If you're careful, this can work (or at least, used to work); Step up and buy a small "trainer" plane (Cessna 150/152, Piper Colt/Tri-Pacer, etc.), then identify a young pilot/instructor who's working on his commercial rating and needs to log all the hours he can get. He uses your plane for all his other private pilot students (he gets to log his students' non-solo hours as his own) which, if he has a sufficient number of, can be more than enough to pay for the plane itself and its associated maintenance costs. In exchange for the use of your aircraft and the hours he compiles by using it for instruction for his other students, he trains you for nothing (well, not nothing - he gets to log your non-solo hours too). Cut the right deal, with the right guy, and you can get all the way through your Instrument rating for virtually nothing. Once through, sell the plane if you must (they tend to appreciate, so you shouldn't get hurt) or continue using it as a trainer, allowing you to fly for virtually nothing. Remember, this worked 20-30 years ago when the cost of flying was less than it is now. Will it work now? I don't know, you can crunch the numbers in your area and determine that for yourself. How much can you rent it for to his other students (wet or dry, shouldn't matter)? How much is an annual? How much for a Top Overhaul? A Major (remember, your plane will be piling up the hours)? Most guys don't want their plane used this much, or in this manner, and therefore most guys avoid it. But it certainly can (or used to) work. Good luck!

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"Diplomacy is the art of saying 'nice doggie' until you can find a rock."