aaron5150:
It is wise that you are doing due diligence prior to a possible aircraft purchase. As an aircraft owner myself, I understand the desire for ownership and the justification involved in the process. Doing a cold hearted assessment of the ownership process can be an eye opener.
I am the kind of person who doesn't like to borrow or rent anything. I buy my own tools and only rent when ownership is clearly impractical and a total waste of money. For the kind of flying I do, renting an airplane would not only be impractical, and more than likely impossible, it would also be prohibitively expensive for my needs. Our best solution was to buy.
The type of airplane we really needed, thankfully, was one that was beyond further depreciation other than accumulating engine hours that would affect value. We do owner-assisted annuals and our own maintenance allowed as owner/operator. The expense of ownership has not overridden the convenience and flexibility of ownership.
There is more to aircraft ownership than the cold, hard financial facts of ownership vs rentals. On the positive side of ownership, the airplane is always available, you can go anywhere you want without limitations imposed by the owner, there are never fingerprints on the flight instruments ;-), you know the airplane itself more intimately rather than flying a fleet of airplanes, you can leave items in the airplane (like headsets, flashlight, logbook, survival gear, PLB, a bottle of oil, etc.) without carting them back and forth and you can personalize your own airplane with accessories that make your flying more comfortable, enjoyable, efficient and safer. (I really like Rosen visors, flashing landing lights, the STOL kits of my choice, bigger tailwheel and my new windshield that will continue to look new for a long time because I am the only person cleaning it.)
Is it more practical to buy an older car solely from the standpoint of economics than buy a new car that will please the senses, have more bells and whistles, yet will depreciate greatly in the process? Yes, of course, but if you can afford a newer car isn't that usually justification enough to realize the benefits (real or imagined) of a new car purchase? Don't dwell on just the financial aspects of ownership vs rental. There is more to the experience than filthy lucre. Its OK to spend money on what you enjoy, if you can afford it.
