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#1
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Rental policy
I received my private last September, and have rented a Cessna 172 from the
same place I completed my training at ever since. Recently, I've been looking for a new place to rent because the 172's at my current FBO are old and always down because something broke yet again. I went to a different FBO yesterday to ask about getting checked out in a plane there. Initially they looked like a great place to rent from... at least until I took a look at their rental policies and procedures. I really didn't like one of them, but am wondering if it is "just me" or if it is a normal policy with most FBO's. It says "If the PIC determines that the plane needs repair before being flown, and the PIC has flown the plane away from its home location, the PIC must remain with the plane for three (3) days while the plane is being repaired. The PIC is responsible for all costs of his own lodging, food, travel expenses, etc. during this three day period. If the PIC elects to leave the plane during this three day repair period, you are responsible for the smaller of $5 per mile or $1000 for an FBO staff member to retreive the plane." So, basically, if I fly from Long Beach to Santa Barbara (class C airport), and the plane has an electrical problem to due to fault of my own, and I decide to squak the plane in Santa Barbara, I have to pay someone about $1,800 to retrieve the plane if I can't stay with it for three days while it gets repaired. Is this an outrageous policy, or is it normal? I could see that I would be responsible if I damaged the plane, or just decided to leave the plane somewhere else, but its almost like they are encouraging pilots to fly planes back home that shouldn't be flown just so they don't get stuck with a bill. Robert |
#2
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Sounds like you could rent a car, drive home to Long Beach and return to
Santa Barbara when the plane was fixed and fly it back. Mike MU-2 "Robert" wrote in message ... I received my private last September, and have rented a Cessna 172 from the same place I completed my training at ever since. Recently, I've been looking for a new place to rent because the 172's at my current FBO are old and always down because something broke yet again. I went to a different FBO yesterday to ask about getting checked out in a plane there. Initially they looked like a great place to rent from... at least until I took a look at their rental policies and procedures. I really didn't like one of them, but am wondering if it is "just me" or if it is a normal policy with most FBO's. It says "If the PIC determines that the plane needs repair before being flown, and the PIC has flown the plane away from its home location, the PIC must remain with the plane for three (3) days while the plane is being repaired. The PIC is responsible for all costs of his own lodging, food, travel expenses, etc. during this three day period. If the PIC elects to leave the plane during this three day repair period, you are responsible for the smaller of $5 per mile or $1000 for an FBO staff member to retreive the plane." So, basically, if I fly from Long Beach to Santa Barbara (class C airport), and the plane has an electrical problem to due to fault of my own, and I decide to squak the plane in Santa Barbara, I have to pay someone about $1,800 to retrieve the plane if I can't stay with it for three days while it gets repaired. Is this an outrageous policy, or is it normal? I could see that I would be responsible if I damaged the plane, or just decided to leave the plane somewhere else, but its almost like they are encouraging pilots to fly planes back home that shouldn't be flown just so they don't get stuck with a bill. Robert |
#3
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"Robert" writes:
I received my private last September, and have rented a Cessna 172 from the same place I completed my training at ever since. Recently, I've been looking for a new place to rent because the 172's at my current FBO are old and always down because something broke yet again. I went to a different FBO yesterday to ask about getting checked out in a plane there. Initially they looked like a great place to rent from... at least until I took a look at their rental policies and procedures. I really didn't like one of them, but am wondering if it is "just me" or if it is a normal policy with most FBO's. It says "If the PIC determines that the plane needs repair before being flown, and the PIC has flown the plane away from its home location, the PIC must remain with the plane for three (3) days while the plane is being repaired. The PIC is responsible for all costs of his own lodging, food, travel expenses, etc. during this three day period. If the PIC elects to leave the plane during this three day repair period, you are responsible for the smaller of $5 per mile or $1000 for an FBO staff member to retreive the plane." So, basically, if I fly from Long Beach to Santa Barbara (class C airport), and the plane has an electrical problem to due to fault of my own, and I decide to squak the plane in Santa Barbara, I have to pay someone about $1,800 to retrieve the plane if I can't stay with it for three days while it gets repaired. Is this an outrageous policy, or is it normal? I could see that I would be responsible if I damaged the plane, or just decided to leave the plane somewhere else, but its almost like they are encouraging pilots to fly planes back home that shouldn't be flown just so they don't get stuck with a bill. I haven't rented in a long time, but most rental FBO's I dealt with before becoming an owner discouraged (some really heavily) taking the plane to places far away for extended periods, and instead preferred that you just took day trippers. I think the biggest encouragement for me to become an owner was the crappy rentals (even a brand new, zero hours plane is a crappy rental if the FBO policies are as draconian as the one mentioned above). -jav |
#4
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"Robert" wrote in message
... It says "If the PIC determines that the plane needs repair before being flown, and the PIC has flown the plane away from its home location, the PIC must remain with the plane for three (3) days while the plane is being repaired. The PIC is responsible for all costs of his own lodging, food, travel expenses, etc. during this three day period. If the PIC elects to leave the plane during this three day repair period, you are responsible for the smaller of $5 per mile or $1000 for an FBO staff member to retreive the plane." It looks to me as if they've been "burnt" in the past and inserted that clause to cover themselves. Perhaps someone took off with a dodgy alternator & then declared it 'bad' in Catalina & billed them for the hotel... Anyway, that clause doesn't look as if it's been written by a lawyer - the "must remain" part seems too much like slavery & likely to be too vague to be enforceable. It shouldn't really affect you in any case. If you take off in a plane you know needs to be repaired, you are violating the FARs as well as the rental policy. Just fly legally and it won't apply to you. |
#5
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"Tony Cox" writes:
It shouldn't really affect you in any case. If you take off in a plane you know needs to be repaired, you are violating the FARs as well as the rental policy. Just fly legally and it won't apply to you. There are rentals that don't need to be repaired? -jav |
#6
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"Tony Cox" wrote in message
ink.net... [...] It shouldn't really affect you in any case. If you take off in a plane you know needs to be repaired, you are violating the FARs as well as the rental policy. Just fly legally and it won't apply to you. The part about remaining with the airplane or paying $5/mile (up to the $1000 maximum...yikes!) certainly would. |
#7
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If you take off in a plane you know needs to be repaired,
you are violating the FARs as well as the rental policy. If anyone takes of in a plane that needs to be repaired this armchair pilot and lurker says you are dumber than a sack of hammers and a prime candidate for the darwin award. |
#8
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"Robert" wrote in message
... [...stay 3 days or pay $5/mile up to $1000 for ferrying...] Is this an outrageous policy, or is it normal? I could see that I would be responsible if I damaged the plane, or just decided to leave the plane somewhere else, but its almost like they are encouraging pilots to fly planes back home that shouldn't be flown just so they don't get stuck with a bill. I've never heard of such a policy. Of course, an FBO is free to write into their contract whatever they think they can get renters to agree to and I've been an owner too long for me to be able to comment on what's "typical" for rental agreements. I definitely wouldn't rent an airplane from an operation that thinks that sort of language is reasonable though, and I personally agree with the use of the word "outrageous" to describe the policy. We just had a similar thread regarding responsibilities of pilots renting a plane that suffers a mechanical problem while away from home. You might look back at that thread for insight into the widely varying opinions of the pilot's responsibility under that kind of situation. http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=e...a5ed5ee&rnum=1 Personally, I feel that one of the few advantages to renting is that you're not responsible for maintenance issues not of your own doing; language like this in the contract attempts to take from the renter that one benefit, making me wonder why anyone would rent at all if it were standard. I said as much in the above thread. Pete |
#9
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"Peter Duniho" wrote in message
... "Tony Cox" wrote in message ink.net... [...] It shouldn't really affect you in any case. If you take off in a plane you know needs to be repaired, you are violating the FARs as well as the rental policy. Just fly legally and it won't apply to you. The part about remaining with the airplane or paying $5/mile (up to the $1000 maximum...yikes!) certainly would. Nah. A good lawyer could get you off easy! The way that clause is written, you're supposed to remain with the plane for 3 days at the remote location even if what needs to be repaired is no worse than it was when you took off. And what does "remain" mean anyway? Sleep in the back seat? I wouldn't worry about it. It's just some pettifogger's way of trying to protect themselves after some renter ripped them off. |
#10
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Take another look at this statement: "If the PIC determines that the plane
needs repair before being flown, and the PIC has flown the plane away from its home location..." What this is actually saying is: "If an airplane needs repair, and you know that the airplane needs repair, and you fly away knowing that the airplane needs repair, and the airplane must be repaired at a location other than it's home base, we're going to charge you out the ass!" Solution? Don't rent planes with squawks, unless they are extremely minor. "Robert" wrote in message ... I received my private last September, and have rented a Cessna 172 from the same place I completed my training at ever since. Recently, I've been looking for a new place to rent because the 172's at my current FBO are old and always down because something broke yet again. I went to a different FBO yesterday to ask about getting checked out in a plane there. Initially they looked like a great place to rent from... at least until I took a look at their rental policies and procedures. I really didn't like one of them, but am wondering if it is "just me" or if it is a normal policy with most FBO's. It says "If the PIC determines that the plane needs repair before being flown, and the PIC has flown the plane away from its home location, the PIC must remain with the plane for three (3) days while the plane is being repaired. The PIC is responsible for all costs of his own lodging, food, travel expenses, etc. during this three day period. If the PIC elects to leave the plane during this three day repair period, you are responsible for the smaller of $5 per mile or $1000 for an FBO staff member to retreive the plane." So, basically, if I fly from Long Beach to Santa Barbara (class C airport), and the plane has an electrical problem to due to fault of my own, and I decide to squak the plane in Santa Barbara, I have to pay someone about $1,800 to retrieve the plane if I can't stay with it for three days while it gets repaired. Is this an outrageous policy, or is it normal? I could see that I would be responsible if I damaged the plane, or just decided to leave the plane somewhere else, but its almost like they are encouraging pilots to fly planes back home that shouldn't be flown just so they don't get stuck with a bill. Robert |
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