Thanks for the tips though! I'm with you in spirit.
You don’t need to own an airplane. For one thing, many aircraft owners aren’t flying. One could easily be enticed to cut you a deal for access to flying his/her aircraft.
Another way is to rent an aircraft by the flight hour; when I say aircraft, I mean anything from a C172 to a hot air balloon, an entire range of aircraft are available by the hour.
Line up your banner clients (this is an election year so include politicians and groups that are lobbying your state capitol such as liquor stores, teachers’ unions, etc.) and then rent according to your established demand.
Aircraft are also being chartered to Haiti and Chili for relief missions right now, so you might want to put in your name with various charitable organizations as a pilot who will work on the cheap...not everyone at non-profit organizations is unpaid, after all!
Alaska has strong demand for pilots, as does the Gulf of Mexico for helicopter rides/ferrying. Ditto for war zones like Iraq and Afghanistan.
You *can* make your own job!