Poll: Own/Co-Own/Flight Club/Rent?

Own/Co-Own/Flying Club/Rent??

  • Solo Owner

    Votes: 53 41.4%

  • Co-Own with Partner(s)

    Votes: 20 15.6%

  • Flying Club with 3-30 Members

    Votes: 11 8.6%

  • Flying Club with over 30 Members

    Votes: 19 14.8%

  • Rent from FBO

    Votes: 21 16.4%

  • Flying Stolen Airplane from Secret Underground Location

    Votes: 4 3.1%
  • Total voters
    128
F

flygirl34q

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I know there has most likely been a poll(s) like this in the past, but it seems like we have gotten some new people here recently and I'm curious... How many people own their own plane solo, co-own with a partner(s), are a member of a flying club, or rent from an FBO??
 
I am a solo owner. I'm not rich so I make cuts in other areas to afford my habit. I estimate my total annual cost (2 planes) is around 10-12 grand per year. This year is already up to around 7 grand because of unscheduled maintenance and upgrades.
 
Club with 2 planes and 28 members. Availibility is hardly an issue.
 
Club with 3 planes and 45 members. Scheduling isn't a big problem, but maintenance issues seem to be taking their toll.
 
Probably could use another option: rent from a flight school. I rent from one flight school, which is an FBO, and another, which is not.
 
Co-own currently but we're adding two more partners.
 
Used to own outright, but co-ownership makes it somewhat economical, at least for me.
 
I own my plane, but only use it when the A&P and avionics tech get tired of working on it...

(inside joke - many new bits bolted on over the three years of ownership)
 
Clark1961 said:
I own my plane, but only use it when the A&P and avionics tech get tired of working on it...

(inside joke - many new bits bolted on over the three years of ownership)
Click to expand...

I think many of us can relate... :rolleyes2: I just got mine back after an annual and a trip to the paint shop. It's nice going to MY hangar at the airport and knowing it will be there instead of in someone else's. :rolleyes:
 
I have owned my arrow for a little over a year now. Definitely not the cheapest option but there is nothing better than going out to your hangar and fly when ever you want knowing you were the last to fly it. Its also nice being in control of the maintenance.
 
Rent from FBO. Hope to be upgrading to co- or full ownership before too long.
 
Arrow115 said:
I have owned my arrow for a little over a year now. Definitely not the cheapest option but there is nothing better than going out to your hangar and fly when ever you want knowing you were the last to fly it. Its also nice being in control of the maintenance.
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:yeahthat:

No truer words ever spoken! :D I remember briefly being a renter through my first 4 flight lessons and not being a big fan of the scraps of paper stuffed in the side panel pockets from the last pilot to fly it and that overall "lived-in" look of the interior(s) of the flight school rentals in general. After that, I joined a flying club and it became better in the trash and aesthetics department, but I'm not perfect either. My Siberian husky shed a LOT of hair and the one time I didn't have time to vacuum one of the planes out after returning from a weekend away, I got to hear about it from one of the other members. :rolleyes2: So... owning and doing things on your own timetable= PRICELESS (outside of all other monetary considerations, of course!) :D
 
Solo Cherokee owner here. I love being able to fly when and where I want without having to coordinate with anyone else.
 
Flying Club with 45 members and 4 planes. So far I have found it to be a great compromise between owning and renting.
 
Most of the past 45 years I've stayed with rentals
But during that time, every FBO was a dealer for someone and had ramps loaded to the gills with available aircraft (and new stuff with single and double digit time on the tach) --- all available to rent
[[ of course, in the 60's car dealers did that too with their cars -- rent 'em ]]

NOW, almost all FBOs seem to deal with students, or high priced transients, so normal renters are 5th priority (behind the students, maintenance, transients, FBO staff), so planes are frequent NOT available, regardless of how far in advance they are reserved (What, you didn't arrange for a rental within the past 10 minutes? -- doing so was NORMAL 30-40 years ago).
And clubs are super hassle with meetings and biANNUAL (not biennial) BFRs (like you would crash if you didn't prove yourself every 6 months) and prices are reduced only 10%. But, aircraft ARE usually available.
But, if you can get at least 2 partners, co-ownership is probably reasonable and the best alternative if everyone can agree on equipment, scheduling, basing, and general trivial pursuits of ownership.
 
rent wishing I could own someday SOON!!!
 
Co-Own with Partners, #1 does not have his ticket and has yet to even start, #2 flies the plane about once every two months. never have to worry about someone else having the plane when I want it.
 
Rent from a non-equity club-style FBO with (I think) over 400 members and about 13 aircraft. Those aircraft include a Champ, 310, Bonanza, 182, Sierra, a few 172s (including G1000), a couple 152s, a R44 helicopter, an Archer, and a Waco!
 
Until our Aero Club was closed by the USAF last month, we had 4 Warriors, 2 Arrows, a Barron (that just came back on line after a very extended layup) and a Grumman Cougar and a Saratoga on "Leaseback". Never had much of an issue with availability.

Club was reconstituted off base with 2 172's, a 182, the Cougar and Saratoga and in the market for good Warriors and an Arrow so us Piper Fanatics can get back to flying real airplanes. :D

The FBO also allows nice rates on the Cirrus fleet they use for USAF Flight Surgeon Training.

Scheduling is a lot harder now but the fleet build up should alleviate that, I hope.

Cheers
 
What aero club? Navy flying clubs are almost gone
 
When back East I belonged to the Williamson Flying Club in Upstate NY (KSDC) and very rarely had any scheduling issues; there always seemed to be an 'orphan' plane that didn't fly very much. During my primary training it was C150 with a STOL kit, later a Warrior, and even later a Cherokee 235. All great planes for what I was doing at the time. We did have a couple dipwads in the flying club who would schedule multiple weekends just in case they wanted the 235 and usually cancel on Friday. However for my weekday traveling availability was rarely an issue. Great club, good aircraft, reasonable rates, nice folks.

I bought a plane because I wanted something a little faster with an autopilot and newer avionics than the club planes. I'm on my third plane because I always seem to want something a little faster and newer avionics. I find it more cost effective to let a previous owner pay for the upgrades then to do major avionics myself. And that IS the voice of experience. Besides, no matter how much I spent on avionics the plane just didn't go any faster.

If I was not such a bull headed pain in the ass I should have a partner. 100 to 150 hours / year is not really enough to justify sole ownership. I fly for business trips, so just boring holes for more time is not a good solution. However, I know what I am so I'll hang in as long as I can by myself. I'll probably sell the plane before I get a partner. Or maybe buy a plane that is a little newer, a little faster, with newer avionics.....

Mooney 231 at KPRC
 
Sportsman said:
What aero club? Navy flying clubs are almost gone
Click to expand...

Wright-Patterson AFB. Base Commander claimed the Club was loosing money but would not show the books. :confused:

Club was the oldest in the USAF AFAIK.

Cheers
 
Sportsman said:
What aero club? Navy flying clubs are almost gone
Click to expand...
Are there any Navy clubs left? I can't think of any.

Still a very few USAF clubs hanging on. Langley still has one last I checked, but their fleet is a fraction of what it used to be.
 
I'm both an owner and member of a rather large 800+ member flying club.

I pretty much split between flying my 170 and flying the club twins and other hp/complex singles depending on the mission.
 
Sole ownership, but I think partnerships are the best way IF you can find partners of the same mindset towards ownership, upgrades, and maintenance.
 
Jim Wilkins said:
We did have a couple dipwads in the flying club who would schedule multiple weekends just in case they wanted the 235 and usually cancel on Friday.
Click to expand...
Flying club with 4 planes and ~20 members.

Funny...we have the same kind of "dipwads" :rolleyes: Those guys drive me crazy :mad2:

Other than the aforementioned, the flying club is the way to go...
 
What if you belong in more than one category? I'm an owner (sole owner) and all of my flying these days is in my own plane, so that's how I voted. But I also belong to a 40-member flying club.
 
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