Trade-A-Plane Lust

Once I achieved a lifelong dream and got my private pilot’s license in 2009, it became obvious that staying current and enjoying the use of my license was not going to be cheap. I rent from my flight school, and it runs about $150/hour for a newer model Cessna 172. You can rent an older Cessna 150 for about $120/hour, or you can join a flying club and pay about $80 to $100/hour, plus annual dues of $1,000 or so.

Or you can buy your own plane. With required maintenance, insurance, fuel, and then maintenance for items that pop up outside of the regular cycle, this isn’t that cheap either. But, having said all of that, the biggest expense in buying your own plane is, well, the plane.

Some simple research on the websites for Cessna and Cirrus will show that a new four passenger plane, fully loaded with avionics, will run anywhere from about $150K to about $250K. If you want to get a bigger plane, like a Caravan, or a twin-engine plane, like a Baron, things get much more expensive much more quickly.

But then, after I got on a bunch of mailing lists for this FAA thing and that AOPA thing, I started getting copies of the “Trade-A-Plane” magazine a couple times a year.

Oh. My. God.

It’s a great big classified ad newspaper with whole huge sections for parts, repairs, accessories, and so on. But about half of it is for used planes for sale. And what planes! You can find anything in there!

Yeah, yeah, dozens and hundreds of used Cessna 172s (depending on age, condition, and equipment, from $25K to $50K) and Cirrus SR20s ($120K to $225K). And Beechs ($35K to $150K). And plenty of “as is” planes that need some work and need to be brought current on the mandatory maintenance and inspections, but you can get them for $15K to $25K.

But then you can start looking through other sections and it’s like getting the old Sears Christmas Catalog when you were a kid!

Cessna 414 twins for $100K to $300K. Piper Twin Comanches for $65K to $100K. Beech Baron twins from $150K to $350K.

Want something bigger, like one of those regional business turboprops? Get a Mitsubishi MU-2M or a Piper Cheyenne for $500K, or a King Air 200 for $600K.

Need a business jet? Learjets, Cessna Citations, Embraer Phenoms, and Gulfstreams from $800K to $8M.

Still not big enough? There are listings for 737’s for $4.5M, 747’s for $20M, 757’s for $9.5M (a steal!), and a 767 for only $6M (but it needs new engines).

Don’t like Boeing? How about an Airbus A-320 for $91.5M? (Includes all engines!)

How about something more personal and more fun to fly? How about a classic Beech 18S twin (think “Sky King”!) for $130K?

Flying aerobatics? Get a Citabria for $50K or a Pitts S-2C for $145K.

Want an open air bi-plane? Get a Waco for $225K, or better yet, a 1937 Stearman PT-17 for$70K!

The cream of the crop? Get a P-51 Mustang for $2,145,000 or an F4U-7 Corsair for $2,600,000.

Helicopters! Crop dusters! Float planes!

Want a rural property with its own landing strip? They’re listed. Want to buy your own freakin’ airport? Ditto.

Yes, indeedy! It’s a happy day for fantasies and “when I win the lottery” planning when Trade-A-Plane comes in the mail!