I called and asked the FBO what they meant by this clause. They said it
meant that, regardless of fault, if something goes wrong with the plane
while I am renting it and I'm away from the home field, I am supposed to
stay with the plane for three days at my own cost, or come home and go back
to fly it home if the repairs take 3 days or less, or have them retrieve the
plane for me at the cost we have discussed.

Now, I have no problem staying with the plane or retrieving it after repairs
if I am the person that broke something. I broke it, I should pay to fix it
and fly it home.

But if the radios die because the FBO hasn't replaced them in 20 years, or a
belt breaks because the FBO decided not to replace it on the 100-hour even
though it was cracked, or the alternator dies suddenly (IE... situations
where I clearly didn't break anything and just happen to be the unlucky
renter to have a broken plane while out on a cross country), I can not
fathom having to pay to retrieve the plane. That should be a cost for the
FBO to eat, since it was their maintenance that didn't find the problem to
begin with. And once they eat the cost a few times, you can bet the
maintenance of the planes would improve. The radio would be replaced more
regularly, etc.

Could you imagine renting a car from Avis, and half way through your trip
having the starter on the car die? You call Avis, and they tell you that
according to their contract it's your responsibility to retrieve the car
after the repair or they will charge you $1,000 to get it even though it was
their poor maintenance (or Murphy's law) that broke the car in the first
place?

I'm sure you'd go crazy. And so would I regardless of whether it was a
plane or a car.

Robert


"gatt" wrote in message
...

"Bill Denton" wrote in message
news:409a9de6$0$3023

I didn't get that interpretation; that language comes directly from the
rental agreement! And while the language may be a bit sloppy, the intent
is
perfectly obvious. If the pilot knows something is wrong before he
flies,
he
would obviously have that information after he has flown.

Hey, guys, the best thing to do would be to ask the FBO owner to clarify
and, if necessary, have it put in writing.

No point in arguing about it for days if somebody could just pick up the
phone and ask the FBO to explain it. Would like to hear the explanation,
btw.

-c