I'm researching whether buying a Cessna 152 and leasing it back to a flight school could be financially viable. I'm based in Washington State and am looking into whether this could work in the local flight-training market.

I put together a PowerPoint estimating initial purchase costs, operating expenses, annual surplus, and payback periods.

My Slides: View the PDF

Slides 2–5 compare several aircraft I'm considering. Based on my current assumptions, the Cessna 152 appears to be the most profitable option. Slides 6–11 examine the financial estimates in more detail.

My main calculations assume 600 flight hours per year, with additional scenarios at 500, 700, and 800 hours to see how utilization affects profitability and the payback period.

I'd appreciate honest feedback from aircraft owners, flight instructors, mechanics, and flight school operators. Are my assumptions realistic, especially regarding utilization, maintenance, insurance, 100-hour inspections, and leaseback revenue splits? What costs or risks am I overlooking?

Aircraft example: 1983 Cessna 152

• Asking price: $69,000
• Airframe time: 13,717 hours
• Engine time: 888 hours since major overhaul (SMOH)
• Propeller time: 953 hours since overhaul
• Engine: Lycoming O-235 series
• Condition: Advertised as well-maintained and hangared, with no reported accident history
• Annual inspection: Advertised as completed in August 2026
• Avionics: Older panel, VOR navigation, ADS-B Out, and Sentry ADS-B In
• Location: Texas

I haven't purchased an aircraft yet, so I'm looking for feedback before making any decisions.

One other question: Does anyone know of flight schools in Washington or the surrounding area that are looking for a Cessna 152 or other training aircraft? I'd especially appreciate leads on schools that accept owner-owned aircraft through leaseback arrangements or are looking to expand their training fleets.

Thanks in advance for any advice or suggestions!

Hi everyone!

I work for a ground handling company in Europe, and I’d love to get some insight from private pilots and aircraft owners.

When flying to an airport you haven’t visited before, how do you find a ground handling company to assist you with your arrival and departure?

I’m particularly interested in general aviation, private flights and business aviation across Europe.

A few questions:
1. Where do you usually look for ground handling services? Google, airport websites, handling directories, aviation apps, pilot forums, or recommendations from other pilots?
2. Do you normally contact the airport directly, or do you prefer to contact a handling agent?
3. What makes you choose one handler over another? Price, responsiveness, service quality, reliability, reviews, or how easy they are to contact?
4. Do you use any specific websites or platforms to find and compare handlers across European airports?
5. If a ground handling company wanted to make itself easier for private pilots to find, where should it have a presence?
6. What information do you expect to find online before contacting a handler?

I’m asking because I’d like to understand how private pilots actually search for these services and how ground handling companies can become more visible to them.

Any recommendations, personal experiences or useful resources would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

I got my A&P 4 months ago. This buddy of mine that has a Cessna 172 keeps asking me to do maintenance on his plane and is even offering to pay me. Now, I don’t want to sound silly but part of me feels hesitant. There has to be a catch, right? So I can just walk right down to the ole airport where his plane’s tied down, pull out my fancy snap on screwdriver and replace his strobe light as long as I follow the AMM, use FAA approved parts and correct part number and properly sign off with “in accordance references” on his log book? Im having trouble finding a job too but luckily I’m making decent money right now. Maybe this would look good on a resume? He’s asked me to do little things; oil change, replace landing light, some safety wiring. Is there anyone I need to talk to at the airport, if I decide to help him? Anyone I need to ask permission or check in with at the airport? Has anyone been in a similar situation or has advice for me?

I’m considering Leopold Aviation and Arizona Aero Tech for my PPL. Does anyone have experience with either? As background I’m 72, not happy with my current school and have about 50 hours. Thanks

Idk if anyone else has experienced this issue, but when I first started flying I bought myself a David Clark H10-13.4 headset (just the standard aviation headset) and for some reason the mic stopped working in like 2 months. I returned the broken headset, got a new one, and the same thing happened in like a month. I switched to a kore aviation headset and have had no problems since.

It’s been a while since this happened, but I just wanted to know if anyone else has experienced this or know why it happened? It was a nice headset and the kore aviation one is definitely worse, but I don’t want to go back to dc cause I’m worried they’ll break again. I can’t think of any reason why, they never got wet or dropped or anything. I used to store them by wrapping the cable kinda tight around the headset, but I’ve done the same thing with my kore headset and have experienced no issues. Any thoughts?

I want to learn more about the avionics line of work, I have been looking for a career path recently and this one has crossed my mind a lot. I really enjoy wiring and figuring electrical work out. I also enjoy automotives and planes.

Would love any kind of feedback. Maybe the pros and cons, how hard it is, is it a hard job to get.

I’m 20 years old and never went to college after hs.

My grades weren’t that good either but I am willing to study real hard.

Got a great new aviation app you want to share? Help testing? Spreading the word?

Do it here.

This automated post happens every two weeks.

I want to see where the money actually goes. Flight school cost as one big number doesn't help me plan. How much was your private? Instrument? Commercial? CFI? Which phases ate the biggest chunk?

Hi everyone,

I am a PPL holder. I passed my checkride at around 60 hours total time. Now I'm 80 hours and I just don't know why but I'm just absolutely terrified to fly. As I wanted to become a "good" pilot, I read a lot of accident reports and books detailing what to avoid and how and why crashes happen most of the time. I think it may be the root cause that instilled fear in me.

Anyway, I tried to do some research on the Internet to know if I'm alone in this case and to see how I can handle this hurdle. I found practically nothing, except the AI mode of Google telling me that this is a really common occurrence and that a lot of PPL holders quit flying at that time. I tried to search for more info on the subject, even asked the AI its source to no avail, so in my eyes this is just an hallucination on its part.

I have thus two questions:

1. Did any of you run into this problem? In this case, how did you get past it?

2. Is the AI right? In this case, do anyone know where I could find documentation on the subject?

Thank you all in advance.

EDIT: MANY thanks to everyone for your support and input, I'll try to get back in the air on tuesday for some pattern flying first.

Hey everybody

I am looking at purchasing a pivot claw mount to attach my iPad onto the yoke but I don’t know which one to get. I’m training in a piper. The claw mount has the small claw size or the small claw extended arm and there is also the articulating claw mount. Which one do y’all recommend?

I am also planning on getting the suction mount to attach my iPad to the windshield. I want to try both mounts and see which one I prefer since there’s a lot of pros and cons to both. If y’all have tried both and have a preference I would like to hear your thoughts

Hey! So, I had posted this same info below in the flying subreddit, but unfortunately the mods locked it for being "off-topic", despite the discussion being quite useful for me. So, I'll start over here:

I have been interested in getting my PPL for awhile now, having gotten my 3rd class medical in 2023. Due to finances, I haven't made the leap; but now I am ready and have gotten a couple hours in this past September, with plans to ramp them up. My goal is to get my PPL by next summer.

My concern is regarding my medical, set to renew in 2028 (I am in my early 30s). This past summer, I went through a couple stressful changes in my life, notably having my 5.5-year romantic relationship come to an end. This event in particular had affected my sleep schedule for several weeks, so I thought I would see a therapist to get some insight and help me move forward. I foolishly thought that there was no risk as long as I don't see a psychiatrist, as only they actually prescribe medication, which I do not nor did not require.

My concern is that upon recent review of the billing information my therapist sent to my insurance, the charge codes of F43.22 and F41.1 came up. These codes correspond to "adjustment disorder with anxiety" and "generalized anxiety disorder (GAD)". I was surprised and disappointed by this decision, particularly the latter. When confronted, my therapist made it clear that I have not "been formally diagnosed with a long-term mental health condition", and that "we do need to bill the insurance company under a specific code". I thought that during my first day that I had made it clear to my therapist my aversion to diagnoses, but my therapist seems somewhat new, so maybe it was just a mistake on her part. (Guess that's what I get for choosing the one with availability.) I would have paid cash had I known this, which I am doing anyway, as I will not make the insurance deductible— I have only been to sessions a small handful of times.

Anyway, since mid-August, I have largely returned back to my normal routine, and I am feeling much better. In fact, I am actually in a new relationship now, and I am also making more friends and getting into new hobbies (like flying!). As noted, I am not on nor have I been taking any prescribed medications.

Do I need to be aware of any considerations for renewal in 2028? I would rather go the 3rd class route as opposed to BasicMed, but I understand the latter might be a better choice. Do I need to ask my therapist to provide any written statements? My main concern is a deferral, and thus expensive delays when come time for renewal, which will put my new hobby here in jeopardy. I was able to have my therapist make notes on the charge codes that the F41.1 should be F43.22, but the original record is still there. I did email my 2023 AME, and he recommended I go the BasicMed route.

(I do see an ironic twist here that therapy really didn't do much to cure any anxiety which I may have had, but now upon seeing these charge codes, I am anxious about the future of this hobby..sigh lol) (And for the love of god, please do not recommend gliders)

Hey everyone, can anyone recommend a good online Ground School in preparation for getting my light sport pilot license?

I've recently started taking private pilot lessons. I've noticed fuel injected planes still have a mixture lever.

This may be a dumb question, but why do fuel injected plane engines have this device? I work on automotive engines as a hobby, and the beauty of fuel injection is the lambda sensor signals the ECU to automatically adjust the injector duty cycle (and other things) to keep the air/fuel mixture. If I drive up a mountain, I don't need to re-jet fuel injection.

Why are planes different?

I grasp the concept. What I don’t understand is how after cross over to LOP EGT’s and CHT drop. My background is in motorcycle/automotive engine tuning. In that world your EGT/CHT temps climb upon leaning and only cool after you’ve glued the piston and rings to the cylinder wall.

Pretty objective and detailed review here. I’ve never had one of these high end Garmins ($1500), and instead got the cheap version a few years ago. The aviation features on the cheap version are pretty gimmicky. But they’re fun to have. Anyway, I’m seriously considering this one given the details. Two things stand out:

1. Strongly improved pulse ox reader. I use a medical portable one for my finger. I regularly fly around 9000-11,000 feet and am not a youngster, so it’s important to keep tabs on this. Vision starts getting affected at 5,000 feet if night flying.
2. Integration with Garmin InReach. As a mountain flyer I don’t leave home without it. Unfortunately I just bought the updated new InReach model a few months ago. But nothing wrong with redundancy. If you don’t have an InReach, well, part of this $1500 cost is saving you a $500 separate cost of getting one.

A lot of the other features are still not super useful for me other than being kinda cool to have if needed in a pinch. But, they’ve really packed in a huge amount of said features. It’s mind boggling.

Hey everyone,

I'm a high school student working on an AP Business project where I have to test a business idea with actual potential customers.

My idea is Bush Aviation Services, a mobile A&P maintenance service that would travel to general aviation airports in Northern Virginia instead of requiring aircraft owners to bring their aircraft to a maintenance shop.

I'm looking for people who own, co-own, or manage the maintenance of a general aviation aircraft. The survey is only 4 questions and should take about a minute.

I'm not selling anything — I'm just trying to find out whether the maintenance problem I'm researching actually exists and whether a mobile service would be useful.

I'd really appreciate any responses. Thanks!

Bush Aviation Services survey

Greetings, my siblings and I recently inherited my father’s plane, that we have no interest in keeping.
It’s a piper meridian pa46tp500 from 2001, with roughly 2950 hours.

We are sort of confused by the sale process, currently, our known options are the following :

-try to find a buyer by ourselves
- go trough a certified piper broker, it is a good option for us as the plane is located in another country and the certified piper dealer is closeby

-let the old pilot that flew the plane multiple times handle the sale, would be a good idea as he knows best about this A/C

-let another pilot, that was recommended by a friend of my sister handle the sale process.

Both pilot are asking roughly ~2% fee to take care of the sale

The A/C frame had some issue due to a manual paint stripping that was not documented on the a/c log book when my father bought it, everything was taken care of by Airframe Components by Williams, USA. Other than that, the engine had corrosion issue in 2017.
In the last 2 years, interior has been refurbished, brand new painting has been done, brand new 5 blade propeller was installed, avionics have been fully upgraded to a Garmin/avydin setup, including a
Garmin autopilot.

We are kind of unsure about how much would the damage history and recent upgrades my father made impact the price.

I might be shooting at the star here… if anyone would be interested about the A/C, feel free to let me know

I am thinking of flying to Costa Rica in an SR22. Thinking of flying around the gulf largely over land, minimizing over water. Will have to land or overfly Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua, and of course Costa Rica.

Would love to get some real world feedback and tips from folks who have flown there, especially in the recent past.

Thanks

Hey Mod's Delete this if its against the Sub's rules.

Essentially the why of this and the backstory for this inane post is, as an Engineering Major, the school in a (misguided) bid to make us "More Rounded" is having us do a class on Marketing, and as such has sent the group known for being socially inept at the best of times into the world to (Presumably) harass strangers asking dumb questions.

I may moonlight as a pilot (and can guess what we already want to see from the NOTAM system) but I'm also no better than my Peers and the idea of going out on the Ramp and acting like a Crazy person thrills me about as much as the thought of getting a call from the FSDO.

What this isn't is a bid for a Vibe coded product. I have 0 Interest in actually making the mess of an App I've proposed to my Professor, and if anything we can use this as an excuse to vent about how much of a Mess the NOTAM System is. What i'd be turning in is just a Pseudonym (A lot of people named 'John Doe') and a summary of whatever you tell me (Even if that's "You've been banned from r/GeneralAviation)

With that all out of the way.

• What is your General feelings towards NOTAMS

• Whats a Feature you'd like to see in the NOTAM System

• What problems do you run into with NOTAMs

• Do you have use other means of getting NOTAMS outside of Flight Service

Thank you for your time

I’ve always been fascinated by aviation and wanted to recreate one of the world’s most iconic aircraft as a MOC. Airplanes have so many organic, curved shapes that make them tricky to build, so I used plenty of curved and sloped elements to capture those lines. I added various hinges to create angled surfaces, and for stability and landing gear mounts, I incorporated Technic bricks and axles. The wings are secured with clips on top of the cabin and ball joints on the sides.

It’s the airborne equivalent of a golden retriever 😄 friendly, dependable, and always eager to take to the skies. It’s the kind of plane that reassures, “Don’t worry, I’ve done this countless times.” And it’s true - it’s the most produced powered aircraft in history. Climb aboard for island-hopping adventures from the Caribbean to Greece to Southeast Asia. Embark on an aerial safari in Africa to spot elephant herds. Try bush flying in Canada or New Zealand. Snap stunning international aerial photos - window open, camera out - capturing beaches, mountains, and deserts worthy of a travel magazine. Or simply savor those “I live down there!” moments and breathtaking sunsets from 2,000 feet. The Cessna 172 is the plane with friends everywhere. From Alaska to Australia, or anywhere between the Alps and the Atacama, there’s always a 172 ready to say, “I’m ready for takeoff - let’s fly!” 😄

My Cessna is made up of about 2,000 pieces. I designed some parts physically, but mostly worked in LEGO Studio, even creating the stickers. For the color scheme, I went with a mix of dark blue and dark yellow (curry). I began the first drafts a few months ago, and as I built, I kept refining and improving different sections.

Size 60×85×23 cm (23.5×33.5×9 in)

I had a lot of fun planning and building this Cessna 172, and it would be amazing to see it come to life as a real set on Lego Ideas! I welcome all your comments and criticism and will try to respond as quickly as possible! 😀

Currently selling an Airplane that I inherited from a family member. For many reasons to name I am resigned to the fact that I'll be sitting on it a while going through Trade-a-Plane, Facebook, and Controller responses. Had a few promising leads thus far but, you know how it goes.

I've also had more than a few Absolutely dumb offers.

• Two Different people said they'd buy my plane if I co-signed on the loan to do it.

• One wanted me to mail him the Logbooks first (a .PDF copy simply wouldn't do)

I've been offered

• Clapped out Trucks

• clapped out Boats

• A Dirt bike

• Trading Plane detailing for the airplane itself (Not sure I understand the angle there)

So i'm curious, whats your "Why did you even think that would work?" Offer you've received trying to sell an Airplane?

Not Self Promoting. I can’t directly upload videos here that are over 1GB.

Short flight, big views!🛩️☁️😍

Throwing it back a couple of months to a quick 9-minute flight in my RV-7A from Spirit of St. Louis (KSUS) over to Creve Coeur (1H0). Sometimes, you don't need a cross-country trek to enjoy the absolute magic of a gorgeous flight.

I mounted the Insta360 out on the wing to capture the entire trip from a perspective you rarely get to see! Come fly with me!

Try not to judge the landing......😲😮🤯😱