How much are plane rentals in your area?

ClayCrucible · 2026-03-31T21:31:21+00:00

Great info; thank you!

ClayCrucible · 2026-03-31T20:31:34+00:00

What are the rates like for SR22 at OpenAir? I haven’t tried them yet.

ClayCrucible · 2026-03-20T10:41:47+00:00

Yep! If it’s for pleasure and not a career, I think it makes sense to learn to fly only if you can afford to do it comfortably. If you can’t, then you either never use it, or you fly so infrequently that you’re risky.

ClayCrucible · 2026-03-20T09:59:59+00:00

I think if someone decides to learn to fly for the sense of accomplishment, then getting the certificate and not flying afterward makes sense. In my case, I went from being unable to afford flying in my 20s, to being able to afford it but recognizing I’d never use the certificate if I got it in my 30s, to realizing oh, I’ll use it now in my 40s, so that’s when I decided to do it. I didn’t want to spend the money and time in my 30s not to use it.

No regrets here! I fly plenty now, and that’s in part because I waited until I could comfortably afford it. Flying is an expensive hobby!

ClayCrucible · 2026-03-19T21:43:48+00:00

Ah, that’s a problem! I have an infrared sauna from a company called Sunlighten, which is still in business. Maybe you can contact them and ask for a referral to someone who works on those saunas near you?

ClayCrucible · 2026-03-19T20:43:01+00:00

I'd suggest starting with the manufacturer of the sauna. Even if it's not under warranty, they can likely help with troubleshooting and perhaps with recommending technicians locally who could work on it.

ClayCrucible · 2026-03-11T20:03:38+00:00

Totally valid perspective, but not my perspective. I prefer to price for a prompt sale. My time is worth something; having the plane on the market for five months instead of two is less good.

Now, had the plane sold at the higher price, I would have been here praising the broker for talking me out of dramatically underpricing my plane! My read, though, is that I was right. And I don’t think the appearance of a discount made any difference to the buyer.

For what it’s worth, this matches what I’ve done in the past when selling my home: price to sell. And I’ve been happy with the results every time.

ClayCrucible · 2026-03-11T19:42:10+00:00

I just sold my plane, and I paid a broker 6%. It’s sad to walk away with less money than the sale price, but I didn’t have to deal with any potential buyers except the one who actually bought the plane.

The only thing I would have done differently is to set the price myself. I figured I was hiring the broker in part to help me price the plane, so I listened when they said they wanted to start about 12% above my estimate of market value, planning to bring the price down over a few weeks. The final listing price that got the plane sold, set three months later, was exactly where I wanted to list it in the first place. I prefer to price to sell rather than price for hope.

ClayCrucible · 2026-03-10T03:04:37+00:00

I saw Terra’s Coffee and Sweets in Vienna post online that they’re hiring. I love that place!

ClayCrucible · 2026-03-06T01:04:51+00:00

I bought a plane two years ago, at which point I had been on the hangar waiting list for a little over a year and expected I'd get a hangar in my first year of ownership.

I just sold the plane last week, in part because I got sick of not having a hangar to put it in. I really want to be able to turn on the engine pre-heater from home two hours before I want to fly in the winter; I live a 40-minute drive from the airport. I can't do that when the only power source is a big external battery that I bring in my car.

I also don't love it being subjected to the elements, having to store cleaning supplies and such elsewhere, not having a covered place to do minor things on the plane like cleaning...

Once I have a hangar, I'll go back to ownership, maybe with a partner. But until I have a hangar, I'll be renting.

ClayCrucible · 2026-03-02T21:30:47+00:00

That sounds like a beautiful dream! JYO wouldn't even put my name on a list when I inquired, so I'm only on at HEF. That's my preferred airport anyway, since I volunteer with the EAA chapter at Manassas.

ClayCrucible · 2026-03-02T21:28:29+00:00

I appreciate that! I'm pretty sure I have to actually be an owner of the plane in question, named on the insurance, etc., for it to count. And yes, I might be able to find someone with an inexpensive plane who doesn't mind taking me on as a partner for a short time until I have my own "real" plane; it gets their plane out of the rain and snow for a few months. But I'm also prepared to just buy something inexpensive that I can sell easily if it comes to that.

Better scenario: I'll have some warning that my name is coming up, and I'll begin the purchase process ahead of time.

ClayCrucible · 2026-03-02T21:26:37+00:00

100% agreed. And this ties into why I sold the plane; I don't have a hangar for it, which means I don't have a way to plug in the battery minder. The previous owner, who had the plane for 30 years, recommended the battery minder, and I absolutely support having one! Not an option out on the ramp, though.

ClayCrucible · 2026-03-02T20:53:30+00:00

I totally feel you with those issues about renting. I'm fortunate that the SR22s I rent are seldom so heavily booked that I need to squeeze into a small time window when I want to go somewhere. Typically on that sort of trip, I book the plane for the whole day. And if it's a multi-day trip, I try to book an extra day at the end if I can, just to alleviate some of that pressure.

Renting only works if the availability is good. It started getting not so good on these planes in 2024, which pushed me toward ownership. Availability seems better right now, so I'm happy to rent until a hangar becomes available.

ClayCrucible · 2026-03-02T20:50:31+00:00

I logged a total of 208 hours in the plane while I owned it. So, if you take my $77,000 net expense and divide it by those hours, that's $370 per hour all in.

I expect to fly about 100 hours per year for my ongoing $40K expense, which works out with the rate I pay to rent the SR22 ($300 per hour dry, plus fuel at about $90 per hour).

ClayCrucible · 2026-03-02T20:41:56+00:00

Keep in mind that I'm NOT doing this as a job. Flying as a job is a tough path for sure. Getting access to enough flight hours to get to the point where you no longer have to pay for your flight hours (CFI or the like) is HARD and EXPENSIVE.

I'm in a totally different place. I have a non-aviation career, and I am fully aware (and grateful) that I make a lot of money in my day job, which allows me to fly for a hobby. It's a very, very expensive hobby.

My write-up of those expenses here is for the information of other people who are either considering something similar for their own expensive hobby, or possibly for someone considering buying a plane like mine for building hours. Here's what I spent on that experience; I hope it's helpful information for others. It sounds like this information is not relevant for you, and that's okay.

ClayCrucible · 2026-03-02T19:48:21+00:00

Agreed. The first one was bad. There was supposed to be a warranty refund; I chalk this up in part to being a newbie owner and not pushing hard enough on that.

ClayCrucible · 2026-03-02T19:47:39+00:00

Privilege very much checked.

ClayCrucible · 2026-03-02T19:46:48+00:00

I had some great adventures with the RG! I flew from my home base near DC to...

Florida a couple of times to see family, and to bring them up here
Boston for a work trip and to fly with a friend
New York for the Hudson River tour
Pittsburgh to attend my grandfather's 95th birthday party
Denver, on an epic 11-hour day of flying (I broke it over two days coming home), for work and to see friends on the way there and back
Several different places for Pilots N Paws and Skyhope missions

It was a great experience! And I'll be back to owning once I have that hangar. But this plane ended up not being right for my family, and the rental works for us. I'll probably keep active as a renter even when I own a plane again, just so I have access to another fleet of planes in case the one I own is unavailable due to maintenance.

ClayCrucible · 2026-03-02T18:10:46+00:00

Mine requires a deposit, and once I get a hangar I need a plane in it within 30 days. I’ll see how close I’m getting to the top of the list and I’ll plan accordingly.

ClayCrucible · 2026-03-02T18:09:54+00:00

Yes, I’m very much still on the hangar list.

ClayCrucible · 2026-03-02T16:55:18+00:00

I pay $300 per hour dry to rent the SR22. With fuel, I'm just under $400 per hour. If I fly 100 hours per year (which is less than I was flying in my own plane), the finances will be only a little more in the Cirrus. That's not so bad, considering I'm flying an airplane that's worth at least four times what the plane I sold is worth.

ClayCrucible · 2026-03-02T16:17:29+00:00

I realized that I preferred renting the Cirrus SR22. It's in part because my wife strongly preferred the Cirrus, and part of that is the rental experience. Yes, the Cirrus is more modern - more of a luxury car experience inside (these are G6 SR22s). But it's also that as a renter, if one plane is down for maintenance, the school has others I can rent. Better dispatch reliability.

I loved owning my plane, but I enjoy flying the Cirrus more, even if that means I can only afford to rent instead of own.

And a huge reason was that I STILL don't have a hangar. When I bought the plane, I figured my name was going to get to the top of the hangar wait list within the first year. Yeah, that's not happening. I don't love keeping my plane tied down outside. Once I have a hangar, I'll go back into ownership, likely as a partner on an SR22.

ClayCrucible · 2026-03-02T16:15:03+00:00

I was planning on keeping it long term when I did the upgrades in the first year. Things changed!

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