I wish there was a co-ownership forum

If AOPA spent a few million dollars, they could put together a good network that would really help GA, but that doesn't really seem to be their agenda.
 
SoonerAviator said:
I didn't miss any part of your point. I just don't see why you are getting so bent out of shape about it. I'm sure if AOPA was specifically in the business of managing a list of flying clubs, they'd look into a more efficient way of maintaining the database. As of now, the database consists of known flight clubs and flying clubs which have been submitted to the database by AOPA members. The only way to get one removed is for an AOPA member to email/call/etc AOPA and have it removed. I seriously doubt it's a highly-trafficked portion of the AOPA website, so the chances of someone discovering AND reporting a defunct listing are low.

You just seemed hellbent on chastising AOPA for offering the only known database of flying clubs. Looking a gift horse in the mouth sort of thing, ya know? If you don't like it, build your own and show them how much better it can be done.
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I'm not bent out of shape. I'm simply pointing out their web systems incompetence.

I'll let you know if I get bent out of shape. Bad websites abound. No skin off my nose.

Doesn't mean I can't call it what it is... broken but easily fixed. You seem to be reading some sort of emotional content into those statements. I'm a systems engineer. I see the "fix" without trying too hard. This isn't a new problem to solve. No groundbreaking technical work to fix it.

One usually expects the largest organization of its type in a particular country to not have a bad one. (That's emotional content.)

The website isn't up to contemporary professional standards. (That's my professional opinion on the design.)

Clearer?

I'm not dumb enough to build a competing list against such an organization, since they have a lot more access to the data than anyone else will. 5 minutes of coding time, they'll make you obsolete. No point at all.

As far as the "chances" comment goes, the chances of someone finding a bad entry are exactly 100% if it's a bad one. LOL. Think about it. Think real hard. Walk through it...

You go looking for a club on their site, call the number, get "this number is no longer in service", click on "report a problem with this listing", and the database is cleaned up in 24 hours when someone reads the report and checks it, by calling same phone number. Staffer marks record DELETED. Problem solved. Clean database. Continually updated.

Serious yawner. Like bore me to death levels of yawner.

Designing a useful website that cleans itself by triggering a staffer to go look at reported bad data, definitely isn't rocket science. Folks were doing that ages ago.

I contend, as I said before, there's no motivation nor intrinsic benefit to AOPA to clean it up in the first place. The bigger it looks, the better.

As far as "the only known database of clubs"... Is that the criteria these days for success? LOL LOL LOL!

To paraphrase Steve Martin in the movie, The Jerk... "I've got a database! I've got a database! I AM somebody!"

ROFLMAO.

They probably have the world's only known database of pilots who joined a wine club, too. Yawn. I bet it's kept up to date better than the club database. :)
 
DrPappy said:
Definitely will. I tried going through his website, but it errored out. I will have to give him a call.



I had actually pondered doing just that but didn't know if it would work. Apparently it does! I will put up an ad on CL, thanks.
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I also had trouble with his website recently. I even left a VM inquiring on the Cirrus and never heard back. But I have heard he is the go-to guy in the area.
 
WaarrEagle said:
I also had trouble with his website recently. I even left a VM inquiring on the Cirrus and never heard back. But I have heard he is the go-to guy in the area.
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I'll talk to him about the website issues. Sam is at the point where he places people he knows into planes. As I said in an earlier post, there are over 90 people now involved in partnerships. As the "network" gets larger it becomes more difficult to place compatible people because he just doesn't know you.

You want in on a deal? Start showing up at KIWS on Saturday morning. Go to lunch with the crowd, and get to know them. You'll be in the next available plane, most likely.

You guys at other Houston airports want partnerships at your airport? Get a couple of you together and approach Sam. He'll find something for you.

If you want an introduction, PM me and we'll set something up.
 
retailguy said:
I'll talk to him about the website issues. Sam is at the point where he places people he knows into planes. As I said in an earlier post, there are over 90 people now involved in partnerships. As the "network" gets larger it becomes more difficult to place compatible people because he just doesn't know you.

You want in on a deal? Start showing up at KIWS on Saturday morning. Go to lunch with the crowd, and get to know them. You'll be in the next available plane, most likely.

You guys at other Houston airports want partnerships at your airport? Get a couple of you together and approach Sam. He'll find something for you.

If you want an introduction, PM me and we'll set something up.
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And that really is the key factor determining if a partnership will work out. That's why I recommend that people get the plane they want and set it up the way they want, then take partners in it. This way everyone is working off the same page as to what they want in a plane, and you get control of the process from plane to partners.
 
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SoonerAviator said:
I'm sure if AOPA was specifically in the business of managing a list of flying clubs, they'd look into a more efficient way of maintaining the database. As of now, the database consists of known flight clubs and flying clubs which have been submitted to the database by AOPA members.
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AOPA has put themselves in the business of managing a list of flying clubs. That's certainly not outside of their mission, and I think it's good that they do it. The problem is, they're doing a ****ty job of it, and while they're not outright preventing the formation of a competing website, they're sure making it a lot more risky, so nobody's going to do it unless they're driven purely by passion and don't mind spending a lot of time and money on it with little to no ROI.

Also, they haven't been purely submitted by AOPA members. I think they scraped Google. There's one local club on there that has been defunct since ~2003 IIRC, LONG before AOPA ever had a flying club database.
 
flyingcheesehead said:
AOPA has put themselves in the business of managing a list of flying clubs. That's certainly not outside of their mission, and I think it's good that they do it. The problem is, they're doing a ****ty job of it, and while they're not outright preventing the formation of a competing website, they're sure making it a lot more risky, so nobody's going to do it unless they're driven purely by passion and don't mind spending a lot of time and money on it with little to no ROI.

Also, they haven't been purely submitted by AOPA members. I think they scraped Google. There's one local club on there that has been defunct since ~2003 IIRC, LONG before AOPA ever had a flying club database.
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That's the thing about them, they are so busy trying to preserve the past they aren't looking at any other models of GA that can take us into the future.
 
retailguy said:
You want in on a deal? Start showing up at KIWS on Saturday morning. Go to lunch with the crowd, and get to know them. You'll be in the next available plane, most likely.
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There's certainly a crowd on Saturday mornings! Free food will do that. :yes: I haven't been up there on a Sat morning in a while except while waiting for fuel, but I may have to more often. Seems like a great group of folks from what I've seen and heard.
 
The bad news about wingshare is that it looks like it's been dead for five years. Take a look at the dates of the listings and you'll see that the most recent entries are from 2010.

Too bad, too. This site would be a great resource for those of us looking for partnerships.
 
Couldn't a well known site such as aopa set up a section where the clubs are responsible for annual renewals? It would be in a club's best interest to keep their listing current. Otherwise it gets removed.
 
rbridges said:
Couldn't a well known site such as aopa set up a section where the clubs are responsible for annual renewals? It would be in a club's best interest to keep their listing current. Otherwise it gets removed.
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Likewise, individuals could be responsible for updating or reauthorizing their own listings. If not updated in a year, the listing could be removed after an email warning. Many of the free trade magazines I get every month send me a notice that I have to explicitly reauthorize my subscription or I get dropped.
 
Just throwing this out there, doesn't barnstormers have a section for partnerships? It may not be searchable by specific region (EDIT: it is searchable by state though!) but it is updated regularly and you might just strike a deal near you if you're lucky.
 
janikpilot said:
Just throwing this out there, doesn't barnstormers have a section for partnerships? It may not be searchable by specific region (EDIT: it is searchable by state though!) but it is updated regularly and you might just strike a deal near you if you're lucky.
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Will check it out; thanks for the tip!
 
Check Craigslist. I've seen at least one "seeking partnership" ad in the For Sale section on my local Craigslist.
 
nagodoches said:
Check Craigslist. I've seen at least one "seeking partnership" ad in the For Sale section on my local Craigslist.
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if it's craigslist, It might be a different type of partnership sought.
 
DrPappy said:
It sure would be great if there were a forum, site, etc. regarding aircraft co-ownership. Maybe there is, but I'm too dumb to find it. I'm talking about a place, sort of like a dating site, where people can express their interest in co-ownership and where they are located, and that way be able to get in contact with like-minded people in their area. It could also be a place where guys could moan about mistakes they have made to help others in future partnerships.

I fly out of Hooks (KDWH) in north Houston, and I know there must be a number of people with like interests in my area. I just have no clue who they are. I have looked in the local FBO but to no avail. If you know of anyone who desires partial ownership in my area, please let me know!
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DrPappy said:
It sure would be great if there were a forum, site, etc. regarding aircraft co-ownership. Maybe there is, but I'm too dumb to find it. I'm talking about a place, sort of like a dating site, where people can express their interest in co-ownership and where they are located, and that way be able to get in contact with like-minded people in their area. It could also be a place where guys could moan about mistakes they have made to help others in future partnerships.

I fly out of Hooks (KDWH) in north Houston, and I know there must be a number of people with like interests in my area. I just have no clue who they are. I have looked in the local FBO but to no avail. If you know of anyone who desires partial ownership in my area, please let me know!
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DrPappy,

I too am looking for fractional ownership at hooks. Are you still intrested?
 
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