5 Personal Airplanes You Can Buy For Less Than $30,000

When we think of airplane ownership, specifically small single engine piston engine airplanes. The general consensus is that owning an airplane is only reserved for the rich. Well I hate to break to ya. Actually just about anyone with a job can afford to own an airplane. If you can afford a brand new honda accord, chances are you can afford to own a single engine airplane.

Four of the airplanes shared in this video are certified, cessna, piper and grumman and one is an experimental build, the sonex. Outside of the amateur build sone, consider these airplanes old and rugged. They are rugged and very reliable aircrafts. The fact that they’ve already made it through several decades and still flyable is amazing.

Here are the 5 airplanes listed

Cessna 150: The cessna 150 is what you consider your modern day light sport aircraft. Except the model is about 50 years old. And unlike modern light airplanes, cessna 150s are fully certified aircrafts. Both for VFR and IFR flying if fully equipped. The best thing about this airplane is the low entry cost and low cost of maintenance. Also the cessna 150 is one of the most forgiving airplanes in General aviation. Very reliable and slow to fly. Great airplane to learn and build some time for new pilots.

Range: 300 Nautical Miles
Cruise speed: 103 knots
Useful load: 303 pounds
Fuel consumption: 5 gallons per hour
Avg Used Price: $20,000

Cessna 172: When you think of the godfather of general aviation aircrafts, think of the cessna 172. One of the oldest modeled airplane still being produced in the US today. The 172 have certainly earned it’s stripes in aviation over that last few decades. A great reliable and safe airplane, but with more speed, range and better useful load than the cessna 150. Cessna 172 remains one of the most utilized training aircraft till today.

Range: 435 Nautical Miles
Cruise speed: 115 knots
Useful load: 930 pounds
Fuel consumption: 8 gallons per hour
Avg Used Price: $29,000

Piper Cherokee 140: A superb low wing airplane that was first introduced in the 1960s. Back then this was considered a very sporty airplane, still is. But what sets the piper cherokee apart is it’s great handling and forgiving characteristics, and many pilots have said this is one of the easiest aircrafts to land. The piper cherokee comes in multiple variations/models. You have the 140, 160, 180 and 235, all with different size engines and performance differences. This airplane is also one of the few early birds that is still used to train new pilots in todays age.

Range: 455 Nautical Miles
Cruise speed: 110 knots
Useful load: 900 pounds
Fuel consumption: 8 gallons per hour
Avg Used Price: $25,000

Grumman American AA1A: The Grumman is a vintage aircraft still flying today. The best thing about the Grumman is not only it’s handling characteristics but the price. A used Grumman can be bought in today’s market for as little as $16,000. The late 60s models with a nice six pack avionics panel. Low purchase price also translate into low maintenance cost for this airplane. It uses a similar lycoming engine as the cessna 150, thus share some of the same performance. Except the grumman has much better useful load at 1007 pounds.

Range: 350 Nautical Miles
Cruise speed: 109 knots
Useful load: 1007 pounds
Fuel consumption: 6 gallons per hour
Avg Used Price: $18,000

Sonex Waiex: Sonex aircraft is an amateur built airplane kit manufacturer. One of the many based in the US. They provide kits for several airplane models, which include a one seater (sonex onex) and a personal jet (subsonex). Amazing right? building your own personal single engine jet for only $100,000. The model displayed in this video is the Sonex Waiex-B model. Great little airplane that sits two comfortably and travels at speeds north of 130 miles per hour.

Range: 500 Nautical Miles
Cruise speed: 113 knots
Useful load: 480 pounds
Fuel consumption: 4 gallons per hour
Avg Used Price: $24,000