Owning a Cessna 152

[HappyFlying]

Joseph II,
I can't answer all your questions but I can tell you that a 150/152 at your elevation would be a bad choice. I have flown mine with the density altitude around 6000' and it was frightening. It will not climb. I took off that morning with a 3500' DA and when I landed I for fuel, I tied the plane down and took a long nap in the FBO until it cooled down that night. There is no way I would even attempt to fly it in Colorado. You can get away with flying in high and hot in some airplanes that have power to spare but not in a 150/152. I'm glad that I live at 1500' MSL in good ole Tennessee so I seldom have to worry about density altitude when I'm flying by myself. I still have to consider it in the summer if I have a passenger.

Unfortunately your location will be a limiting factor in your choice of airplanes. There are 150HP 150s out there but they are priced pretty close to a Skyhawk. I've flown a couple and loved the performance. If you can find one, that might be a good pick. I checked on insurance two years ago for having my little brother learn to fly (and solo) and it was going to run me over $4000 annually. I understand that everything has gone up since then. As far as the hail, it is always a gamble. Mine is on tie down because I can't get hangar space but I pay the 30 bucks a night to get it put in the corporate hangar when a nasty line of stuff is likely to gallop through.

I hope this helps,
HappyFlying

 

[azpilot]

What if you sell it and it still has over 1000 hour before it needs an overhaul?

What if the engine takes a dump 10 hours after owning it? Just because an engine has a 2000 TBO doesn't mean it will make it to 2000 hours. Mine has but there are no guarantees. With that said owning has worked well for me but I have had the capital to afford repairs as well. 1st annual $2500+ last annual $500. I knew going in the first annual was going to be expensive because I planned on replacing the landing gear donuts on my plane.

First year I flew 150 hours (Hourly cost w/o engine reserve $70/hr)
Last year I flew 225 so my averaged costs went way down. (Hourly cost w/o engine reserve ($43 an hour) That cost includes loan payment, insurance, gas, tie down, misc. and any parts and labor for repairs.

I have a nice 4 place aircraft that is IFR and I can go places in it. I don't think I would want to sit in a 152 for that many hours.

Flight school rental aircraft are getting expensive and if you have the capital and know you will fly at least 100 hours a year it could be worth it. If you move forward on a plane make sure you spend the money for a thorough pre-buy inspection. That might cost you $500 but think of what you will save in repairs if something is found. A friend of mine did that on a Baron and walked away. Plane had at least $15,000 worth of required work. Owner didn't want to lower to the price so "see ya" and she was out $500.

Whatever you do don't do a leaseback with a flight school. Not worth it. Someone else mentioned Chas's questions and there have been other posts on leasebacks.

Good luck,
AZPilot

 

[Joseph II]

HappyFlying

Thanks for your input. I agree with you about climb performance and density altitude. On a really hot summer day, you will be hard pressed to find 2 people flying in anything smaller then a 180hp aircraft. C152's are not common out here but I've heard of pilots taking them over the first set of "hills" which can top out at 9,000' easially.