Owning a lightie is easy.
Just pay the money. It's all about PASSION and the PRIDE of OWNERSHIP.
Bear with me here is my story
I gained my PPL at an early age and had no one to guide me on what to do next.
Ansett were after CPL's with 500hrs total and a morse endorsement.
I thought Airline pilots were intellectual gods, much smarter than me. I have since changed my opinion after coming across PPRUNE
By chance I was associated with a fledgling gliding club who wanted to purchase a tug. We all threw in a couple of hundred bucks and purchased a tug.
Free flying for me and a few hundred hrs on a challenging taildragger.
After starting a family I found aircraft hire expensive so decided to get a CPL.
Had the hours, just had to work around the syllabus.
Got the CPL and the school was able to give me charter and bank run flying on the side. Whilst bank run flying, I virtually trained myself for an instrument rating.
Got the instrument rating and carried on casual flying with little cost to me.
As time went by, circumstances changed and I was left figuring out what to do to continue with free flying. Got myself an Instructor rating using 2 mentors who had all the experience in the world.
Years later and circumstances changed again and it was time to purchase my first aircraft. I could no longer afford to write out big cheques for aircraft hire.
What to buy?.... the smallest and cheapest....i.e. a Corby Starlet.
Unfortunately during the test flight the Corbys engine would cut out on landing every time so I declined and went home.
The cheque for the Corby was burning a hole in my pocket.
I heard about a chap who specialized in sourcing aircraft from the USA and importing same to Australia. We exchanged pleasantries and he agreed to source something for me.
What I got was a rare vintage aircraft, and an absolute classic to boot, for the pricely sum of $12,000 USD. Much more or course landed on the Australian register.
Costs and charges? who cares. I do not do the sums.
Biggest operating cost for me is fuel. Insurance is approx. $2K Annual Mtnce is less than $2K. Hangarage?...was getting expensive so I built my own.
The only trap is unscheduled mtnce e.g. voltage regulators falling over, alternators etc. My battery cost $1600 including freight from USA . The last one lasted 5 years and I will do my best to see the current one lasts as long.
I am now on my third aircraft. As I said its all about the passion.
I had a friend who owned a nice taildragger with warbird history. He certainly had more money than me. He did the ownership cost sums and promptly sold the aircraft. Would have been better off trading his late model Mercedes for a Toyota.
In my opinion aircraft purchased in the US are in much better condition and there is much more to choose from. Cant go wrong with a good C172 (check sids) and the Piper Archer is an honest aircraft. I am so twisted and bent I think a Piper Arrow is sexy from some angles.
To answer your other questions grab a copy of the ERSA which will show which airfields charge landings, which require PPR etc. Strips owned by mining companies are usually difficult to use.
Parking and hangarage at country aerodromes is usually no problem, its a matter of talking to the right people. Registration cost? ...nil as far as I know.
No enroute fees for VFR...not much service either. ATC may charge a terminal fee if you land. Avgas is approx. $2.20 per litre, varies a bit. ADSB not required for VFR but CASA likes the idea of you voluntarily fitting one.
A company in the US LEVIL has brought out a device, super cheap but I don't know if it meets Australian specs for a cheap VFR ADSB as yet.
To be quite frank if I had my own strip on my own property I would not tell anyone about it. Just use it privately,,,,why ask for trouble.
I could go on, but hope this helps. Its about the PASSION and PRIDE of OWNERSHIP