If you want access to a plane (and you or your loved one have credentials to fly one), there are a few options. Namely — you can rent one, share one, or buy one.

Renting a plane is a lot like renting a car or a place to live — someone else owns it and maintains it and pays for the storage and the insurance and the oil changes and such. You, in turn, have less say over what type of plane it is, when it is available, and its condition when you take it for a spin. You’ll pay by the hour, either wet (includes fuel) or dry (you pay for the fuel), and if you go somewhere overnight you’ll most likely only pay for flying time — but now you’re trying to book two days of a rental plane, and you may come into availability issues (say, on a lovely weekend in July).

There are flying clubs, and those that join them seem to love them. There are generally a few planes, some number of pilots, and shared costs and calendars. If you want to join a community, have a few planes to choose from, and the flying club(s) in your area are welcoming new members, this may be of interest. There might be instructors available, the planes are generally in good condition and with modern avionics, and scheduling tends to be conveniently online. Local to us, there are a number of options (Prescott Flying Club, Airlake Aero Flying Club, Gopher Flying Club, and Gateway Flying Club), all with about 11 members per plane.

You might decide — as we did, ultimately — to buy a plane. As you might imagine, there are both pros and cons to this decision. As noted above — there is a cost to owning a plane. In addition to buying it, there will be maintenance, insurance, storage, and unforeseen complications (like a house or a cabin, everything takes twice as long and costs twice as much as you anticipate). You’re also committing to a specific plane, which means it is always available for you to fly or tinker with, its problems are your problems, and you’ll always know who flew it last, how it is being treated, where it was parked, and its idiosyncrasies.

Some people split ownership of a plane. In this scenario, you are splitting the costs and availability of one plane with one or two other pilots. Presumably this also has its pros and cons, and probably depends largely on the relationship between all parties.