Originally Posted by
DeltaV
There is a weightshift microlight on the same field as me that the present owners found neglected in the back of a hangar and bought for a few hundred quid. They cleaned it up, got it checked out, renewed the paperwork and now they fly it at very little cost. OK, it's not top of the line but nor is it a tatty wreck and it flies, so it can be done, though it probably needs a little patience.
I share a flexwing with 2 friends. The aircraft is worth about £4k. Between us for everything (hangarage, hull insurance, maintenance, the lot) we pay about £1,500-£2,000 pa. After that it's fuel and oil - which is about another £25/hr.
This would be achievable, at similar costs, with any number of cheap second hand microlights (both weightshift / flexwing and 3-axis / conventional costing in the order of £1,500-£8,000, with 2-seaters starting around £2,500.
The big gotcha with aircraft like that is the cost of replacing the skins if they die of old age (there's an annual compulsory test with a device called a Bettsometer) - that can be £3-£5k, but that said, they should well looked after be good for 20 years at least.
G