WHAT HAPPENED?

[1964-M20E]

We fly GA because we want to.  We know and accept that the cost is more than commercial.  We also accept that the time we save flying GA is often used maintaining our precious magic carpets unless you are not a member of the CB club and just write checks to pull out, maintain, clean your airplane and put it back into the hangar.

1. We can go on our schedule within reason due to weather.
2. We can land closer to our destination most of the time.
3. We do not need to deal with the airlines over refunds for canceling a flight.
4. Most of all we do not need to deal with the BS from TSA and the silly mask requirements.

[RJBrown]

We used to fly from Denver KAPA to Leesburg Florida in the Rocket to visit my in-laws often.

Two 3.5 hour legs with a breakfast stop in Littlerock and two 4.0 hour return legs always beats the airlines door to door. It’s close if you get a direct flight. 3-4 hour minimum difference if you have to connect.

With the 1 hour drive to DIA + 2 hours to get through security and onto the plane then baggage claim, rental car and another 1 hour drive. The other advantage is the ability to chose your take off time. Leaving APA at 3am gets you to Florida in time for lunch. The family is asleep for the first leg so it’s even better for them.

From Denver anything west of the Mississippi was no competition. Anywhere in the country if the airlines needed a connection again no competition. 
 

[Jetman]

On 6/19/2021 at 1:38 PM, A64Pilot said:

The Big ticket aircraft, yachts etc have been selling very well for years, it’s the boats and airplanes that the middle class used to buy that have been in dire straights.

However this post pandemic sales of everything that middle class people is buying is new.

I fear the bust will be worse than 08 when it happens, but then I worry,it’s my nature.

Warren Buffet said it well.  When the tides goes out, you see who is swimming Naked...

 

[carusoam]

So…

While we are remembering the times we don’t want to repeat…

Just remember…. The future is yours to adjust… 

Following Forbes is great if you are a Billionaire…

Following Buffet is pretty good too on your way to being a billionaire…

 

Charting the cost of living has been done before around here… no big magazine required…

Search for Corvettes around here… there will be threads that outline the cost of a corvette back in the day…and what one costs today…

I couldn’t afford a used Corvette back then, and today… it only comes after a few other things… priorities…

 

There are also interesting threads around here regarding how people have actually paid for their Mooney… which go back about a decade or so…

 

So… if we want to blame somebody else about why we can’t have nice things…. Go for it… unfortunately, it won’t change anything…

there are people that can afford these planes…. See what they are doing that makes that possible…

I have only owned two Mooneys… they were both owned by companies or people that ran a company initially…

 

We can blame the fed too… that is pretty easy.  They pull the punch bowl away every time they increase the interest rate 1/4 of a percent…

Who said that the party is over? Don’t look that up, it isn’t required… it won’t help either…

Pulling the punch bowl away only lasts a short period of time… the party continues on…

It is a problem for individuals similar to when the fed lowered interest rates…. Nobody called it for what it was…. It is putting the punch bowl back out… for people who use the opportunity wisely…

 

It takes time to save enough money to buy a plane…. Or…

It takes time to pay off a plane loan…

 

Get to know how interest affects everything….  Over time.
 

Get to know how inflation affects everything…  over time

 

Get to know how to save…

Get to know how to invest…

Did you know…

• the calculation to determine how long it takes to double your money based on the interest rate your investment has? (The rule of 72)
• The S&P has gone up 10+% on average every year since before the Great Depression….

 

There are hints thrown in around here by how individuals do this…

Know that there are experts in this field that are worth consulting with…

In the 70s… I knew a guy….  He bought a boat… after a couple of years he bought a bigger boat because he ‘made’ money on the one he owned…. The bigger boat would earn him more… sounded good…

Inflation was mixing up the logic the guy had… he wasn’t really earning money on the boat above the inflation rate that was taking the value away…

In the end… he got tricked by inflation to spend more than he really wanted to…

Keep both eyes open…. The rules don’t change…our understanding of the rules are what’s important…

 

As far as an M20J being a low cost plane…. A handful of M20J-ATs were sold to universities….

Compare that to the cost of an M20S… the stripped down version of the M20R…

Nearly the same number of parts… nearly the same number of hours to build… nearly as much complexity to manufacture…

A few hundred more pounds of materials… a couple of more cylinders under the extended cowling….

Trim all you want…. There isn’t a way for Mooney to produce a decontented stripper into an affordable airplane…

Affordable Mooneys are of the pre-flown variety…

Affordability increases as your nest empties out… grow the children faster more efficiently….  Write a book about how you did it… do presentations on YouTube…. Gain followers.   

Strange stuff I learned about while reading MS endlessly… from other PPs… some had retirement planes, others ran their own businesses…

Its not about the money… it’s what you do with it… that can make a difference…

Life can be challenging…  being part of a community can help…

PP thoughts only, not a finance guy…

Best regards,

-a-

 

[DCarlton]

I like the party punch bowl analogy.  Don't think I've heard that used.  Adding it to my tool bag... 

[SalMCFI]

I bought one....:)

[DAVIDWH]

SalMCFI

Congrats. Details would be much appreciated.

You are going to enjoy a real cross country hauler.

 

[SalMCFI]

On 6/26/2021 at 8:16 PM, DAVIDWH said:

SalMCFI

Congrats. Details would be much appreciated.

You are going to enjoy a real cross country hauler.

 

Thanks David!

[V1VRV2]

July 24… 1 Ovation for sale in the US on Controller. Likely something isn't right with it. It’s been for sale for a while! Supply has dwindled to nothing. 

[jlunseth]

If anyone thinks that recessions, even mild ones, do not have an effect on especially high end items they should spend a few years going to the Bahamas. During market high’s you can’t find a slip in a marina. If interest rates rise and the economy slows, all the boats will be gone in a matter of two or three months and they will stay gone until the economy starts to rise again. The islands are full of the remnants of vacation home projects, some very large like Grand Bahama, that were started when the economy was bright and ended immediately when it was not.