hey,
i am thinking about my first airplane purchase. the main purposes are IFR and cross country flying, as well as flying with friends.
therefore, the 2-seaters aren't really an option although they are very cheap and burn less fuel.
unless you have other suggestions, i narrowed it down to either a 172 or a pa-28. i did most of my training on a 172 and i like it better than the pa-28's, but i noticed that the prices of a comparable pa-28 and a 172 (around mic 70's to late 80's, under 800 hours SMOH) are around $30,000-$35,000 and $40,000, respectively. pipers also usually eat up an extra gallon hour.
i sure like the 172's better, but do i like them $5,000-$10,000 better? why is the price difference so high?
other than fuel consumption, are the airplanes more or less comparable in terms of operational costs? are there any other airplanes i should be looking at?
thank you!
i am thinking about my first airplane purchase. the main purposes are IFR and cross country flying, as well as flying with friends.
therefore, the 2-seaters aren't really an option although they are very cheap and burn less fuel.
unless you have other suggestions, i narrowed it down to either a 172 or a pa-28. i did most of my training on a 172 and i like it better than the pa-28's, but i noticed that the prices of a comparable pa-28 and a 172 (around mic 70's to late 80's, under 800 hours SMOH) are around $30,000-$35,000 and $40,000, respectively. pipers also usually eat up an extra gallon hour.
i sure like the 172's better, but do i like them $5,000-$10,000 better? why is the price difference so high?
other than fuel consumption, are the airplanes more or less comparable in terms of operational costs? are there any other airplanes i should be looking at?
thank you!
