When It's Better to Have It and Not Need It

Often it’s better to go with an airplane with plenty of capabilities that you can grow into rather than out of.

Wednesday, March 27, 2024 at 12:56 PM ET

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While the Cessna 120 and 140 perform their missions admirably well, opting for a larger, more capable aircraft can potentially prove to be a more suitable long-term solution. [Courtesy: Jason McDowell]

Key Takeaways:

The author's early experience with an unreliable car taught them the "better to have it and not need it" philosophy.
This principle guided their aircraft purchase, leading them to choose a more capable Cessna 170 over smaller, less expensive models like the 120 or 140.
The decision to "buy up" was driven by the desire for future flexibility and capacity, such as carrying passengers or gear, and operating from challenging airstrips, rather than immediate necessity.
Despite the significant saving effort, the author views the more expensive aircraft as an investment they can "grow into," providing long-term satisfaction and capabilities they value having, even if not frequently used.

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Growing up, my progression of automobile ownership was perhaps not unlike that of many other kids in blue-collar families of the 1990s. Upon turning 16 and earning your license, you save your meager funds, and you take what you can get. In my case, what I could get was my grandparents’ well-worn Oldsmobile sedan, resplendent with red velour interior, pointy spoked hubcaps, and a vibrant colony of electrical gremlins that regularly caused me to become stranded on the side of the road.

Knowing that I was fortunate to have a car at all and understanding that complaining would in no way reduce the frequency of breakdowns, I rolled with it, ultimately developing a creative solution. I’d simply remove both of my bike’s wheels and keep it stored in the trunk. It was better to have it and not need it than the other way around, I reasoned. And sure enough, about once a week, I’d leave the dead Oldsmobile on the shoulder of the road and deploy my auxiliary bicycle to reach my destination more or less on time. As I recall, the car would magically start back up after sitting for most of the day.