SLB_DA40 wrote: ↑Sat Feb 10, 2024 2:36 pm
As to how to afford, many of us here (including myself) set up a partnership with a buddy. Half the price, half the workload, built in safety pilot, and the engine doesn't sit around corroding half as much.
A partnership does include complications. I had one and it was OK. But you need to be in similar financial situations and must remain so.
You should have a written process for one of you to sell out (to remaining partners or otherwise). You are also likely a de facto partner with any spouse of your partner(s). I dodged a potential obnoxious situation when may partner sold out to me. Because three months later his wife filed for divorce.
To Rich's point, partnerships can be challenging. I suggest the best way to share your plane is through a dry lease, not co-ownership. The economics can be similar but you remain in control. There are other threads here which discuss dry leasing.
On the flip side. I was a partner in an SR22 for over three years before I sold my stake because I was planning to leave the area (did not, and should have kept the plane). It worked extremely well. Our schedules synced very well. My two partners were both mechanically inclined and alternated doing owner maintenance with one playing the safety/inspector role in addition working with the MX shops... I handled (well my wife did for me) all the paperwork, finance/accounting...
Boatguy wrote: ↑Fri Feb 09, 2024 7:12 am
Make the instrument rating a priority before taking long cross country trips with the family.
This is critical.
I finished my ppl and immediately rolled into instruments... then spent the next 5 months under the goggles.
But that was totally the right thing to do
Boatguy wrote: ↑Sat Feb 10, 2024 5:48 pm
To Rich's point, partnerships can be challenging. I suggest the best way to share your plane is through a dry lease, not co-ownership. The economics can be similar but you remain in control. There are other threads here which discuss dry leasing.
Yeah I did skip on that detail. My partner and I own equal shares in the LLC that owns the plane. We dry lease from the LLC and mutually agreed on the operating agreement which covers a myriad of issues including the transfer of ownership rules (right of first, etc).
He is going to manage the books and I have good history with the DA certified A&P / IA. We use CoFlyt to schedule, log hours flown, Mx squawks, and inspection dates. Mx has his own login. Gimme 6 months and I will offer my opinion on how well it works for us. Certainly appears built for this purpose.
Boatguy wrote: ↑Sat Feb 10, 2024 5:48 pm
To Rich's point, partnerships can be challenging. I suggest the best way to share your plane is through a dry lease, not co-ownership. The economics can be similar but you remain in control. There are other threads here which discuss dry leasing.
Yeah I did skip on that detail. My partner and I own equal shares in the LLC that owns the plane. We dry lease from the LLC and mutually agreed on the operating agreement which covers a myriad of issues including the transfer of ownership rules (right of first, etc).
That's entirely different than what I was suggesting. My suggestion was that one person owns the plane and leases it to others. The owners maintains control at all times but gains the economic benefits of sharing the cost. You effectively have co-ownership, but through an LLC instead of a partnership or other form of joint ownership. The dry lease you have is liability shield which is great.
