Jay Honeck wrote:

Yes. We're noticed it particularly in our flying club. Five years ago,
the club had 20 members (about 10 were active, I believe) and two
airplanes. We now have one airplane, 10 members, but only four of us who
currently fly the airplane. And the four of us have flown the airplane
only 54 hours total.


Why so little, Matt? I would think the club format would do well to keep
costs low...?

The costs are very reasonable at $56/hour wet plus $90 per month in
dues. Well, we just raised the hourly rate to $66 because of the fuel
costs of late, but still a good deal for a retractable.

I can't speak for the others, but the main reasons for me are distance
to the airport (45 minutes one-way for me) and three kids, a wife, and a
job with a fair amount of travel. The distance to the airport is the
biggest one for me. When I owned my own plane and had it located closer
(25 minutes vs. 45), I was much more inclined to run to the airport when
I had a couple of hours and take a short hop. Also, my plane was at a
non-towered field and I could be in the air literally a couple minutes
after engine start. Even though ELM is a pretty sleepy airport, it
still takes 10-15 minutes to go from engine start to in the air. It
takes time to get the ATIS and call for taxi and then it often is a 5-10
minute taxi to the active. And we have to deal with a slow security
gate to gain access to the hangars, etc. Basically, on a very good day
with no unusual delays, it takes me 60 minutes minimum from my house to
the air. And often it takes closer to 90 minutes. So even a short
flight takes a Saturday morning or a full evening in the summer.

I also flew a fair bit on company busines when I owned my plane as I had
the insurance my employer requires for their GAP (General Aviation
Program). Unfortunately, since 9/11, I can't get the required insurance
($1MM/$500K). The club carries $1MM/$100K and the best non-owner policy
I've found also as the $100K/person limitation. I was flying 25 or more
hours a year on business trips which helped a lot, but I now end up
either driving on these or flying the airlines.


Matt