---
title: Did I Waste My Money Buying an Aircraft Share? - Whiskey Alpha Pilot
description: Nine months into owning a share in a 1977 Cessna 172. Was it worth it? The honest answer, with caveats.
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language: en-GB
date: 2026-05-30T13:30:23Z
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Nine months in and it is time to be honest.

I bought a one fifth share in a 1977 Cessna 172N in early 2022. G-DCKK. I know G-DiCKK!!. Based at Elstree, my local airfield. And this video was my attempt to answer the question I'd been asking myself, and otehrs have been asking ever since the ink dried on the paperwork.

Was it worth it?

The honest answer at nine months is: yes, with caveats. The access is everything. Being able to book KK and fly without the faff of school aircraft availability and hourly rate anxiety changes the relationship you have with flying. It becomes more routine. More yours.

The caveats are real though. The bills. The annual. The insurance. The upgrades. The fuel that doesn't get cheaper. The months when life gets in the way and you're paying your share of fixed costs for an aircraft you're not flying. Those months sting a bit.

But the share model has worked for me, and hopefully will for you, assuming of course you go in with realistic expectations and a tolerance for the occasional expensive surprise.

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