Some quick semi-random thoughts for starts:
- Consider entering into a co-ownership with some trusted friends, a total of three or perhaps four folks in all, yourself included. More than four co-owners constitutes a Flying Club, by FAA and/or insurance company definition. You probably want to avoid that. Insurance rates are much higher for "flying clubs" as well.
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(Some "Flying Clubs" are essentially just a collection of frequent renters at your neighborhood FBO, who get a favored rental rate. Typically many folks, few planes, and abundant scheduling headaches.)
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Most of my aircraft-ownership years were as co-owner with one, two and at most three other folks.
Believe me, that made scheduling far easier than with a "club".
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We just arbitrarily assigned each calendar week to a particular member, rotating down the calendar in turn.
When I wanted to use the aircraft, it was either "my week", or I only had to coordinate with whoever "owned" that week.
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We assessed each other a fixed per-month fee to cover "fixed" expenses, such as hangar rent, annual inspections, insurance, and an hourly "dry" rate of $18.00/flying hour (engine hours, as measured by the Hobbs meter in the aircraft). Each pilot buys their own gas, topping off the tanks on the completion of each trip.
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[We bought that PA28-180C in 1971(?) for $7,200, and sold it ≈ 20 years later for something well north of $20,000.00. (Try that with an automobile or snowmobile!) Incidentally, that aircraft is still flying today, the last I checked, now based at (click →) Flying Cloud Airport (FCM), Eden Prairie, MN.]
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- Renting aircraft from your neighborhood FBO usually involves an hourly dry rate as above, but with a mandatory minimum number of hours charged per calendar day, whether flown or not. This can add up for a holiday trip (Fly out, stay several days, fly back.) And of course you'll need to have an initial check ride with one of the FBO's flight instructors before they let you rent (Of course you pay for the aircraft and the flight instructor for that too!)
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- Check out (click →) Trade-A-Plane.
… Are single engine planes reliable to the point you don't have to worry about having a twin engine plane just for the "insurance"/ safety factor alone? …
It's a well known fact that most twin engine aircraft don't have two engines for redundancy,
but because they need both engines! They really don't fly that well at all with one out of service, and of course with one engine out, there's also asymmetric thrust to deal with.
Also, your flight training will include plenty of work on emergency procedures — including how to find a suitable emergency landing field, and use it. Remember, you will have a glide ratio of roughly 12 to 1 or more, so for every mile you are above the ground you will have a safe glide distance of ≈ 12 miles (e.g. at ≈ 10,000 ft. AGL, find a suitable landing spot within a ≈ 24 mile radius).
You want "insurance"? Check out the (click →)
Cirrus SR22,
… complete with a whole-aircraft (click →)
Cirrus Airframe Parachute System® (CAPS®).
(Said Frank, wiping the drool off his chin.
)
… The wife's first thought was just hire a charter whenever we want to travel, and that in fact might be cheaper if you're only traveling 3-4 times a year.
So I would say that unless you are REALLY interested in becoming a pilot yourself, including the hours and hours of instruction needed to get to the point where you can fly others around in weather that is not picture perfect, then I would go with the charter idea. Especially if you only plan to fly 3-4 times a year. …
Not to mention that you'll have to fly much more than that just to satisfy the FAA's Biennial Flight Review and Currency Requirements (for carrying passengers), see
FAA's Advisory Circular 61-98C (PDF).
I have so much more I could add, on the cost of getting that private pilot certificate (or whichever newer variant), but enough for now.
-Mezz
-Mezz