I can keep the plane at my work since my shop has tie down spaces available. And if I park the plane in some remote spot that nobody would ever use, the shop manager won't even charge me for the space.

If I keep the plane for a while but don't intend on flying it then I would cancel the insurance. But if I or a friend fly it then I most definitely will keep it insured. As an insurance agent told me - an accident with no insurance and you might as well move out of the country. Besides, the navy will require insurance before allowing the plane to be flown off the base. I talked to an agent today and plan on buying insurance from him tomorrow.

Having your own little airfield is neat but...... what happens when it rains and your field is nothing but mud? What happens when your plane breaks down (and it will break down) and it can't be flown to a maintenance shop? What about fuel? How about liability insurance for your field? You never know if someone else will crack up landing there or maybe a kid gets killed participating in a drag race down the runway. High desert property may be cheap now but what kind of taxes will you be looking at after developing the land with an airfield? There's a lot to be had for basing an airplane at an established public airport. Now if I really had a lot of money I would move into an airpark and have the advantages of both private and public airports.

Buying a plane off Ebay is even more risky than buying a car. Think about a problem with an Ebay car and what it would cost. For the same problem with an airplane you can multiply the cost by ten. Scary, isn't it? The good news is that airplane values, like homes, are down - way down. So now is a great time to buy a plane. Just remember - multiply by ten.