Indeed Adam - this has been done to death here many times and there are huge advantages to ownership, which one cannot put a value on, like total access, maintenance to YOUR standards, knowing nobody else has been messing with it, the lowest possible hourly (marginal) cost, etc.
You just need to find the money - but with a margin on top as I mentioned earlier.
If you can't, assembling a group of like-minded and trustworthy (and financially- and attitude- and mission-profile-compatible) people is the next best way. Not easy; I tried it and failed miserably. But lower downmarket it should be easier than what I was doing.
But be prepared for a steep learning curve on stuff like maintenance, who to trust (not many you can trust in GA), airfield politics, etc. It's all worth it in the end, and I would never go back, but it is not for the faint hearted who think they can treat a plane like a cheap boat in some marina
