Jim Howell writes:

I would like to know how the expenses are generally shared
particularly for the case where one partner flies more than the
other.

As others have mentioned, the most typical approach is to share fixed
expenses evenly and to pro-rate variable expenses according to the
number of hours flown. For example, if you flew 140 hours next year
and your partner flew 60, you'd pay 50% of the insurance, 50% of the
tiedown or hangar, 50% of the annual, 50% of unscheduled maintenance
expenses, 70% of oil, 70% of fuel, and 70% of the engine overhaul
reserve. Paint/interior and avionics reserve could go either way.

That might seem unfair to the partner who flies less, but it's not,
really:

1. The main difference between owning and renting is the convenience
of having the plane available to you. Both partners -- the one who
flies more and the one who flies less -- have the same
availability. Think of the fixed costs as the price of having a
plane on call.

2. Planes have to fly a lot to be healthy -- if you don't fly the
plane enough between you, it will sit on the field with the engine
corroding, and you'll both end up paying a lot more to keep it.

Even though my Warrior is cheap to operate, I will go looking for a
partner if I ever find myself flying less than about 100 hours/year,
just because of #2. Planes have to fly (that's why flying school
planes often make TBO or better, despite the horrible abuse they
endure).


All the best,


David