(Paul Tomblin) writes:

The founder of the club and former head Maintenance Officer has been
agitating for a LoPresti Howl Cowl for the last 10 years, but the club
never went for it. Now he's agitating for a twin, but there is no
insurance company in the country that will insure a twin in a flying club
(except maybe for clubs that already have a twin and are grandfathered in,
but I wouldn't bet on it).

The Canadian flying clubs I'm familiar with seem to have at least one
twin for ME training, but I more and more get the impression that
"flying club" means something entirely different on the two sides of
the border.

In Canada, a flying club (at least in my part of the country) is
essentially a non-profit FBO, and some of them date back to the 1920's
to 1940's (in the late 1920's, for example, our flying club founded
what later became Ottawa's international airport). Flying clubs
generally have a clubhouse, one or more employees, a few hundred
members, and a member-elected board, much like a country club (only
more fun and much cheaper to belong -- maybe USD 100/year in dues, and
typically no initiation fee).

In the U.S., it sounds like a flying club is more like a big
partnership.


All the best,


David