A good and much smarter than I friend once advised me to finance the initial purchase price plus whatever I thought I'd need to add or have done the airplane to get it the way I wanted it right up front. I didn't do this because I thought I couldn't afford it and ended up paying some big bills that I really didn't need at the time in a big lump a short time later. In this case, it was radios and a major overhaul I should have seen coming in the first year. I ended up having to refinance the airplane in order to cover it all and lost money in the process. Few used airplanes are perfect right out of the box. Plan on some costly work in the first year or two of ownership even if your grandfather's Cub is pristine. My PA-12, for example, was pretty nice when I bought it, but in less than six months it needed a new cylinder and some other stuff that added up to a $3,000 first annual. That's just the normal cost of ownership, but it is something you need to be aware of so you don't have a heart attack two or three times a year when things happen. Don't pay more for the airplane than it is worth on the open market -- your sentimental attachment will not translate into dollars when you decide to sell it later. I insure with Avemco. Costs me $1,400 a year for full coverage because I'm a relatively low time taildragger pilot with only about 300 hours in taildraggers and 200 hours in the 12. Lots of owners and pilots don't like that company because they are not the cheapest, but I've found them to be straightforward, easy to work with and the least restrictive (What good is insurance if it restricts you from landing your Cub on grass like some policies do?) Other than those caveats, it's what the other guys said: Life is good, but it's really grand when you own your own Cub. It just doesn't get any better.
