Financial Tips When Buying a Plane
Not everyone was born to take the skies. But for some people, owning and operating a plane is a lifelong ambition. Being in the passenger seat of a commercial flight is not enough to satisfy the itch, so they go through the process of taking flying lessons. Once that’s done, they’ll be able to fly whenever they want, only the catch is that they don’t have a plane in which to fly. While you can rent access to a plane, having your own flying vehicle will be much more fun, allowing you to take to the skies whenever you wish.
This, of course, will not be cheap. However, there are ways to ensure it doesn’t overly impact your financial standing and also ways to keep the cost down. We’ll take a look at some of these tried and tested tips below.
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Set Your Budget
When buying a plane, it’ll be best to take the same approach when buying a house. You’ll need to set a budget. This will help to avoid spending over the odds, which is easy to do when you’re looking at planes that you’d really love to own. The novelty of a slightly better plane will wear off, but the financial implications will linger. Calculate how much you can spend, and stick to it.
Consider Additional Costs
Remember that it’s not just the cost of the actual plane that you’ll need to keep in mind. There’s also the matter of those additional costs that you’ll need to pay once you have your hands on the planet. For instance, you may need to rent a space in a hangar to store the plane. Annual maintenance and insurance can also add up to a pretty penny, too. It’s also worthwhile having a plane emergency fund for unexpected expenses, too.
Look at Used
There’s no real reason to buy a new plane, which will cost significantly more money than if you bought a used plane. In many cases, older planes really only need a bit of extra help to be brought up to speed. It might be that it just needs some new Michelin aircraft tires and a tune-up from a plane mechanic to get it ready for the skies. Indeed, with a little work, you may even increase the value of the plane, which will be ideal when you come to finally sell.
Can You Make Money With the Plane?
It may be possible to reclaim some of the money you’ve spent investing in your plane. You can do this by turning your plane into a business. For instance, could you take passengers? You’ll need to investigate your legal requirements for doing this, but if you live in a beautiful area, you may find that there are plenty of locals and tourists who want to see it from above. Even if you only charge $100 or so per ride, that can still add up to a significant sum of money throughout a busy tourist season.
