In addendum:
i think a far more beneficial and constructive use of my skills as a pilot would be to purchase my own airplane and participate in a program similar to angel flight.
if you are unfamiliar with angel flight, the program has a schedule board online and families who need to travel to specialist care with children (or adults) who suffer from medical conditions, burns, cancer etc who cannot afford the expense of airline flight to the city in which their specialist operates can book a trip with you. All you have to do is volunteer your aircraft and your time and skill as a pilot to transport them at no expense to wherever it is they need to go.
i think i would greatly enjoy doing that, and i could afford to make perhaps a dozen or more such trips throughout the off season. Helping people + getting to fly + i get to keep my day job = win win situation
the problem is one of procurement of an airplane. finding one that not only looks the part (is not a dog as far as ragged paint and interior) but is a reliable and capable machine (engine is not timed out or has other immediate and urgent maintenance needs) and can accommodate the child and at least one parent and any baggage. so instantly there would be a 4 seat requirement. an aircraft that fits that bill... even a 40 year old air-frame with minimal equipment can run $80,000-100,000
could i finance it? sure, but that will saddle me with a substantial monthly debt, on top of insurance, fuel, hangar costs and maintenance costs. and i can currently rent a plane for weekend warrior stuff. renting a plane for angel flight missions is out of the question however... because a 4 to 6 hour trip at an average of $125 an hour would have almost covered the monthly cost of owning the plane.
thats why i was attempting to be a cash buyer. But finding a $25,000-$35,000 airplane to pay cash for is much more realistic than finding one and paying $80,000-100,000 cash for it!
the good news is, My wife's vehicle is within 6 months of being paid off... so even if i paid down 50% toward the hull and financed the rest, the monthly payment would not be that high.
bottom line is, i dont want to finance if i dont have to.
last time i purchased an airplane it took me about a year to find exactly what i was looking for and a couple of weeks to close on it. so again... its a patience game
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