Flying Club Bylaws

[Groundpounder]

Could those of you in a flying club post the portion of your bylaws that outline scheduling and use of the aircraft? I'm in a flying club that has grown quite a bit over the last two years, and we started running into issues with aircraft availability this past summer. We've always tried to have as few rules as possible, and that worked fine when we had 10 members, but now we have 16, and some sort of order has to be established.

Thanks in advance.

 

[FlySince9]

SECTION IV - RESERVATION AND USE OF AIRCRAFT


A. All flights of THE CLUB aircraft must be scheduled in the reservation book located with THE CLUB scheduler, except that a member may use the aircraft in the airport pattern or within sight of the aircraft tie down location at its home airfield. In the event the aircraft is used in the unscheduled manner described herein, the member must adhere to THE CLUB'S prearranged standard signal of right to use and surrender the aircraft to another member having a reservation.

B. Upon securing THE CLUB aircraft, before and after flight recordings of the tachometer hour meter (or other such recording meter as THE CLUB may select) shall be placed in THE CLUB aircraft log sheet.

C. Extended reservations (defined as any reservation of THE CLUB aircraft that includes a Saturday, Sunday or holiday - scheduled more than three (3) days in advance - regardless of the duration scheduled, or any reservation of more than twenty-four (24) hours duration during the period of Monday through Friday - scheduled more than three (3) days in advance) may be scheduled at any time, provided that no member shall have more than one (1) such reservation scheduled during any three (3) month period (in the future).

1) Reservations of more than seventy-two (72) hours duration must be approved by THE CLUB. If a reservation of more than seventy-two (72) hours duration is desired prior to the next regular meeting of THE CLUB, any elected officer of THE CLUB shall have the authority to approve such a request.

2) Members who make extended reservations will be charged for a minimum of one (1) hour flight time per day during said reservation, whether THE CLUB aircraft was flown or not, unless unable to fly due to weather and THE CLUB scheduler was notified on a timely basis.

3) Any member may schedule an extended reservation at any time, provided he has no other extended reservation scheduled during the future three (3) month period.

D. Hourly reservations (defined as any reservation not described in Section IV, Item C., as an extended reservation) may be scheduled by any member at any time, provided that no member shall have more than four (4) such reservations on the schedule at any one time. Any hourly reservation made no more than three (3) days in advance shall not be included in the limit described herein above. No member may schedule hourly reservations more than two (2) weeks in advance unless necessary to meet schedules for further training or flight checks.

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E. Any member (having VFR restrictions) with an hourly reservation, who fails to appear within thirty (30) minutes of his scheduled time for the aircraft, shall lose his reservation to any other member. Extended reservations will be honored - unless relinquished by the member reserving THE CLUB aircraft.

F. Any member who keeps THE CLUB aircraft beyond his scheduled time and thereby deprives another member of flying, shall give THE CLUB satisfactory reason or be charged for the unscheduled time at two (2) times the current approved aircraft hourly rate.

G. Any member may make a standby reservation for THE CLUB aircraft reserved by another member - by asking that member to inform him (if and/or when) any decision is made to cancel his reservation. The scheduler shall be notified of the new reservation by either of the members.

SECTION V - CROSS COUNTRY FLIGHTS

A. Members flying THE CLUB aircraft cross-country shall:

1) File a flight plan with the FAA for flights of more than one hundred (100) miles from the origin of the flight.

2) Leave sufficient information with THE CLUB scheduler to enable THE CLUB to initiate a search and rescue, if necessary.

3) Have approval of THE CLUB officers prior to flying THE CLUB aircraft outside the boundaries of the United States.

B. Members shall plan their flights of THE CLUB aircraft so as to have a minimum reserve of one (1) hour's fuel - or that amount required by the FAA - whichever is greater.

C. Members will be reimbursed for fuel and oil purchased for THE CLUB aircraft on cross-country flights. Fuel and oil receipts will be honored only if presented to THE CLUB within forty-five (45) days of the date of purchase. Members will not be reimbursed for tie down or other charges not essential for safe flight or aircraft safety.

D. Any member grounded by weather away from the home airfield of THE CLUB aircraft must notify THE CLUB aircraft scheduler or one of THE CLUB officers if he will exceed his scheduled time. The grounded member must arrange for proper care of the aircraft and pay storage charges during such period. He must also make provisions for the return of THE CLUB aircraft to its home airfield as soon as conditions permit.

 

[gkainz]

edit - 45 members, 3 aircraft

2. SCHEDULING RULES

1 . Scheduling an aircraft constitutes an agreement to operate that aircraft as pilot in command in
compliance with all applicable rules and restrictions
2 . Scheduling is mandatory: All flights must be scheduled at AircraftClubs.com.
3 . Accuracy is required: Scheduled periods must accurately reflect planned usage.
4 . Comments are required: Add clear comments that describe planned use and contingency plans.
5 . Fly or Cancel: All scheduled flights must be flown or canceled.
6 . Timely revisions: Revise schedules promptly when plans change for any reason, including
cancellations, change of departure or return date or time, a shortened trip schedule, weather or maintenance
delays, etc. When a change affects another member, make every effort to coordinate personally or through a
third party.
7 . Schedule Adherence: Return aircraft to BJC on schedule. Members shall be responsible for all
expenses related to delayed returns or retrieval of the aircraft.
8 . Scheduling Restrictions: members may not schedule -

A . long periods for short flights.
B . more than one aircraft for any given time period.
C . more than two multi-day flights, or four flights (total) in one aircraft. An officer may modify this restriction
to accommodate training or checkride schedules, but existing schedules cannot be disturbed.
D . a block of days for the purpose of flying local flights or several single day trips from BJC or another area
airport. Each flight must be scheduled as a separate event and must start and end at BJC.
E . trips longer than fourteen days unless specific authorization is granted by the Board of Directors.
F . more than one extended trip per aircraft per calendar year. (An extended trip covers 7 or more days)
Exception: This restriction does not apply if an aircraft is available for such a trip within five days of a desired
departure date.​

9 . Priority Scheduling: Each member may protect two schedules each calendar year with a "priority"
reservation. These reservations:

A . must be designated when scheduled by inserting a clear declaration in the schedule comments box
and notifying the membership via the scheduling system e-mail program.
B . cannot exceed a yearly total of 18 days.
C . are always considered "used when scheduled" but if the aircraft is not available at departure time, the
privilege may be used again in that year.
D. can displace other schedules except for: FAA checkrides, maintenance schedules, or any member’s
booking that begins within fourteen days of a desired priority reservation date.​

1 0 . Zero Balance Rate: When a member’s flight credits balance reaches zero, the hourly rate for
additional flying shall increase by 20%. All flight time charges shall be posted on the next monthly statement.
1 1 . Minimum Charges: The minimum flight credits charge for a multi-day trip shall be one hour per day.
A two hour flight credits charge may be imposed for an abuse of the scheduling accuracy rule (para 3) and/or
the “long periods for short flights” restriction (para 8A).
1 2 . Violation Penalties: Members who fly an aircraft without scheduling, (para 2) or who fail to “fly or
cancel” a scheduled flight (para 5) shall be charged a cash penalty equal to the hourly rate for that aircraft. This
charge shall be posted on the next monthly statement. Payment of the penalty shall not increase the
member’s flight credits balance.​

 

[bflynn]

SOPs, Wings of Carolina Flying Club, KTTA. These work for 300 members / 13 aircraft
http://wingsofcarolina.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/FORM-6.12.22-Publish-Viewable.pdf

1. Sign up Prior to Flight Prior to any flight, Members must enter the intended flight into the Club's official scheduling system. No member may schedule an aircraft if the schedule for that time period is not available in the system.
2. Members are Responsible for Their Own Scheduling of Aircraft Any active member may schedule an aircraft for another member via telephone conversation, but it is the responsibility of the scheduling member to ensure the accuracy of the schedule.
3. Changes to Schedule The Chief Flight Instructor or any Board Member shall have discretion to resolve any scheduling abuses, conflicts, disagreements, etc. and is specifically charged with the maintenance of orderly scheduling for the maximum benefit of all. If a scheduling change is made by one of these persons, a note of explanation shall be left for the affected parties. With the exception noted in SOPs I.4 and I.5a below, no other person may make changes to the schedule affecting other than him/herself.
4. Flight Cancellations A Club Flight Instructor may cancel the scheduling of a particular aircraft if aircraft repairs are needed. An aircraft's schedule may also be cancelled by an instructor, Board Member or other designated person if required maintenance or inspection is due.
5. Scheduling Restrictions For reasons of fair access to Club aircraft, the following restrictions apply:
a) No member may make or have pending more than four reservations at any time, except as approved by the board.
b) Only One Aircraft per Time Period. No member may schedule more than one aircraft per time period. From time to time the club, with Board approval, may wish to block out multiple aircraft for a special event. The club will not change an individual's previous Standard Operating Procedures 14 Wings of Carolina Flying Club Oct 2017 scheduling unless that person has been notified or an equivalent airplane can be provided.
c) One Weekend per Month. A Member may not schedule more than one weekend per month. (A weekend is defined as any consecutive eighthour period from Friday at 1600 until Sunday at 1800). Permitted exceptions to this SOP are in d) & e) below. If a weekend extends over a change of month, the month in which the Saturday falls shall be considered the month in which the weekend occurs.
d) Exception to c). If an aircraft is not yet scheduled for a particular weekend by the preceding Sunday at noon it may be scheduled by a Member even if she / he has already scheduled a weekend flight that month.
e) Weekend and Length Limitations. A Member is limited to one weekend scheduling which is greater than 4 consecutive days every six months. For the purposes of this restriction a weekend is a period of time which includes a Saturday. An aircraft may never be scheduled for more than 17 consecutive days. (Scheduling an aircraft from 1 to 4 consecutive weekdays may be done any time).
f) Schedule Only Aircraft in Which One Is Checked Out. Scheduling of an aircraft for other than training flights prior to the completion of required Club checkouts is prohibited.
g) Restrictions Apply to Use. The above restrictions apply not only to scheduling, but to actual use as well.
h) Additional Restrictions as Necessary. The Board may impose extra scheduling restrictions on aircraft to insure availability for student training. Current scheduling restrictions will be posted on the aircraft status board.
6. Scheduling Abuses Members are requested not to speculate on aircraft usage and should not schedule unless each scheduled period is fully intended to be flown. "No shows" where weather is not a clear prohibiting factor will be treated as a scheduling abuse and disciplinary action may be taken.
7. Scheduling by Suspended Members Suspended Members forfeit all privileges of Membership. This includes flying and scheduling privileges, and the Member forfeits all existing aircraft reservations.
8. No-Shows When a Member is late taking a scheduled aircraft, and has not informed anyone of the delay, the following guidelines apply. If the aircraft has been scheduled for three hours or less, and that Member is more than 30 minutes late, it will be assumed that she/he is not going to use the scheduled time, and another Member may schedule and use the aircraft. If the scheduled time is more than three hours, after a 30 minute lateness, the aircraft may be operated in the local area and must monitor the Club frequency (123.5, call sign Club Standard Operating Procedures Version 5.19 Handbook for Members 15 Operations) for one additional hour, at which time it will be assumed that the original scheduling Member's reservation is not going to be used.
9. Notification of Inability to Return Aircraft by Scheduled Time In the event that weather, mechanical, or other unforeseen difficulties prevent a Member from returning to Raleigh Executive Jetport within 30 minutes of the time for which the aircraft had been scheduled to return, the Member flying the aircraft will contact the Chief Flight Instructor or a Board Member with full details. Tape recorded messages may not be used. Phone contact is required as soon as practical, but in any case on the same day. A Member is responsible for an aircraft until it is returned to its home base. Under no circumstances may a Member leave an aircraft elsewhere without first securing specific permission t

 

[Ghery]

My copy of the club rules are at home (and I'm in Stockholm right now), but we schedule club planes by calling a number and dealing with a computerized system to reserve them. No reservation, no flying. We then fill in part of a log book in the hangar for that airplane when we leave and finish it when we get back. Members have taken a plane for a week and there hasn't been a problem. We only charge for Hobbs time. Right off hand I don't think there is anything more than that. 3 airplanes, 50 members. About 1/3 of the members don't fly a club plane in any given year and in the 17 years I've been a member I can recall not being able to fly (sometimes not my first choice of plane) only once. That's not bad.

 

[JimNtexas]

Our ownership club has been operating since 1983 on essentially the same system that Ghery is using. If you want to fly, schedule your flight using in our case aircraftclubs.com. Members can schedule 30 days in advance for up to five days. There is no minimum hours per day. Fill out a time log when you are done.

Our bylaws allow our BOD to authorize early scheduling on a case by case basis. In general, we are are allowed to schedule and airplane for longer than five days once, or maybe twice a year.

There is something in the bylaws to the effect that if somebody has a reservation and hasn't claimed the airplane after 45 minutes another member can fly away with it. As far as I know, that never happens, because nobody is just hanging around the airport on the off chance someone doesn't show up.