Affordable Aviation: Embracing Experimental Aircraft Ownership

Experimental airplanes offer significant cost savings and flexibility for aspiring aviators.

### Affordable Aviation: Navigating the World of Experimental Airplanes
* ✈ Many videos and articles suggest that certified airplanes are the most affordable option for aviation enthusiasts, but my experience with the **Vans RV12** has shown me **otherwise**.
* 💰 Certified airplanes like the Cessna 172 and Cessna 150 can be prohibitively expensive, with prices for new models reaching **over $500,000** and older models still costing **tens of thousands**.
* 🔧 A significant drawback of certified airplanes is that without an A&P license, owners cannot perform maintenance or upgrades, leading to **high labor costs for repairs and modifications**.
* 🛠 My first tip for affordable aviation is to choose an experimental airplane, which allows owners to **work on their aircraft without the need for certification**, significantly **reducing maintenance costs**.
* 📚 Additionally, opting for an experimental light sport airplane offers the added benefit of being able to **complete a two-day Light Sport Repairman Inspection course**, allowing owners to **sign off on their own condition inspections**.
* 💸 It's also crucial to consider insurance costs, as rates for certified airplanes can be **exorbitant**, sometimes **exceeding $6,000 annually**, making ownership **financially burdensome**.
* 📉 The market for certified airplanes is dwindling, with older models becoming **harder to maintain** due to the **scarcity of parts and increasing repair costs**, while the experimental aviation sector is expanding with **new opportunities**.
* 🌟 In summary, for those looking to enter aviation affordably, I recommend focusing on **experimental airplanes**, particularly **light sport models**, while being mindful of **insurance and maintenance costs**.

there are a lot of videos and articles out there talking about the most affordable airplanes that you can buy today. Before buying this little Vans RV12, I watched a lot of these videos and read all these articles about how to get into aviation affordably. After owning this airplane for a little bit over a year and a half, I realized that these videos and articles about the most affordable airplanes have gotten it a little bit wrong, and I'm here to tell you why. So, if you go back and watch all these videos about the most affordable aircraft, you're going to realize one thing: all these videos are presenting certified airplanes. So, airplanes like the Cessna 172, which is actually kind of expensive now, Cessna 150, Cherokee 140, or maybe an Aeronca Champ or something like a Piper Cub. So, all certified airplanes. A certified airplane is an airplane that was built in a factory, certified by the FAA, and deemed safe enough to use to make money, so safe enough to rent out to

other people to charge people to do training in it or to give rides or to use for hire. Today, the market for certified aircraft has gotten completely out of hand, especially for brand new airplanes. So, if you look at the Cessna 172, which is amazingly still being produced by Cessna Aircraft, you'll see that the MSRP on a brand new 172 is something like $500,000 or more. I don't know what it is, but that's insane. So, a lot of people who buy an aircraft go with an old airplane, maybe a Cessna 172 that was built in 1965. You could get one for maybe $65,000, and that's on the lower end. Or maybe you buy a Cessna 150 for $35,000. But with all these certified airplanes, you're going to realize one thing. So, let's say you bought a Cessna 150 for $35,000. If you don't have your A&P license, you are not allowed to work on the airplane yourself. So, that includes stuff like, I don't know, regreasing the

main Wheels. It's kind of a gray area if you can do that or not. But let's say you want to make upgrades to the panel. You cannot really do that if you don't have your license. Maybe you have to change some insulation in the fuselage. You can't do that if you don't have your license. So, you're going to have to pay someone, usually over $100 an hour, to work on the aircraft. And then let's say you have to find a replacement part. Or let's say you want a new radio for your airplane. You go on aircraftspruce.com and you look up the radio. Then you're going to see that there are two price options. There's going to be a certified airplane price and an experimental airplane price. You're going to notice very quickly that the certified price is way more expensive than the experimental price. Here is my first tip. If you want to get into Aviation and do it affordably, my number one piece of advice is to go with an experimental airplane.

kind of like this one. I understand that the words experimental airplane are very scary to a lot of people. You know, if you tell the general public, Hey, I fly an experimental airplane, they're going to be like, Whoa, you're crazy. You're flying an experiment in the sky. You're going to die. Well, I'm here to tell you that that's not really the case. Experimental Aviation is just kind of a blanket term for any airplane that wasn't fully built in a factory, or it was plans-built, or it came in a kit like this one, or maybe it was a one-off, which is very rare, or maybe it was built in a factory, but it hasn't gotten its FAA certification yet. So pretty much, basically any airplane that wasn't built in a factory, but experimental Aviation, or most experimental airplanes like the little Vans RV12 sitting right behind me, are extremely proven designs. So the kit for this aircraft was produced in around 2011, I think, but the airplane was finished in 2017. This was number

495 on the serial number list. So, but in general, Vans aircraft has made over 11,000 kits, and I think there are actually 11,000 flying. I don't know, the number is huge. It's a proven design, even though it's an experimental airplane. So, with owning an experimental airplane, there are some huge positives. Number one, you can work on the airplane yourself as the owner, and you can upgrade it and do anything you want to the panel, and there's no real paperwork that is going to bar you from doing so. Every year, you do have to pay an AMP to do your condition inspection if you have just a regular experimental amateur-built airplane, but that's no big deal. That's one cost a year. You maybe pay $800 for someone who spends 8 hours doing your condition inspection. Okay, so yeah, tip number one, go with an experimental airplane. Now, piggybacking off that tip, there's another detail that I want to suggest to you all if you really want to save money and not only

just go with an experimental airplane, but go with an experimental light sport airplane, like the one sitting right behind me now. A light sport airplane does have its limitations; you know, it's limited in speed, it can only go 120 knots, has to have a fixed pitch propeller, fixed landing gear, only two-seater, and only weigh 1,320 lb. But there is a huge advantage to owning an experimental light sport, and it's called the light sport repairman inspection course. So, that is a course that only takes 2 days, and it allows you, as the owner, to do your condition inspections on your experimental light sport airplane. Not only can you work on the airplane yourself, but when it comes down to your yearly condition inspection with the light sport repairman inspection certificate that you can get, which is only a two-day course and about $400, you can legally sign off on your condition inspections for your airplane. So then, in the end, you never have to pay anyone to work on your airplane. Of course, it's a good idea to

not get into something that you don't have a lot of expertise on. Like my good friend Jack right across the way, he helped me out with my engine stuff, like taking compression readings and balancing my carburetors. He's also got a great YouTube channel, so you should check it out. Real nice guy, he's helped me tremendously, but he's an AM. So I used him to help me out, but a huge money-saving aspect about owning an experimental light sport. I definitely recommend it. The next tip about owning an affordable airplane is looking into the insurance cost. So nowadays, insurance rates are skyrocketing for aviation. It's just getting completely out of hand. It's really driving a lot of people out of aviation and owning an airplane. But for example, before I got this RV12 years ago, I really wanted to own a C or an Aventura, which both of those are experimental airplanes, but they are amphibious airplanes, you know, that can land on the water and land on land. I really wanted one. They're

two-seaters. They look like a lot of fun. They have good payload. It just seems like a great airplane for Florida. So, I was pretty set on getting one. Uh, and then I reached out to my insurance broker to ask, Hey, how much would it cost to insure me in a C-R? You know, just spitballing here. Uh, I have 25 hours of tailwheel time, something around there, and at the time, I think I only had like 200 hours or something like that. He came back and told me it would cost me $6,000 to insure me in a C. And on top of that, I had to get a whole bunch of training and all this stuff. And that's $6,000 per year to insure myself under liability and also insure the whole value of the airplane, which I believe, I don't know, I said, Well, take into account maybe $45,000 airplane. At that rate, you're basically buying a new airplane every 10 years just off of insurance costs alone. So, that's my third tip.

really, really look into insurance rates, things like having a complex airplane, you know, retractable landing gear, variable pitch propeller, a high performance, and dare I say, twin engine. All those things, if you don't have a lot of time in those airplanes, the insurance for you is going to be crazy. So, really looking to insurance rates if you want to get into Aviation affordably. Okay, last thing I want to talk about is that the world of certified airplanes is dwindling. You know, it's not a very fun thing to say, but it's the truth. Brand new certified airplanes are getting extremely expensive, expensive, and all the certified airplanes that you can possibly afford the purchase price for are just getting more rare. You know, they're crashing or not being maintained, and they're built in the 60s. Parts become very tough to find, and they're going to be very expensive because not only are you trying to Source something that is 50 years old, uh, it also has to be a certified part. So, on top of finding the part, you have to have all the

paperwork behind it, and then you have to have an & to do the work, and then you have to have an IIA sign-off on it. The cost starts adding up extremely quickly, and it's making these airplanes very hard to keep. Sure, a lot of these videos and articles about the most affordable airplanes are going to say, Hey, you know, annual average annual cost is like 1,200 bucks, but that is really if nothing goes wrong. Remember, A&S are charging about $100 per hour, at least in my experience. Maybe you have a better A&P out there, but it's very expensive to hire an to do all the work. And remember, with experimental light sport, you can do all the work yourself. And then, if you go light sport experimental, you can sign off on the condition inspections. But like I said, certified airplanes are dying out, but there is a whole new world of airplanes coming up, and it's in the experimental Aviation category. You know, you can get into the gyroplane world, you can get into airplanes that look like mine, like the

bristell. Sure, the new ones are going to be more expensive, but also you can get older experimental airplanes like this one, and you can maintain it yourself. And this one is a relatively modern airplane compared to certified airplanes flying today. So basically, I just want to leave you with this: so even though a lot of what I said may not be so positive about certified airplanes dying out, the whole new world of experimental airplanes is growing, and it's growing quickly, especially with the passing or the future passing of the Mosaic rules. A lot of cool, fast, two-seater airplanes might be open for light sport pilots. Okay, so those were my big tips for getting into aviation affordably and how to actually afford an airplane. Quick recap: go with an experimental airplane, don't go with certified unless you want to pay someone and do all the work and get certified parts. That might be for you, that's okay. Uh, if you go experimental, consider experimental light sport because of the cost that you save doing the work yourself and doing your

condition inspections look into insurance costs. You know, they add up really quickly, and just the insurance rate can keep you from owning an airplane. On top of hanger costs and things like that. And number four, certified aircraft are dying out, and there's a whole new wave of experimental airplanes coming up that are going to be really exciting. Those are my major tips for getting into aviation affordably. I hope you enjoyed the video. Till next time, blue skies, and I'll see you on the next flight. [Music]

How to Actually Afford an Airplane

FloridaFlying

The Misconception of Affordable Airplanes

Many videos and articles on affordable airplanes focus solely on certified models, which have become increasingly expensive.

The market for certified aircraft, like the Cessna 172, has surged, with new models costing over $500,000.

Owning a certified airplane also comes with restrictions on self-maintenance and expensive labor costs, making experimental airplanes a more affordable and flexible option for aspiring aviators.

Experimental airplanes are not as scary as they sound; they are simply aircraft that weren't fully factory-built or are awaiting FAA certification.

These planes, like the Vans RV12, often have proven designs, with many kits produced and flown successfully.

Owning an experimental airplane offers the advantage of self-maintenance and upgrades, while an experimental light sport airplane provides the opportunity to complete condition inspections legally after a short course.

Getting help from someone with expertise, like a friend who is an AM, can be a great money-saving aspect of owning an experimental light sport aircraft.

Insurance costs for aviation are skyrocketing, with quotes as high as $6,000 per year, making it a significant financial burden for airplane owners.

It's important to consider the long-term impact of insurance costs, as they can add up to the value of a new airplane every 10 years.

Insurance rates for complex airplanes are high, especially for those with retractable landing gear and twin engines, making it important to research before entering aviation.

The availability of certified airplanes is decreasing, with new ones becoming extremely expensive and older models hard to maintain due to the rarity of parts and the need for certification.

While the average annual cost of owning an airplane may seem low, unexpected issues can quickly drive up expenses, making experimental light sport aircraft a more affordable option for those looking to enter aviation.

Tips for Affordably Getting Into Aviation

Experimental airplanes offer a more affordable option for aspiring pilots, allowing for self-maintenance and potentially lower costs.

The growing trend of experimental light sport airplanes, especially with the upcoming Mosaic rules, presents exciting opportunities for light sport pilots.

It's important to consider insurance and hanger costs, as they can quickly add up and impact airplane ownership.