I can’t believe we bought an airplane…but so glad we are now Hutton Aviation!

After 10 years in Law Enforcement, our youngest son (Michael) came to us and shared that he felt like it was time for a change. Law Enforcement is a grueling career. While most of us respect and appreciate our law enforcement professionals, many in our society have taken a negative tone toward police officers and the job is often thankless. It can weigh on you in ways many of us can never understand. Michael felt like from a financial standpoint, a safety standpoint, and a time with his family standpoint, it was time for a change.

Michael always loved airplanes and the thought of being a pilot. He and I were members of the Civil Air Patrol when he was teenager where he attended a National Flight Academy and solo’d an airplane at the age of 16. At the age of 30, and with a national pilot shortage looming worldwide, he felt like the timing was right to pursue a career in aviation.

Most airline pilots have a military background. They were able to get Uncle Sam to pay for their training and help them build hours. You have to have 1500 hours in the air before you can apply with the airlines. So do the math…if you wrote a check for what it would take to get those hours, it would be about a $350,000 check. Starting out you spend about $250 per hour in flying lessons. You have thousands of dollars in other expenses like ground school, check rides, testing, flight gear, and more. And then just to go fly around and gain hours would be close to $200 per hour in plane rental.

So how can you become a pilot without joining the military and without writing a check for $350,000? I posed that question to a half dozen pilot friends of mine, and all six of them had the same exact answer…buy an airplane.

Initially I dismissed the idea, but the more I did the math, the more it actually made sense. Owning an airplane could save a few dollars, but owning and allowing the plane to be rented could actually prove to bring in a few dollars above and beyond normal expenses. The downside of allowing your airplane to be rented is that it does come with added expenses. The insurance for example is about six times higher. You have to have the plane inspected every 100 hours in addition to the annual inspection, and those inspections often run around $3000. But if the plane could be rented 200 hours per year, the rental income would outweigh the other expenses.

So we bought an airplane…

N6180K helped several students in the Jackson, MS area attain their Private Pilots License. Housed at Hawkins Field in Jackson, Bluey (as it’s nicknamed) is available for rental at $150 per hour wet, which means the fuel and oil are included. Langley Nelson, our instructor, gives lessons daily when weather allows. I have enjoyed training in Bluey, and Michael has already attained his Private Pilots License in Bluey.