Columbia Basin, Ephrata, WA | JT55 - 8/31/2024 12:56
Any of you farmers private pilots? Was considering it, mainly to take shorts trips to Midwest farm shows and conferences, maybe a weekend away on occasion. Where do you go?
Is it worth it, or just keep driving?
I started flying in 2021, bought a plane (Cessna 175) in 2022, got my private certificate in 2023, and just last week sold my first plane and got a bigger one (Cessna 206). I haven’t really gone any great distances yet, but the 206 is very capable once I get comfortable in it. I’m looking forward to checking out some more remote places in Idaho, and going to the Oregon coast.
My best trips so far were taking my girls to the beach and to a park near Lower Granite Dam, and my oldest son and I flew to a couple of graduations back in June. Me and two little kids or one bigger kid was pretty much the limit for the 175, which needed nearly full fuel to have much range (we had to stop for fuel when returning from the beach.) The 206 will take more people and stuff farther and faster, but cost a lot more to buy and insure. Fuel actually isn’t that much difference per mile, the 175 wasn’t especially efficient.
Until you start going 150+ miles, isn’t much faster than driving if the airport isn’t very close to your final destination. Lots of small airports have crew cars you can borrow briefly while you’re there, usually one a first come first serve basis, so you’re not necessarily stuck within walking distance of the field. Some crew cars have a small fee that’s usually waived if you buy some quantity of avgas.
The price of avgas often reflects the need for its providers to fund things like facilities and crew cars. If you fly much at all, especially at a big or busy airport, gas will be your biggest cost. Some planes can use ethanol-free car gas (“mogas”), which can save you some money, but few airports offer it on the field. If you have your own bulk tank you can likely get avgas delivered much cheaper than you can buy it at the dispensers. Depending on whose plane you’re flying and where it’s based, that may or may not be an option.
In rental planes it’ll probably cost $10-12,000 to complete your private certificate. It takes a minimum of 40 flight hours, but almost nobody can pass a check ride now with that little experience. The checkride itself can cost $1,000, so it’s not something you want to attempt too many times.
Buying a plane is a whole ‘nother subject, and depending on perspective may cost you a whole lot more than renting, or slightly less if you fly a lot and have some good luck at avoiding expensive maintenance issues. Hangar and annual maintenance can easily be $10,000 per year, and insurance will be another $1,000-1,500 for basic planes all the way up to 10x that if you get something more expensive or higher risk, like a float plane. Owning a plane is great for freedom, if you can stomach the costs. Rental planes are often limited to public, hard surface runways, and are subject to availability. My best flights I listed above included, sand, gravel, and private runways, so would not have been possible in a rental.
This got long, so I’ll stop now. Feel free to ask questions if you’re wondering about anything specific.
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Private pilots license
