OpenAirplane......

flhrci

flhrci

Final Approach
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David
So, anybody know if this service is ever going to open up? Their test was a long time ago.

David
 
Did you check their web site?
 
Yup. Only the pre-opening stuff they have had for a long time.


Message from them on Facebook today about killing bugs in their software. no other news.


David
 
Yeah, for a group that promised in October of last year that they would be open later that year (2012), they've slipped their schedule considerably.
 
Concept will never work according to many people on this site.
 
Looks like they've gone "Live" as of this morning.

They've got planes in Chicago, Detroit and New York right now.
 
Teach me for not zooming out...also Kissimee FL, LA and San Francisco.
 
ChrisK said:
Not a bad start. I hope he makes it work.
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Me too...next time I get to one of those places, there's actually a good chance I might take advantage of it. They accept some "Third Party Checkouts" and my CAP annual checkout is one of the ones they accept, so I should be able to grab a 172/182 without a local checkout in place.
 
JeffDG said:
Me too...next time I get to one of those places, there's actually a good chance I might take advantage of it. They accept some "Third Party Checkouts" and my CAP annual checkout is one of the ones they accept, so I should be able to grab a 172/182 without a local checkout in place.
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I'll give it a try next time I am at the mouse. If in reality they indeed accept the CAP 'Form 5', it would be a neat way to get access to a plane while on the road.
 
OA_Operator_Map.1.png


Here's there locations, and yep, they accept Form 5 checkrides.
 
I am glad they finally opened up. I was hoping for locations closer to me in central Ohio. Oh well. I think I can wait.

David
 
Yep this was just posted on AOPA Flying Club Face Book.


Paul Robichaux
OpenAirplane just launched today. I'm not sure whether they will work with flying clubs or not, but I suspect if they see a surge of interest they will do their best!
https://openairplane.com/
openairplane.com
 
flhrci said:
I am glad they finally opened up. I was hoping for locations closer to me in central Ohio. Oh well. I think I can wait.

David
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See, I'm not necessarily looking for something close to home...I can do a checkout with a local FBO and have it be worth my while.

But, if I'm in LA on business and just need to get airborne, now I will have the option of heading to LGB and picking up a plane for a sightseeing tour without having to spend a bunch on a local checkout to tell me where the flap switch is on a 172!
 
There IS one close to me.

But they picked the most expensive FBO in the region. $157 for a 172? I can get one at my club for $115. I don't need an SP with a G1000 to go sightseeing. A 172M will do fine thankyouverymuch.

I may do it anyway, and I do understand they are just starting out, but I'd think their target audience wouldn't be the premium folks.
 
JeffDG said:
See, I'm not necessarily looking for something close to home...I can do a checkout with a local FBO and have it be worth my while.
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I was speaking of the checkout portion. Chicago is a bit far away for a checkout to go somewhere else to fly.

David
 
flhrci said:
I was speaking of the checkout portion. Chicago is a bit far away for a checkout to go somewhere else to fly.

David
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Ahhh...I already have an annual checkout in 182/172 through CAP. The other 3rd Party Checkout they do right now is the Cessna Employee Flying Club (or those are the only two they list in the sign-up drop down list).
 
Although it's extremely expensive ($340/hr) I find it odd that a place in CA has a Corvalis. I find it hard to believe that a school would let an airplane that expensive go without a checkout.
 
Z06_Mir said:
Although it's extremely expensive ($340/hr) I find it odd that a place in CA has a Corvalis. I find it hard to believe that a school would let an airplane that expensive go without a checkout.
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They only let you take the same make and model so a checkout would be required at one point.
 
MultiMediaWill said:
Can someone sum up what OpenAirplane is? Thanks!
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It is a network of FBOs that will accept a "Universal Checkout" in model.

The company, OpenAirplane, administers the program and charges a fee that is built into your rental rate when you go through them (10%). They track your checkouts.

So, let's say you check out in a C-182 in Chicago. You're in LA on business. You can go to another FBO in Long Beach and rent a 182 through OpenAirplane and they will accept your Chicago checkout and hand you the keys.

There are other elements as well, like pilots "rating" FBOs that they use, and FBOs rating pilots who fly with them, but that's the core idea.
 
Z06_Mir said:
Although it's extremely expensive ($340/hr) I find it odd that a place in CA has a Corvalis. I find it hard to believe that a school would let an airplane that expensive go without a checkout.
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You still need an annual checkout in model, it just doesn't necessarily need to be with that FBO. If another FBO offers the same plane and does your checkout, that checkout will be valid at all of the FBOs in the network.
 
weilke said:
I'll give it a try next time I am at the mouse. If in reality they indeed accept the CAP 'Form 5', it would be a neat way to get access to a plane while on the road.
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I didn't realize the CAP had any money to fly. Apparently they haven't run out of money for paperwork though :D
 
If I've got this right... those of us that aren't in CAP and don't already have form 5 rides we can credit, would need to do a local checkout, but the checkout would apply to all rentals of that model in the network? If I've got that right, it's a decent system, but unless you happen to already fly at one of those places or end up traveling to multiple places that have planes in the system, it's not very useful. And with only 7? places so far, I don't expect there are that many people who would get value out of this right now.

I can see myself visiting one of their locations and having time/desire to fly there, but I don't see myself visiting more than one, so it seems i'd do the checkout (at what appears to be higher than regular pricing) and not get any additional benefit other than a lighter wallet to help out with weight and balance.

I'm hoping this system expands considerably. I think I'd be more likely to rent a plane while i'm away from home if the hassle involved in being new to a rental place (pilot history, documents, check out, etc) was minimized. I know I've passed on flying several times while away from home because I didn't want to deal with the hassle or the extra time required wouldn't fit into my schedule.

This has potential, but it needs more places on board. I'm hopeful but not optimistic.
 
One advantage for me is that with most places I've rented from, the individual FBO/school's checkout is only good for 90 days...while OpenAirplane's is good for one year. So, I don't have to visit that same FBO every 89 days to stay current with them.
 
hmmm, if I were a rental place away from some tourist destination but with local competition, I'd consider joining this program to use as an incentive for people to fly with me rather than my competitor. I'd think it would be a selling point to be able to claim that flying with my planes would let someone go off on vacation and fly there with less hassle.
Would have to read more about the program to see if that would actually work, but it seems like it may be an idea for rental places to consider.
 
If this system becomes widespread I really feel like it would make my PPL so much better. Imagine being able to go anywhere in the US without having to do another dreaded checkout at each new FBO. Is it bad to dream of this already?
 
MultiMediaWill said:
If this system becomes widespread I really feel like it would make my PPL so much better. Imagine being able to go anywhere in the US without having to do another dreaded checkout at each new FBO. Is it bad to dream of this already?
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Yep...we'll see if they can grow to a critical mass or not.
 
Just spoke to the guy who is the business hussler. He is traveling all week to get schools signed up and it sounds like hes working really hard to make this work. If it does I think it will be a cool tool so its something we at POA should really try to support.
 
CaptLabrador said:
Just spoke to the guy who is the business hussler. He is traveling all week to get schools signed up and it sounds like hes working really hard to make this work. If it does I think it will be a cool tool so its something we at POA should really try to support.
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I would agree with that. Everytime the family and I go on vacation somewhere I always get the itch to fly, and never do it because of the "additional" checkout. Many of you face the same issue.

While I love my Tiger, she cannot travel with me all of the time and having an option would be great. I am in Austin Texas right now and last night I rented a car to drive around, how much better would my life had been if I could have just hopped in a 172 and flown around the country side.
 
CaptLabrador said:
that was how he laughingly described himself...but the business developer if you want a more professional term.
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I would guess they have two different sales categories.

1) Pilots who want to fly
2) FBOs who want to rent
 
CaptLabrador said:
Yes, but it is pretty much one guy right now, and a web developer.
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Yeah, it'll take a bit to spin up!

I wish them all the luck I can spare! I think it's a fantastic idea and commend them on what they've done so far. As I understand it, they've wrangled the insurance companies into line even with their Universal Pilot Checkout process, which was a huge success...
 
JeffDG said:
Yeah, it'll take a bit to spin up!

I wish them all the luck I can spare! I think it's a fantastic idea and commend them on what they've done so far. As I understand it, they've wrangled the insurance companies into line even with their Universal Pilot Checkout process, which was a huge success...
Click to expand...

Are you sure? They require renters insurance so doesn't that mean they didn't have to deal with the insurance companies?
 
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