and you may also find that your dogs will fit in the back seats of the DR400
They are both golden retrievers, 30-35kg each... and they are young (1 year and 3 years) and *very* enthusiastic and energetic. I don't think they are good flying companions, especially in a low wing fabric covered plane
@dubbleyew eight: I'm definitely not in a hurry. I'm already keeping my eyes open for over a year now to see the turnaround time of the different ads on all the known websites. And yes, I recognize the emotional question "is it all worth it?", and every time I look up into the sky on a nice day with bits of cumulus floating by I say: I wish I had a plane I could take up right now, knowing it's waiting for me in the hangar which is a 5 minutes drive away (no rentals there) instead of driving an hour to the next field finding all planes already booked for the next week or so. That's the most valuable aspect of ownership to me: it's available when you want it.
Ownership is expensive, I'm aware of that. But I'm not a big fan of borrowing too much money for it, and I don't have a spare 80k lying around. So my plan was to start small with something I can easily afford, and if my mission changes, well, that's something I'll have to deal with then, not now. But I didn't suspect the SID inspections were 20k either (10k at most). All the information on different internet forums suggest a yearly budget of 10-15k for insurance/hangar/maintenance for a simple small plane. Next to that an hourly reserve fund for engine overhauls, oil, and the regular wear and tear due to usage.
Break even compared to rental is suggested at 150 hours a year. I don't necessarily need to break even, as the availability is worth it in my opinion. I do expect to fly about 75-100 hours a year.
BTW, rental at the field an hour away of a 152 is 175 euros an hour. An old 172 is rented for 220 an hour or so. The flying club (20 minutes further) is 50 euro/hour cheaper, but usually overbooked and you can't easily take it away for a day (while only flying 2 hours). Anything cheaper and better available is at least 1,5 hours drive away, that's 3 hours round trip just to get to the airport. My home field is 5 minutes driving, so I'm much more likely to go up there and go fly on a nice day.
@Jan: I don't have plans to fly VFR to Prague. I want to give my dogs some attention as well while I'm not working. Overnight stays are rare due to the dogs. A higher cruise speed and better range does allow to go further on a single leg, that's a good point.