Goodyear, AZ 85395, US
My Story and Path to the Cessna T182
1st: Dreaming a Little
I started out pretty simple. I started out as I normally do, dreaming of what I could afford with quite a bit down and what I would feel was a comfortable monthly payment. I set a budget of about $250,000. That opened a wide list of planes. I started this when I was working on my Pilot's License back in Feb 2017. I knew little about planes, nor what it takes to fly them well.
On my list, of course the Cirrus; maybe 2006-2008 Cirrus SR22. I was mesmerized by the latest electronics and the apparent openness of the cockpit with its side stick. I am an electronics nerd, and they had my attention. Also in the category that no one really talks about is the Socata. A pretty cool little plane, sometimes referred to as a BMW of the skies due to its fit and finish.
I then started looking at Piper's Saratoga, Lance, and even the Piper Malibu's; that Malibu side "jet like" door is cool.
Next on the list was the Cessna 210 or P210. They are not particularly sexy, but they can haul anything. The P210 seemed like a bargain in many ways. At this point, a Cessna T182 was not even a consideration.
Then, I discovered the wonder of the Twins. I thought to myself, I could learn to fly a twin. That would be COOL. I mean, just look at an Aerostar, or a Cessna 340R. What absolute SEXY machines, and they can be had for CHEAP!!! I'll get to why later. The thought of pushing dual dual throttles forward. How impressive is that?
Learning the Market Values
I quickly figured out that airplanes are reasonably easily researched and if you are willing to spend the time, you can figure out a market price, and determine pretty easily a value that is pretty fair. The weird thing about planes, is that their values are tied in part to the economy as a whole. When people are doing well, they rise in price, and when it is not, they tank. Let's not kid ourselves, they are really just toys. You can spin it any way you want, but no one NEEDS an airplane, but many folks DESIRE one.
There is no particular shortcut to this, it is just work! Plan to spend 6 months or so trolling on www.trade-a-plane.com and www.controller.com. There are a couple of other good sites out there, but these two represent 90% of the planes on the market. Planes come and go; my advice, don't get too excited about any of them. Create a spreadsheet for each type you are interested in capturing the engine times, avionics, interior/exterior condition, etc, and get the prices. Also have a column where you adjust the price based on your opinion of what the value should be. This is pretty easy to do when you are not emotionally involved with a specific plane. It is especially helpful when you find one you want to go after if you use use the same cold methodology on the one you want. Planes will disappear, and you will start to see what they are worth compared to one another, and especially when a "deal" comes on the market, they get sold pretty quick. Trade a plane, and AOPA also have a pretty good estimators, but there is a huge benefit to having the entire type's history all in one place.
Use this time wisely. I live in Phoenix, AZ. When a plane would pop up in my area that was on the list, I would go look at it, mostly just to sit in it. I figured out for instance, that I do not fit in a Socata. I am 6'4", and about 280. After climbing in I figured out I would be able to fly a Socota only if I never wanted to turn. The yoke banged into my knees. I had the same problem with the Cessna 400/ttx (their Cirrus knockoff). As for the Cirrus, I still really like that plane and even flew one from the right seat. However, I had been tracking the Cirrus values for the past 18 months and they have for some reason INCREASED in value from Jan 2017 to June 2018 by about 25-30%. I still don't really understand why. What I did know was that I was not comfortable paying 30% above its last year's value on what should be a depreciating asset. That ended the Cirrus dream for now.
Figuring out the mission
I think everyone starts at the same point when they are becoming a pilot. That point is essentially everyone will want to go, so I need to be able to take everybody. Not true!!! Think hard about what you plan to do with the plane. Also do the math on the W&B for your mission . There are typically a few W&Bs out there on the internet that will give you an idea as to what to expect for a particular model (mine is included in the downloads section). As a big boy, it eliminated a few planes in my list. I really wanted something with a useful load higher than 1200 lbs. There really is no substitute for the 210 when it comes to this. It is a true heavy hauler with ULs exceeding 1300 and 1400 lbs depending on the model. It is this and the ease of getting in and out of a 210 that made the decision for me, that was the plane I was going to buy.
In my case, I am planning to fly back and forth to CA and TX for work; by myself mostly which are both 3 to 4 hour trips. For fun, my Mom, Dad, and wife might go somewhere, but probably won't want to go very far. And realistically, that is not the mission of the day. My son also might like to go; but, I also know my wife, and mother, would likely happily meet us there on a commercial flight if it were that big of a deal where we were all going to meet there. Four seats in my case are actually plenty for now. The "dream" was that I could chauffeur, Mom, Dad, wife, kid, his girlfriend/wife that does not exist yet, and me. I now realize that I do not really need that plane now.
Realistic Ability / Experience
In my case, probably like most pilots, before I moved up a step in plane from the Cessna 172s, I was sure I could take on any of the big rigs with NO PROBLEM! I am "smart" and a "problem solver;" Nothing to it, I assured myself. However these machine are complex, and there is a lot going on in them.
Get an Insurance Person Involved
Crucial!!! In my search, I quickly figured out that insurance is the "gate keeper" to airplane ownership. For the uninformed, this is not like getting car insurance. You cannot have 5 people give you a quote. You choose a broker, and they will get you quotes. If you have multiple brokers, they will all be asking the same insurers for quotes. Once the first guy there gets the #, the companies will not quote multiple requests from multiple brokers. Find someone you believe is responsive or get a recommendation from a pilot friend, or AOPA, or similar. I got my broker from my flight school's advice.
I found out a couple things quickly. An inexperienced pilot simply CAN NOT get insurance on on some airplanes. The multi-engine Aerostar and C340 require extensive training. You could expect to need 500-1000 hours in the right seat before any insurer would give you a policy on one of these two as PIC. That ended my multi engine dream, and also explains why they are so cheap. You CAN'T insure them unless you have a ton of time in them, which makes the buyer pool VERY SMALL. That is not to say that a trainer type multi engine, like a Seneca, cannot be had, but the idea of feeding two engines fuel to essentially get single engine speeds did nothing for me.
The same goes for the pressurized singles; extra training and lots of time in the right seat. That made the pool smaller. I was really down to the Piper Saratoga, and the non presurized Cessna 210.
My two hard quotes on insurance are as follows; obviously these would change based on your experience, and hull values, and liability demands, but my annual quotes below were with 150 hrs; non-IFR. It should be noted that while the IFR would help some, time in type (TIT) was my downfall. My broker expects all rates to fall dramatically once I renew with 75 or more TIT.
Cessna T210 $165k hull $1M/$100k PP Liab $6500
Cessna T210 $165k hull $2M/$300k PP Liab $9200
Cessna T182 $125k hull $1M/$100k PP Liab $1800
Cessna T182 $125k hull $2M/$300k PP Liab $2800