Hi all, greetings from under the Class B shelf at KCVG, on the wild and wonderful KY side of the Ohio.

I had a much longer post prepared, but it was really complete overkill. I think it was more sorting my own thoughts out and making justifications to myself more than anything else. It wasn't needed. So, I'll keep this short. Well, ... short-ish.

After 25 years or so, I'm finally in a position to pull the trigger on getting myself into the air in a meaningful, sustainable way. Unfortunately, it won't be in the form I always envisioned, via a PPL. I've finally admitted to myself that, although I get paid reasonably well as a CRM archaeologist, we're kind of the red-headed stepchildren of the sciences and I just don't bring in enough disposable income to justify the expense of either a PPL or the rental fees to buy a fair number of hours at the yoke per year. Purchasing a standard category aircraft just isn't particularly likely either, except perhaps, *maybe*, something like a 50 year old Cessna or Piper, and even then, the cost of annuals, rolling maintenance costs, hangar rental, insurance, etc., all combine to make it not particularly feasible or realistic. I can't afford a purchase on par with a house. Just isn't in the cards, at least for the foreseeable future.

Dreams not shattered, but definitely warranted a reappraisal of what I wanted versus what I needed in a recreational hobby. And for me, being able to get meaningful time in the air and the hobby (at all) without breaking the bank seems the most important.

For a while, I was very seriously considering going the sport certification route, with subsequent purchase of a smaller LSA of the tube-tail, fat-ultralight variety, like a CGS Hawk or a Kolb, sizes I have some experience with from the 90s before the LSA revolution. This would fit my desires as a recreational pilot, allow some meaningful cross-country of a few hundred nm, allow me to take up a family member to get them involved and maybe even interested in aviation as well, maybe do some LSA camping, etc. Going the kit route would save me some money at the cost of a 6-12 month build time, a 16-hour FAA course would let me do my own annuals, and I could store such an aircraft at home instead of in a hangar (eventually anyway, not so much at the present). All great things, which is why it really appealed to me over the last couple of years. Unfortunately, researching the aircraft I would be interesting in, I'd still be looking at the cost outlay of a really nice new car, or modestly packaged new pick-up. Better than the cost of a house, and at least it's a potential possibility for me. But not right away. Maybe over a 3-5 year time frame.

Which brings me to the option I'm 99% sold on; PPG trike (I have a weak knee I can't really run on). Classified as ultralights under 103, the training is half as much as even a sports certificate and I can buy brand new gear for around $12k, maybe $15k with all the bells and whistles. A PPG, even with a trike cart, is much easier to store and transport, and there's not much maintenance to manage except for engine. The big sale for me is that it would let me get up in the air this year without breaking the bank, at the cost of a passenger, cross-country range, and some airspeed. But there's nothing stopping me from saving up for a sport license in a year or so, and maybe even upsizing to an LSA a few years after that. At least I'd be finally getting flight time instead of standing by patiently, as I have for the last 25 years.

Obviously, there are pros and cons to everything. I've made a big list for myself of the pros/cons for both LSA and PPG trike down to including specific maintenance issues in my selected models of interest, safety factors, re-sale potential, etc. I won't bore you with the details, but suffice it to say, for me the pros of PPG significantly outweigh the cons of LSA, whereas the cons of PPG are on similar footing to the pros of LSA.

Really though, beyond the pros and cons in my Excel table, it all comes down to this:
-I can go the PPG route and start flying this year, and maybe add on a Sport license and/or LSA upsize later.
Or,
-I can save for a few more years, get my Sport license, and make the choice to go LSA or PPG then.

I think I'd rather be actively participating in recreational aviation while making a decision about upsizing, rather than staying on the sidelines any longer. Call it pessimism, but I'd strongly suspect that if I wait, I'll be in this exact same position in two years, four years, 10 years... Time to do my business or get off the pot, as they say. I've watched my late-30s roll into my early-40s while waiting for the right time and circumstances; I REALLY don't want to see my mid- to late-40s rolling into 50 as I quietly debate this over and over in my head, on the ground.

Anyhow, I'm just curious what others in a similar position have decided for themselves, what went into your decisions, etc. I'm sure I can't be the only one in EAA for whom disposable income is a little tighter than ideal for our aerial aspirations!

Thanks for reading (if you made it this far!) Sorry for the long-windedness!

Jason