Buying A Plane
$500 Per Month?
 I’ve always believed that everyone can own an airplane. Indeed, I’ve noticed that many of the people who are now jetting around in Gulfstreams or Challengers got started in Champs, Cubs, Stinsons, Cessna 150s, Cherokee 140s or similar entry-level airp |
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10 Affordable Classics
 Affordable classics might seem an oxymoron, a contradiction in terms, but in fact, there are more of them available than you might imagine. Before we could home in on the top 10, however, we had to define exactly what we meant by “affordable” and “c |
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10 Cheapest Birds In The Sky
 As much as those of us in the industry might wish it otherwise, flying is definitely one of the more expensive pastimes. Unfortunately, some pilots simply accept the realities of expensive flying costs without investigating the alternatives. Despite what you may think, there are ways to fly without busting the family budget. True, you won't be aviating at 170 knots in a shiny new A36 Bonanza or Columbia 400, but you can stay in the air for considerably less than the national debt of Peru.
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10 Most Undervalued Airplanes
 Many of them are airplanes you don’t see on every ramp, but pilots in the know almost universally regard them as “sleepers,” flying machines with more than their share of talent. In some cases, t
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10 New Planes Under $100K
 Until recently, buying a new aircraft meant shelling out $200,000 or more—even if all you wanted to do was get into the air for some fun flying, either solo or with a passenger. Of course, you could opt for an older aircraft, but airworthiness directives and maintenance costs quickly boost the actual costs. Or you could build your own airplane for much less—provided you took a year off from work. Fortunately, the many new light-sport aircraft (LSA) coming to market offer you cost-effective options.
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10 Undervalued Classics
 Given the way that prices on just about everything keep going up, it’s hard to believe there really is such a thing as an “undervalued” airplane. But such a thing does exist, especially when you look back at the older classics.
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25 Bargain Birds For 2005
 Compiling any list of the 25 best bargain buys in general aviation is almost guaranteed to ruffle some feathers. Our choices aren’t always going to agree with everyone else’s. No matter how much we try to be fair and impartial, our selections have to
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Buy Your 1st Bird
 “I’ve sold airplanes to student pilots with two or three hours in their logbooks,” says Jim Sherman, regional manager for Premier Aircraft Sales. “In the past couple of years especially, half of my clients have been low-time pilots, first-time buy
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Buying Your First New Airplane
 A brand-spanking-new airplane. There are few thrills and accomplishments as satisfying and special as buying a factory-new airplane. To the new owner, a new bird is the epitome of symphonic beauty and brilliant engineering; a powerful engine and supple, luxurious leather interior combined with the latest in navigation and communication technology, which, in many cases, outpaces commercial airliners. And it’s all yours.
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Buying Your First Plane
 In most cases, the first question a pilot must answer is the obvious one: How much money are you willing to spend on an airplane? In the majority of cases, this will be a finite number that will make t
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Flying for Peanuts
 I have a good friend in the music business who has always shown an interest in flying. He seems to have plenty of time, drives a two-year-old Volvo wagon, owns a home in Long Beach, Calif., and has inquired several times about the cost of learning to fly.
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New vs. Used
 There’s no denying the fact that all pilots love airplanes and, if given the chance, they would all buy and own one. That’s the easy part. Buying one is a whole different story, however. And it all
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No Worries With iFly
 I was introduced to a new kind of flying at an open house in Long Beach, Calif. Erik Lindbergh, grandson of Charles Lindbergh and cofounder of iFly, spoke of the “world’s first exclusive aero club,” a membership-only venture that provides shared acc
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Partnership Aircraft
 Would an aircraft partnership save you money or allow you to fly a bigger and better airplane for less than you’re spending now? A partnership, or shared aircraft ownership, is one of the oldest and sometimes most practical forms of owning an airplane. |
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Secrets For Buying Undervalued Aircraft
 Whether the stories are real or just urban legends, sooner or later, every hangar-talk session turns to a tale of someone finding that cherry-red Bonanza sitting in a barn in the middle of nowhere a
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The Day Of The Personal Jet
 It’s a new world. VLJs and personal jets are on their way. Despite naysayer predictions, Eclipse Aviation is actively marketing its model 500 twin jet, with more than 100 aircraft completed and 50 delivered (as of mid-February), and there are at least a |
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We're Headed For The Future
 To borrow a line from my favorite songwriter and performer, Neil Diamond, aviation is “headed for the future and the future is now.” If you’ve ever been in the market for an airplane, 2008 is a banner year to buy. |
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Because response to Plane & Pilot’s “