RANS S-7 out of. After 28 years my strip was steadily getting encroached upon by new residential construction so I sold out for a shitpot amount of money (due to the increased land value of course) and I used that money to buy 40 acres 2 miles away, out in the boonies once again. Then I bought another 30 acres below when the rancher family who owned it for 100 years hung it up, so I now have 70 acres, all paid for, and on paper I'm a millonaire! All thanks to the initial motivation flying gave me, point being....flying has been very good to me financially in a backasswards way. All this on a construction worker's wages BTW.

I looked into getting started in aviation, and did it pretty much as you described at the beginning of the video. I saw the prices on 'certified aircraft' and immediately noped out. I didn't even know there was a difference or another option other than certified factory built aircraft. This video just opened up a whole new world, a new fantastic point of view.

The most brillant video I saw since I'm looking for how much it costs to own an airplane... and it's been for more than 20 years! Thank you very much cause it gives me hope. AVGAS is still another issue and another topic but will see.

I complete agree with everything you said! Though, for clarity, my video is about the planes I think are the "best" that cost less than 100k to buy (basically my favourites). Agreed that these dinosaur certified planes will eat you alive if you buy them. Here's a fun fact, In Canada, just owning any experimental plane gives you full unrestricted authority to do any work or inspections you want. I'm in the middle of a full panel upgrade in my RV-3 (that I didn't build) and I don't know what the heck I'm doing 😉 Thanks for the video, big fan of the channel. Cheers from the frozen north

man oh man, thank you! Im so glad to have seen this before i went out and started "bidding" on a cesna etc. Good info.

this was the video i needed to see. thanks!

Thanks for this video man! In the market for a plane and you've definitely shifted my thinking. Cheers.

Never seen it explained that way. Thanks for the clear content. Cool tail # too. Subscribed.

I totally agree. LSA is the future of personal aviation. Here in Europe the number of light aircraft (a little bit different terminology depending on the country) completely exceeds the general aviation airplanes in the registry. You only need an annual inspection from a recognised examiner and that’s it. MOGAS (auto fuel) is also much cheaper than AVGAS 100LL (went up recently)

Affordable aviation, its almost an oxymoron. For me aviation has been a dream since I was 4 years old. Last summer I finally got into ppg. The equipment was not cheap but compared with other aviation it was way more affordable. Now when I fly i spend about 10 bucks on fuel and a few bucks for oil. Its not going to get me and my family to Florida but just having the ability to lay out my wing at a local park and takeoff into the sky is such an amazing feeling. If you dream of aviation and cannot afford general aviation look into PPG. I fly with a Coast Guard helicopter pilot who says he has more fun flying his PPG. It certainly comes with limitations (weather) being the main limitation but when you finally get a nice calm day and lift off into the sky its an absolutely unforgettable experience. It has truly changed my life. I still hope to get into a LSA someday but for now and forever, I will be a PPG pilot.

Experimental is good, but at least here in New Zealand, it depends on a few things. I'm building a Sling TSi but also bought a 1972 Piper Cherokee two months ago. The thing with experimental in NZ is you have to build at least 51% of the aircraft for you to be able to do your own maintenance. So, if you want to go that route you'd have to factor in the cost of the tools, space and time to build the airplane. If you bought an already built plane, you're going to be paying someone to maintain it, so the only savings then will be the cheaper parts from it being experimental as opposed to certified. The other trap is if you want to be able to fly in IMC, which I do. LSA aircraft can't be flown in IMC in NZ, so unless the CAA changes the rules in the future, LSA is completely off the cards. That leaves me with way fewer options as I'd need an aircraft that can get the Special Category - Amateur Built airworthiness certificate, rather than one that will end up with a Special Category - Experimental certificate. This is why I'm building the Sling. It can get IFR approval, but it is still not cheap. My budget for the build is around $400,000, which is right up there with a new-ish Piper or Cessna anyway. It will still be worth it in the long run due to doing my own maintenance and the fact that it can carry more than a 172 while flying faster and burning less fuel, but it will take many years of flying before those savings will offset the high cost of buying and building the aircraft. The reason I bought the Cherokee is because it will take me a few years yet to finish the Sling and I am tired of renting in the mean time. Over January and February the panel is getting upgraded with a full glass Garmin solution. End of it all, the plane will owe me around $170,000. If I budget for $200 an hour and flew around 100 hours a year, the Cherokee will last me several years before it becomes as expensive as the entry cost of the Sling. All in all, if you build an LSA yourself and all you want to do is some VFR flying, then yes, experimental is much cheaper than certified. But if you don't want to build it yourself and you want to do IFR flying in IMC, certified aircraft can actually be pretty affordable. I'll still finish the Sling, as it will be a better equipped, easier and cheaper to maintain and more efficient aircraft than the Cherokee, but for the next 3-4 years the Cherokee is going to be a great little IFR machine.

Thanks so much for this video! I was confused about these discrepancies that you cleared up. Experimental ftw! Hope to make a long ez one day

I really enjoy your channel. Subscribed. Keep up the good work!

Great video! I like particularly liked your summary at the end.

Great video! Wish I had watched this before my purchase of the older 172, but I found out that I can sell this for more than what I paid for it and that is exactly what I'm going to do.

Just subbed. Fine vid. I learned some good stuff. Thanks

Great information, thank you.

Thanks for this video. I think you are right about certified airplanes going the way of the dodo. The growth in experimental from now will be interesting to see-especially where the regulatory tipping point will be.

LOVED this video! Very much. The great side of experimental is the cost. BUT, be sure you know what you are doing. There are a lot of bad builds. Big negative to experimental. There are a lot of great builds! Great purchase when you find one!! 🙂 And there are a ton of amazing upgrade options in experimental that are just shy of cost prohibitive in the certified planes. IF you want a new plane and are OK with experimental planes - BUT you dont want to build it without help, there are "builder assist programs" where professional mfgs and builders will assist the owner on the build. THOSE planes are amazing and great! Bad side is, those planes are compared to the badly built planes. A true give and take. Keep the blue side up and the videos coming. :-)

Thank you - from a past plane owner, that was excellent!

Ive been looking at the Merlin PSA. An all metal single seat kit plane that can be riveted together in a few weeks and less than 50k brand new...yes please.

The best explanation ever...

I owned a certified plane (1979 Warrior) and now own an experimental (RV-9A). I agree with what you say here. Flying will never be cheap, but experimental is a much better way to go. Cheaper parts and especially cheaper autopilots & other avionics are big factors.

So glad I found your channel. Can you do a video on affordable used LSA pros & cons of each based on your knowledge? Also where to find them for sale.

thanks for the great video!! very good content.

I know this video was made to ease the worries of getting into GA. But as someone who never got in I can now say it's unobtainable for me at this time. Very informative video. Wish the industry was different.

Thanks for a very helpful video. I have become quite interested in Aviation (whether I actually pursue it or not) and have often thought that it is a shame to pin your dreams on winning the Lottery in order to pursue the avocation! When I was in the Air Force, Aviation seemed in reach, but as you say, things have gotten out of hand. Your points are well taken.

I store my CH 750 outdoors. I cound a huge roll of surplus Army canvas online and used my neighbor's leather stitching machine to make a cover. I made some standoffs for all the sky facing surfaces that I use under the cover during hail season so I don't get any damage for that. A hangar here is $400 per month.Outdoor storage off the ramp in a grass field is only $50,00 per month. There is an electrical pedestal I can pull up to incase I need electricity for something. SO between automotive fuel and outdoor storage, the low speed of the airplane, I am saving a bunch on everything including insurance which is only $1175 per year. So yes, Light Sport is definietly a good way to go. The fuel economy with the SUbaru is better than my truck so if the weather is right I can go visit someone 300 miles away, get there faster and cheaper. When I was a kid back in the early 60s GA was growing like a weed. There were a ton of retired used WWII military observation planes available for next to nothing so a lot of just plain old blue collar working stiffs like me could to afford to own a plane AND fly whenever they liked. SOmeone should do a study on the annual income levels need to support the habit. That might be interesting to see.

100% agree! The older (and cheaper) the airplane gets the less A&P/IAs willing to work on it as well. Best to build your own airplane, get a repairmens certificate and forget finding an A&P. They just changed the MOSIAC for light sport too, removing a lot of the limitations. Theres a TON of options for light sport experimental and even ultralights (that you can get tail numbered by the FAA). Would recommend looking into Hummel those are very affordable airplanes. Good video!

Nice, very quick summary! Thanks so much for touching on so many points in a very understandable way. Today, all my children and grandchildren live on a property here with me in Oregon. Take up my children and grandchildren one at a time in a 2-seater removes a lot of what happens when you can bring up 3 kids at a time. So the value for a 2-seater side by side is greatly reduced to me. My sights are on 4, though open to 6. I suspect this takes me beyond the mainstream experimental kit marketplace and certainly makes me hold short of the idea of a light-sport to save money. Still, thanks for expanding my thinking!

Very useful information, thank you.

Amen. Experimental is nice. My club has an RV-12 as well and while it seems to require just as much maintenance as our 60 year old Cherokee 140, it seems like the maintenance on the RV-12 is just easier even when you have an A&P. It's a nice simple airplane.

Excellent excellent information. Didn’t know any of this.

Great video. You really addressed many areas I did not think of. However, with all the costs, (and of the insurance) I will still fly commercial.

Thanks very much for your dedication to the gift of flight. Keep the blue side up!

Light sport can be a bit restrictive. But there are lots of used experimentals out there. The sticking point is you still need an A&P to sign off on the annual "condition inspection". The difference here is you can do all of the work yourself. The A&P signs off on it. This may seem odd but there are A&Ps out there that are busy or older and retired, and do not need the work. They will inspect, recommend what needs to be done, and then you complete the tasks. Once you know the aircraft, you will have it all ready before inspection. This is not a big deal. For people that don't want to build an entire aircraft consider purchasing a partially completed kit. Often they can be purchased for much less than a new kit and sometimes they are almost completed. If you are the builder that finishes it, then you are the builder of record. You are entitled to the repairman certificate on that aircraft and now you can do all the maintenance and sign off on condition inspections. Experimental is really the way to go. If you tie down outside, get some good covers made. Make friends with someone that has a hangar so occasional maintenance can be done inside. That is the cheapest way to own your own aircraft.

that livery with the channel badge on the tail looks awesome!!

Great video. Thanks, Brother.

I liked the video and information. Thanks

As a helicopter PPL who just flies for fun, the struggle is real. Barrier to entry is way higher on helos, "affordable" experimentals are death traps and by the time they get good, theyre the cost of certified birds.

I got into aviation at the right time in 2019. I bought my Beechcraft Sierra in 2020 for just 63k! Now they sell for 100k plus but honestly no one is buying them at those rates. Most annuals have cost me 2 to 3k. Because I have no mechanic experience I'm totally OK with a good mechanic doing it for me and I just pay them. Insurance usually runs 2,300 per year as well. I needed 4 seats so an experimental was far out of the question. Don't forget to talk about hangar fees or tie down fees. Here in Kissimmee I was paying 440 a month in 2020 and now it's 590 a month with taxes and we haven't had a single thing added to the hangar to justify them other than demand. I'm paying a car payment each month just to keep the plane indoors! I think the bubble is about to break so if anyone is looking I would say hold off on prices and save their money for when planes come back to normal rates again in the next year or two. Keep on flying buddy, maybe you'll zoom over KISM sometime.

My first GA flight was in an rv 6 and it was actually surprisingly great. It hold up to the Skyhawks in everything except space that I’m in now

All good advice, with one addition. While I have a certified aircraft, Bonanza, and it is very expensive, one way lessen the cost is ask your local A&P if they would be willing to sign off on some of the things owners are “allowed” to do. Remember there are two statements in the Regs that allow pilots/owners to do much of the standard maintenance. We can do “replacement of small standard parts not involving complex assembly operations“ and we are “are authorized to perform preventive maintenance and other maintenance if persons are working under the supervision of certified mechanics and repairman”. As an example, he allows me open up all of the inspection panels for my annual and do some of the simple maintenance items for my annual. Saves me some serious hours at $140 per hour. Personally I find my fuel and engine costs are the biggest expense. New engine and installed, over 60k. Fuel at 13-15 gallons an hour, over a 3 hour trip, ends up being a small fortune. Lastly, I had planned on buying an experimental, just limited in what serves my mission and didn’t want to spend 4-5 years building a plane versus that time flying one.

Have to be extremely careful with an experimental when a new pilot. Insurance can crush you. Some plane can’t be insured so any loans for the plane may not be able to be gotten. Or if some is damaged that’s out of pocket. Plus you need to be handy.

excellent video - thanks!

The one thing I enjoyed flying more than anything else. The earth (ground) is our play ground. Sometimes when you're engulfed in a situation. Sometimes you need a different perspective. Flying gave me that perspective. Being able to look down at all those little people, driving their little cars, with all their little problems. Helped me realize my problems weren't as big as I made them out to be.

Your points are very valid. You have to know: NOBODY sells an aircraft that is 100% done. Most of the times you need to address things like lighting, radios, etc. Expect to invest the amount you purchased it for within the first three years again. Make a list what matters to you most. Make a list what missions your aircraft will be used for. Basically, the only thing you can do (if you want to go with a certified aircraft) is: - C172 (the older ones do have a better payload....) - P28A Beech, SIAI, Mooney... are out of reach for most people financially - and sourcing parts can be a nightmare. I own a P28A, bought it relatively cheap - but have almost invested the purchasing price within the first year (yes, I could have stretched it further out but honestly: Lights are crucial if you fly at night. Changing the magnetos (and going with an electronic ignition)... yes, costs time. But you don't want to be sitting around with a dead magneto just a couple of days before you wanted to go on vacation with your aircraft. Having a second radio is a must if you fly within busy airspaces. Yes, you *can* do without. But I don't like the idea. Reliable is good. Fix things upfront helps keeping the costs in control as well as planning what cost comes up next. Experimental... is a valid path to go, true. In Europe you do have the problem that some countries do not allow certain experimentals in which is problematic. In addition you really need to know and trust the builder. I have seen too many shortcuts taken by a builder. And building it for myself... yes, sure. But I don't have the time (and I'd rather fly than build). In EASA-Space you have the ability do define a maintenance program for your aircraft yourself - which helps a lot. You can do a lot of stuff yourself (an A&P has to sign it off, though). Example? I changed the starter myself. Wasn't a big deal.

Fantastic info!

Thanks! Have a good health!

wow! This is brilliant! I've always dreamed of becoming a pilot, and this video makes it seem much closer. I mean combine this with getting a light sport pilots license and you could probably get into the air pretty cheap. Either this or building or buying an ultralight is my other option.

Unfortunately (non-MOSIAC) LSAs struggle with the density altitude and wind issues where I live, I'd have already gone that route if I could. I definitely preached the insurance thing as an A&P, always told folks they needed to talk to their insurance broker before they start airplane shopping.

A lot of cool fast 4 seaters may be available after MOSAIC as well. Something like the Sling TSi could come in as a S-LSA.

The biggest costs are maintenance for certified aircraft and hangar costs. Eliminate both with a homebuild experimental with folding wings that can be trailered to an air strip. Kitfox, Sonex, and Legal Eagle are three that come to mind, but there are many more. The downside is you won't be hauling your family of four anywhere, but at least you get to experience piloting.

Another benefit of the newer avionics that typically come with a new LSA is that you can earn your Commercial certificate in it.

In process of finishing a Kitfox 4 kit I picked up, complete, for $4k from an estate sale. Around 10k plus 100+ hours with a converted Yamaha Phazer in it. I bought 2 Challenger 1's, and a Challenger 2 as a package that needed covering, updated fuselage brackets, engines rebuilt, and recovered, for $3k. Sold both of the Challenger 1's after the rebuild/recover, which took 112 hours for both, for $10k each. Had $3800 into both, plus my time. Still fly the Challenger 2. Kitfox will cost me close to $400/month, assuming 20 hours flight time a month. Experimental all the way.

Very informative

My eventual goal is to own either a two or four seater, and the aircraft I like best so far is the Pipistrel Alpha Trainer. It combines relative affordability with IFR-capable flight and a reasonable range. Currently, they start at $90k - $100k, but that will probably go up by the time I could purchase one.

Thank you for demystifying 'experimental' as the name is enough to turn most people (myself included beforehand) away

If you want the most affordable solution, start with getting your A&P license. 1st thing after High School.

I owned and enyojed.a Piper Tri-Pacer PA22-150.for over 10 years. I alternated flying it with M20Js and PA28RGs and PA38s and C172s fom my flying club. I spent a big fortune in the beloved Tri-Pacer, in maintence, repairs and replacing broken aviónics. All in all it is very expensive owning a cheap old plane. Better off just renting from a club.

I basically agree but I'll recommend LSA over kits if available in USA and a really big aspect is fractional ownership. I bought 1/8 of en Evektor, it's not the sexiest LSA, it has some tacky elvis stars but it was available at my local strip for only 7000$, 2007 or so with around 500 hours. It has a hangar and including insurance my part was only about 200$ a year. No one really used it much so the calendar was basically empty, it was like I had my own airplane and I felt basically no financial burden from it. Fractional ownership really cuts down the cost. Just two owners really drops the price and by 8 owners it's like the expense doesn't exist. I looked at fractions of a cessna 172 but the per hour costs were literally 5x higher. the LSA was around 35$ including fuel. The Evektor is a bit slow but an FK14 LSA is similar price and looks and flies much better with the same hour costs. And can even have a ballistic parachute which really gets you into the modern era. Unfortunately certain wise guys in LSA manufacture now suffer from the illusion that the price should triple and they are destroying the concept. JBM, Bristell and Elixir are slipping into way overpriced with 3-400k nonsense. A rotax 912 is basically a briggs and stratton lawnmower engine yet they are talking themselves into an LSA costing multiple new lamborghinis. It's such BS. I did napkin math on how much carbon fiber you need for an LSA size plane and it's around 5k$ in name brand and CF pays for itself in advantages. A complex shape fiberglass hot tub with many nozzles and pumps and ducts etc retails for under 5k so why does a toy plane have to be 300k. A great LSA should easily be doable at 50k. Imagine the volume. If insurance is becoming untenable in USA and it's not legally required I'd consider not having it. If insurance crashes the plane every 10 years why not crash it yourself. Or not.

One expense that hasn't been mentioned is taxes. I haven't looked into it, but yearly personal property taxes must be factored into the equation, and like insurance, they vary depending on locality and aircraft type. They even want to know how many hours are flown per year.

Good info, I’m going light sport

AWESOME content! I am flying out of SRQ and hunting for my affordable aircraft!

3 - 4 years ago there was a gazillion listings in Controller for Piper Cherokees. Now there are very few and the asking prices for the few that are available are nuts.

Yeah insurence and the anuel inspection is like half the cost of owning a "cheap" sub $100k LSA. Which a trick I've found is just hanger the plane your self like all you need is folding wings and a trailer and live in at least a quter of an acker of land aka a nice suberb. Which a folding wing LSA and a trailer is about the size of an RV/travel trailer so not that big or odd to have in a suberb.

As someone who bought a PA-22 cheap, let me reiterate the point - BUY EXPERIMENTAL. I need to have a com radio installed. We have the radio ($2100) but I cannot put it in since it is going in a certificated aircraft. It requires a avionics tech @ $175-225/hr and I was quoted 10+ hrs for the install. I used to set up ambulances and patrol cars. I CAN do this but not according to the FAA, who could ground the plane if I do the install. Same thing on an alternator conversion - "two days" of work replacing the old brackets & generator with an alternator and its brackets. $2000 quote. BUY EXPERIMENTAL!

Brillant video

good work

I bought an amateur built aircraft. I work on it myself, and get an AME to go over it. Uncertified parts are also significantly cheaper. Still expensive as heck.

You are so right even do “expense “ such the turbo pro lancair evolution is the cheeps and way better built that certify isn’t I own two of those but do way any certify aircraft was for a long time experimental eg epic ttx all military aircraft is an experimental

Where did you source the teflon radiator hose? The RV-12 is a wonderful airplane and I too have purchased the avionics to practice IFR approaches. I intend to install my Garmin in the spring. Mike

Yup! It’s expensive. Still worth it for me. Took a cold, drafty and noisy ride in an RV8 recently. Some great points made, here. But certainly not comparing apples to apples. I just helped a friend buy a 172. Prices, (in US dollars) are mind-blowing. But there’s a reason the 172s are popular. They’re reeeally good.

My understanding with experimental is if you are the builder - then you can work on your on but i you buy one like your RV - then you still have to use and A+P to work on your plane. You are correct the price to fly today is beyond most income levels. I've had my PPI for a long time but stopped flying a number of years ago due to cost. Now that I'm retired I'll would like to get back into flying. I've been looking at certified AC but found what I could have purchased for 25K now is a 150K. I may start looking into the sport Exp sales section.

good tips. If ya ever get up to Jax, I'l love to have lunch sometime.

I affordability is 100% to blame on the FAA. They sare still certifying airplanes like it's 1950 yet our manufacturing process is so much more advanced. We have much better toleranceb and new materials that should make certifying aircraft cheaper. Additionally the FAA rules of getting A&P certification has led to a masive shortage. There are dozen of other regulations that are adding to GA costs. MOSAIC will help but a lot more needs to be done.

I honestly started looking into paramotoring because of how expensive the aviation hobby is. I figured that might scratch the itch instead 😋

As a builder of an RV10 experimental airplane - the recent price hikes by Vans has been very disappointing and pushes these airplanes closer to certified airplane prices

🚧🚧TRULY OUTSTANDING INFORMATIVE VIDEO SIR 🚧🚧

I'm 6'6'' so even though I looked into and sat in pretty much every one of the airplanes mentioned, I can't fly any of them. Most of these would be fine so long as I didn't need to use the rudder in the air or brakes on the ground. The smallest airplane I can comfortably fit in and fly safely is a Cessna 182 which is about $60/hr more expensive than the tiny trainers most normal-sized people get to use.

Can you expand on balancing carbs? You have more than one?

1:41 Incorrect, there are many things you can do yourself as a private pilot owner, including the specific item mentioned, re-greasing the wheel bearings. The preventive maintenance list is quite extensive. Ref 14 CFR part 43.

Great video. Has someone done this type of video for Canadian aviation? Transport Canada is a quagmire trying to understand.....

FAA Part 43 Appendix A allows owners of certified aircraft to do many maintenance items themselves.

Pilot / owners of certificated airplanes can perform minor maintenance. Then find an IA who will allow an owner assisted annual.

I pay less than 2k a year for my '56 Bonanza. Can still find parts for my plane and there is now an AC out there for classic aircraft where you can find an off the shelf part.

I’m part of a club that shares an RV-12iS. 55/hr, 10k to buy in and 140/month for insurance and hanger. If you split the actual flying cost with another owner pilot, the price decreases even more. And even better, all the owners can help each other be good safe pilots.

My last annual was $11,000.00. For an airplane that cost $22,500.00. That was with no engine work. It doesn’t matter what you buy, airplane parts cost money. A lot of money. The op is right, experimental is cheaper. But remember: Some guy, who never built a plane in his life, builds a plane in his garage while knocking back some brewskis. Do you feel lucky? Flying and aircraft ownership is expensive. I know. I’ve been flying since 1965.

It’s not really a gray area, part 43 outlines what Pilots can do as preventive maintenance, and they can certainly work on their own aircraft. Some types of work do need to be done under A&P supervision.

I notice there was no mention of the actual cost of the experimental. Even if a ballpark figure or price range were to be given it would help us with a clearer idea.

Aviation is a small world, before my dad retired, he worked with Jack. I didn't know he had a youtube channel haha.