Cheapest planes to rent at PDK

BrianNC

BrianNC

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Those of you that live in the Atlanta area, what is the cheapest place to rent planes at PDK? I have to move in with my mother in law who lives just around the corner from PDK while our house is renovated for a couple of months.

I fly a nicely equipped 172 in a flying club now in Thomaston that is $85 an hour wet but I know I'm not going to get close to that. I've checked a few places like Lanier and it's off the charts. The 152 is $140 an hour and all the Cessnas $220 an hour. I would like to fly while I'm there and I don't want to drive and hour and a half back down to Thomaston every time I fly.

Or maybe you know some cheaper rentals somewhere other than PDK but not very far from there. Thanks for the info.
 
I'm just a lowly student pilot at Skybound, so I'll only make the observation that PDK is an expensive place to fly period. Sometimes its fine, but some days I've spent a very long time waiting in the conga line for my turn to depart, Hobbs meter clicking away the whole time...

I'm sure others can recommend better options for you than Skybound, but I will say the folks in the office are pretty nice. As far as I know, there's no daily minimum for overnight cross country. That said, I hear it can be tricky to get a 172 (or an Archer) overnight.

We're building a house in north Fulton and are moving in with inlaws when our lease is up in a few months until completion. Hope you guys stay on schedule - order windows ASAP!
 
Skybound isn't too bad. Anybody familiar with All2Fly? They have a good variety of planes and the rates are pretty reasonable. Checking Flightaware their planes seem to fly a lot. And their cheapest 172s with G430 are $155 which isn't bad. And they have an Arrow for $159 an hour but doesn't appear to have a GPS. Just says 'standard' for the plane as far as avionics.
 
86Aviator said:
I'm just a lowly student pilot at Skybound, so I'll only make the observation that PDK is an expensive place to fly period. Sometimes its fine, but some days I've spent a very long time waiting in the conga line for my turn to depart, Hobbs meter clicking away the whole time...

I'm sure others can recommend better options for you than Skybound, but I will say the folks in the office are pretty nice. As far as I know, there's no daily minimum for overnight cross country. That said, I hear it can be tricky to get a 172 (or an Archer) overnight.

We're building a house in north Fulton and are moving in with inlaws when our lease is up in a few months until completion. Hope you guys stay on schedule - order windows ASAP!
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Oh yeah. Replacing every window in the house. Hopefully he has them on order or close. They're starting a week from tomorrow.
 
I recommend taking a trip to PDK and inspecting the planes at each flight school. You get what you pay for.
PS - Feel free to PM me with any questions.
 
Superior Flight at KRYY is a little less, but they're $150 for a well used Skyhawk, and $200 or so for a glass Skyhawk.
 
This is at KHMP, so it may be too far of a drive, but I made the drive when I lived in Ormewood Park.

Before I left Atlanta, I flew with the Happy Goat Flying club. https://www.happygoatflyingclub.com/fleet

I really liked the $90/hour C150, but they also have 3 172s ($130-140/hr) and they had a Vashon Ranger on order when I left (I think they have it now, but it's not listed on their website).

They have at least one instructor, and they are run by a couple of Delta pilots. The also have access to (but it's not in the club) a twin that they can use for training.

The club is mostly structured around training and time building, so taking the planes for multiple days is requires advance planning (but they will allow it with minimums).
 
MarkH said:
This is at KHMP, so it may be too far of a drive, but I made the drive when I lived in Ormewood Park.

Before I left Atlanta, I flew with the Happy Goat Flying club. https://www.happygoatflyingclub.com/fleet

I really liked the $90/hour C150, but they also have 3 172s ($130-140/hr) and they had a Vashon Ranger on order when I left (I think they have it now, but it's not listed on their website).

They have at least one instructor, and they are run by a couple of Delta pilots. The also have access to (but it's not in the club) a twin that they can use for training.

The club is mostly structured around training and time building, so taking the planes for multiple days is requires advance planning (but they will allow it with minimums).
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I actually belong to that club, but I haven’t flown there in awhile. They now require renters insurance which I don’t have yet. KHMP is actually only about 20 minutes from my current house. PDK is right around the corner from my mother in law so I was trying to find something there so I wouldn’t have to drive back down to the southside.
 
Maybe look at Gwinnett ? Similar to the previous poster, I’ve tried to find cheaper alternatives but they are hard to come by. The property taxes, airport fees, and lord knows what else are eye opening around here.
 
PDK is also a busy airport that I’ve found to be “tense”. I’m probably spoiled by the tower folks at KRYY, Athens, Gwinnett, etc. To be fair it is relatively busy and I’m still a new pilot with less than 200 hours.
 
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PDK was busy and tense 40 years ago when I was growing up in Stone Mountain. Can't imagine how crazy it is now.
 
Ed Haywood said:
PDK was busy and tense 40 years ago when I was growing up in Stone Mountain. Can't imagine how crazy it is now.
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Nothing has changed. I only get gas there when it’s absolutely necessary.
 
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