u/Ready-Beginning9375

Hi, I’m new to Reddit and not very tech savvy, so maybe I am misunderstanding how this place works.

I made my first post a few hours ago because I was talking to my sister about the issues my plane has been giving me, and my niece suggested I post about it here. I thought people might have similar experiences, useful advice, or some insight into how to deal with ownership/maintenance problems.

After I made the post, Reddit suggested I share it somewhere else too, so I clicked the button. I figured more people seeing it would mean more useful responses. I did not realize cross-posting would make people suspicious or weirded out.

What surprised me is how strange and rude a lot of the replies were. Some people immediately assumed I was a broker, trying to sell something, or pushing some kind of agenda. When I said I was not, they still did not believe me. A few people said I am AI, which is honestly confusing because I do not even know how to use the AI.

Others seemed upset that I had no post history. I do not really understand why that matters so much. Everyone has a first post at some point, and not everyone is regularly active on Reddit.

Then it turned into people calling me stupid, fake, lying, detached, out of touch, and telling me to shut the f up. I expected maybe some skepticism or disagreement, but I did not expect people to be that rude over what I thought was a normal post about my experience asking for insights.

Is this just how Reddit usually is with new accounts and cross-posts, or did I do something wrong without realizing it?

I know how this is going to sound, so I’ll say it upfront: yes, this is an absurd problem to complain about. But I’m genuinely curious if anyone here has been through something similar, because private aviation gets sold as freedom and luxury, but my experience has been the opposite.

I originally bought the plane because commercial flying had become an absolute nightmare for my family. My sister lives in the same town and has three massive dogs. Trying to fly commercial with dogs that size is terrifying. You’re basically crossing your fingers and hoping the airline doesn't overheat them on the tarmac or completely traumatize them. On top of that, my cousin is disabled, and commercial travel is just brutal for her and her parents. Between the chaotic airports, boarding struggles, equipment issues, and clueless airline staff, it’s exhausting.

Plus, I fly for work every other week. Commercial just started to feel incredibly inefficient. A simple overnight meeting would eat up two full days of travel. Half my life was spent sitting in lounges, aggressively refreshing an app, or stressing over tight connections.

So, I convinced myself that buying a plane was actually the "practical" move. Insanely expensive, sure, but a logistics solver. It would let the family travel comfortably, bring the dogs, skip the airport circus, and give us total flexibility.

I bought a Citation Sovereign thinking it was the practical middle ground. Big enough for family trips, dogs, luggage, and the occasional work group, but not so large that it felt completely insane. Looking back, I think that was the first mistake. It was still too much plane for how I actually use it.

The second mistake was thinking ownership would make travel simple.

There is always something. Crew scheduling, maintenance, inspections, hangar coordination, insurance, airport limitations, weather, repositioning, avionics issues, parts delays, and bills that I definitely did not consider would be this high before getting the plane.

Then the nickel-and-diming turned into constant repairs. Nothing catastrophic, just a non-stop stream of issues. A warning light here, a system glitch there, a lavatory problem, a required inspection. And since it's an aircraft, you obviously can’t just ignore it. You fix it. Then you fix the next thing. Every single time, the plane is grounded, schedules are ruined, someone has to manage the chaos, and the invoice arrives like a bad joke.

Even the actual flights haven't been the relaxing escape I pictured. The plane only has one lavatory, and when it broke mid-flight once? Miserable and awkward for everyone on board.

Then there's the turbulence. Intellectually, I know turbulence isn't going to tear the wings off, but getting tossed around in a smaller cabin feels incredibly personal. On a 737 or a widebody, you can look around, see everyone else chilling, and remind yourself it's fine. In a smaller jet, getting knocked around makes you feel every bit of it.

So now, after all of that, the plane is basically sitting more than it flies.

It still costs money sitting there. Hangar, insurance, maintenance, crew availability, inspections, everything. But every time I think about using it, I also think about the next thing that might break, the next annoying bill, the next schedule disruption, or whether it even makes sense for the trip. Which is insane, because the whole reason I bought it was to make travel easier.

I am now considering getting rid of this headache selling it to my friend. I would recommend renting the planes when you need them, and more likely than not you'll save money compared to buying your own.