nschmandt
Well-Known Member
Hey guys!
Been a while since I posted here (though I have been reading)!
Posting again to get some advice about buying a plane and then leasing it to a flight school as an investment.
It seems that the right plane in the right flight school could really do well financially. For example, a 1997 or newer C172 (should cost around $150-170K), in a relatively posh area (like Palo Alto).
I can share more details on my numbers, but I'm assuming the plane will get around 500 hours a year, renting at $160/hr with $80 going to the owner, that gives me an income of $40K, subtract about $20K for expenses (these numbers are based on some NorCal flight schools)...that's a pretty solid return, compared to stocks/bonds.
However, the catch for me is that to do the 1997+ C172, I will need to keep saving for a few more years before I have the $$ necessary to front the entire purchase. If I do this with a Piper or Diamond (I'm assuming I can get ones nice enough for a flight school for around $80-90K), I could potentially go into this sooner. This seems risky though, when most flight schools use predominantly 172s, and I would have likely fewer hours or fewer options for the planes to go.
Anyway, just wanted to open this up to comments and thoughts. Have I missed something? Has anyone tried this before? Any general advice or thoughts? I'm open to other models or locations I haven't thought of, so long as the number are believable and add up.
Thanks in advance for any advice people can offer!
Been a while since I posted here (though I have been reading)!
Posting again to get some advice about buying a plane and then leasing it to a flight school as an investment.
It seems that the right plane in the right flight school could really do well financially. For example, a 1997 or newer C172 (should cost around $150-170K), in a relatively posh area (like Palo Alto).
I can share more details on my numbers, but I'm assuming the plane will get around 500 hours a year, renting at $160/hr with $80 going to the owner, that gives me an income of $40K, subtract about $20K for expenses (these numbers are based on some NorCal flight schools)...that's a pretty solid return, compared to stocks/bonds.
However, the catch for me is that to do the 1997+ C172, I will need to keep saving for a few more years before I have the $$ necessary to front the entire purchase. If I do this with a Piper or Diamond (I'm assuming I can get ones nice enough for a flight school for around $80-90K), I could potentially go into this sooner. This seems risky though, when most flight schools use predominantly 172s, and I would have likely fewer hours or fewer options for the planes to go.
Anyway, just wanted to open this up to comments and thoughts. Have I missed something? Has anyone tried this before? Any general advice or thoughts? I'm open to other models or locations I haven't thought of, so long as the number are believable and add up.
Thanks in advance for any advice people can offer!
