Buying and owning your own airplane can be a very rewarding experience for any pilot. Many pilots will head out to the airport where their plane is hangared or tied down and just sit in it or wash it for the 2nd time this week. They'll spend hours and hours cleaning it out and getting the seat just right. It's that pride of ownership thing and it's reminiscent of the first car you owned when you first got your drivers license.

But, as appealing as this sounds, owning you own airplane may not be the best option for you. There are a number of factors to look at and costs to weigh. I struggle with this issue myself and hate to admit, at this point in my life, renting is the best option. Take at look at what one of the many flight schools in your area are charging to rent per hour and add up your annual cost. Compare that to the annual cost of ownership.

Let's look at the pros and cons to aircraft ownership.

Outside of that pride of ownership, there are several practical reasons you may want to own your own aircraft. These are the areas most people talk about when discussing their desire to have their own airplane.

• You'll know who's been flying your aircraft and how well it was flown. Unless you're lending your aircraft out, you'll know if you had any failures recently and whether there were any recent hard landings.
• You'll be completely aware of all maintenance and repairs made to the aircraft. You'll know if your A&P suggested something be upgraded but left it to your discretion.
• The plane will be available when you need it and for as long as you need it. Nobody is going to be blocking out time right in the middle of your family vacation time.
• You'll become extremely aware of the feel of the aircraft. You'll become so familiar with it's flight characteristics, you'll know right away if something just doesn't "feel right."
• If you're flying a lot, your cost per hour of usage will drop considerably.  This is usually what pilots will look at when deciding whether to buy.  Regardless of how many hours you're flying, the local FBO typically isn't going to give any type of volume discounts.
  

As with most big ticket items, there are some serious issues to consider before you take the plunge and buy.  The same holds true for aircraft.  While the above reasons for ownership can be very compelling, it's important to pause and look at the following drawbacks.

• You're stuck flying one type of aircraft regardless of your mission.  When you rent, if you're flying alone, you can save some fuel by flying a smaller 2 seat aircraft.  If you have a family trip, you may need to bump up to a Cherokee Six to make the trip enjoyable.  Buying your own aircraft means, you'll need to cater to the largest common denominator.
• If you're not flying your aircraft enough, the hourly cost can go well above what you would pay if you were renting.  Remember, you're paying for hangar space, the loan payments, insurance and annual inspections whether you're flying or not.  Those costs don't go down when the airplane sits.
• At a lot of airports, hangar space has a long waiting list.  You may be leaving your aircraft on the tarmac with tie-downs until one comes available to you.

For most pilots it really comes down to cost.  They can work around the inconveniences if the cost is driven down with ownership.  So weigh that one the most.

If you've made the decision to buy an airplane and you're ready to start looking, here are the best places to find the aircraft of your dreams.

Bulletin Boards
Most FBO's will have a bulletin board somewhere in the building.  Make sure you're stopping by periodically and looking for any new aircraft for sale.  You may even consider putting up an "airplane wanted" sign which spells out exactly what you're looking for.

Word of Mouth
Pilots are a very tight knit community and they spend a good amount of time talking about flying and aircraft.  Let the other pilots in your area know you're looking to buy and to keep their eyes and ears open. Having a connection through a friend with the seller will often give you some inside information about the airplane you're considering.

Online Sources
Many new pilots, myself included will spend countless hours looking over the airplanes for sale websites, dreaming of the day they get to own their own plane.  Below I'll give you some of the best online sources for finding your airplane.