Greetings everyone,
I am a senior Mechanical Engineering student looking forward to starting a kit plane next summer post graduation. I am curious what choices all of you made to pay for your projects. Did you:
A.) save up the cash and pay for the kit as a lump sum
B.) Self-Finance by purchasing kit in sections
C.) Get a loan to purchase entire kit (or kit as well as engine/avionics etc)
D.) Plans build, pay as you go
E.) Other
I am looking at building a two seat light aircraft, most likely one of the zenith models as their factory is close by. I anticipate 18k for complete airframe, 10k for midtime o-200 or similar and firewall-forward, 5k for avionics. I feel like i could probably do this even cheaper if i went with something such as a corvair engine and second-hand avionics. Comments? I anticipate a salary between 60-65k. I am a single guy with no debt other than a 312.00/month truck payment. I expect my disposable income each month after taxes, retirement savings, rent, truck payment and groceries will be roughly 1500-2000.00. Is this something i should even consider for a person in my position? I would like to build for the joy and pride of building my own aircraft. I understand that building is not necessarily a cheaper way to get into aircraft ownership (although the savings in doing my own "annual" i believe would add up) and that owning a plane in general is often difficult to justify from a financial standpoint. So what are the experts thoughts/opinions on the options in "financing" an aircraft, and my personal situation.
Many Thanks,
Alex
I am a senior Mechanical Engineering student looking forward to starting a kit plane next summer post graduation. I am curious what choices all of you made to pay for your projects. Did you:
A.) save up the cash and pay for the kit as a lump sum
B.) Self-Finance by purchasing kit in sections
C.) Get a loan to purchase entire kit (or kit as well as engine/avionics etc)
D.) Plans build, pay as you go
E.) Other
I am looking at building a two seat light aircraft, most likely one of the zenith models as their factory is close by. I anticipate 18k for complete airframe, 10k for midtime o-200 or similar and firewall-forward, 5k for avionics. I feel like i could probably do this even cheaper if i went with something such as a corvair engine and second-hand avionics. Comments? I anticipate a salary between 60-65k. I am a single guy with no debt other than a 312.00/month truck payment. I expect my disposable income each month after taxes, retirement savings, rent, truck payment and groceries will be roughly 1500-2000.00. Is this something i should even consider for a person in my position? I would like to build for the joy and pride of building my own aircraft. I understand that building is not necessarily a cheaper way to get into aircraft ownership (although the savings in doing my own "annual" i believe would add up) and that owning a plane in general is often difficult to justify from a financial standpoint. So what are the experts thoughts/opinions on the options in "financing" an aircraft, and my personal situation.
Many Thanks,
Alex
