A big big void

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elmanzah
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A big big void

Post by elmanzah »

Hello all,

If any of you owners are thinking of selling their plane, you may want to reconsider. I sold my DA40 after 18 months of wonderful ownership. I underestimated my capacity to live without my own plane.. thinking I could rent instead. The rise in DA40 prices helped the decision to sell. That said, I am humble enough to say that I regret it.

Buying now won't be as easy because of how fast the prices rose even beyond the point I sold. SO.. if other owners here are thinking about selling, re consider. Don't underestimate your capacity (like I did) of living without the flexibility and joy of flying your own clean airplane.

Enjoy flying!

It may take some time but I'll be back. For now, I will read all your posts and continue learning :-)

P.S.: I like the NG vs IO360 vs Cirrus debate. [whispering: I am liking the NG]
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pietromarx
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Re: A big big void

Post by pietromarx »

I found that, too, each time I sold a plane. Thought I wasn't going to be into flying and then found out that it was more important than I had realized. I've never enjoyed renting as I prefer to know the plane is well-maintained, does what I want it to do, etc. So it has always been own and fly or not own and not fly.

Enjoy the time reading. I think the debate is slowly going to evolve into one of comfort and automation vs. interest and personalization. Do you want a machine that essentially takes you places with as little effort as possible or do you prefer to focus upon the journey with a highly customizable airplane that takes more attention to fly? Everything else is kind of secondary.
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Colin
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Re: A big big void

Post by Colin »

On our second family trip, and first overnight, the push-to-talk button on the pilot's yoke broke on the rental plane. My wife was not as convinced, but that was when I decided I had to own a plane instead. That stuff drives me *crazy.* There's a couple people on this board I could partner with, like Don Stewart, but in general I don't think anyone is going to care as much about every little tiny thing on the plane. And they shouldn't. It's probably a sickness. But I want every little thing working as the engineers designed it to work and the people putting it together meant it to work.
Colin Summers, PP Multi-Engine IFR, ~3,000hrs
colin@mightycheese.com * send email rather than PM
http://www.flyingsummers.com
N972RD DA42 G1000 2.0 s/n 42.AC100 (sold!)
N971RD DA40 G1000 s/n 40.508 (traded)
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elmanzah
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Re: A big big void

Post by elmanzah »

Colin wrote: Sat Feb 01, 2020 1:46 am On our second family trip, and first overnight, the push-to-talk button on the pilot's yoke broke on the rental plane. My wife was not as convinced, but that was when I decided I had to own a plane instead. That stuff drives me *crazy.* There's a couple people on this board I could partner with, like Don Stewart, but in general I don't think anyone is going to care as much about every little tiny thing on the plane. And they shouldn't. It's probably a sickness. But I want every little thing working as the engineers designed it to work and the people putting it together meant it to work.
Very true.. I used to debrief my passengers NOT to touch my LCD screen so I don't see finger prints. Imagine someone obsessive about finger prints existing in a plane with missing buttons, stained seats and ripped carpets. Awful!
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Lou
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Re: A big big void

Post by Lou »

This is a timely post for me. Having just spent on the GTX 345R and a few other fixes I said to myself “maybe it’s time.” I read this and it makes me think of the places we’ve been, the sights we’ve seen and the people we’ve met in our little machine. If we were renting we would never have been so adventurous. Flying would be mostly $100 hamburgers, and interest would wane.

Thanks.
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Rich
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Re: A big big void

Post by Rich »

Renting can be a big disincentive to keep on. I presume most, if not all, of us here have done a fair amount of that. That's why I pay something like $5,500+/yr. just to own/maintain the airplane.
2002 DA40-180: MT, PowerFlow, 530W/430W, KAP140, ext. baggage, 1090 ES out, 2646 MTOW, 40gal., Surefly, Flightstream 210, Orion 600 LED, XeVision, Aspen E5
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