Plane "sharing" experience?

You've gotten some good advice so far. You should all join the AOPA
and take advantage of their legal plan, then sit down with a lawyer to
set up a non profit corporation. The capt's reply about this was very
accurate. It gets sticky when you want you're initial money
back..... If you plan on doing all this and then selling the plane at
the end, I think renting is the way to go. If you are setting up a
long term situation, take the time to form a club, and do it right.

Doing it the wrong way, or with the wrong people will guarantee a
costly and bad experience. FWIW, and no offense intended, as students
you will be beating up your "own" plane. Hard landings etc. It might
be better to rent until you are landing without having the CFI
questioning their choice of vocation.

Doug

I know 3 guys who are doing this now, and saving a pile... (by their
own numbers)

It is a Cherokee 140..

Yes, the wing IS in the right place..

Yes, it WILL haul 4 people (in a pinch, WITH a pinch!)

And it is a good trainer,

And is tough and inexpensive.

And parts are reasonable, and available..

And it is a simple to maintain plane..

Ald although not a "fast" plane, has decent cross country speed...

Did I mention that the wing is in the right place?

A Cessna 150 is great trainer, but not much else.. It is slow, light,
cramped, no payload..

And...the 140 has LOTS of "utility" while working as a trainer...

YMMV!

Dave


On Sun, 16 Dec 2007 19:09:07 GMT, wrote:

I'm currently in "ground school" and hope to begin my actual flight
instruction soon. I will need to keep a close eye on the costs involved.

Some classmates are tossing around the idea of us purchasing a plane as a
group, doing our training, and then selling the plane. When our training s
completed, we would either sell to a "third party" buyer or allow some group
members who want to keep and share the plane to "buy back" shares from other
members at a discount.

Does anybody out there have any experience with such a scheme? Is this
really practical? Any solid info about legal requirements, insurance
issues, maintenance and storage costs, or tips for purchasing / selling a
plane would be appreciated.

Suggestions as to appropriate "training" aircraft (beyond the Cessna 150 /
172) would also be appreciated.

Additionally, would it be wise to contract a single CFI to do our
instruction? At approximately 50 hours per pupil, they could log a lot of
time. Maybe we could get a small discount?

Craig Slein, Houston, Texas

Dave wrote in
:

I know 3 guys who are doing this now, and saving a pile... (by their
own numbers)

It is a Cherokee 140..

Yes, the wing IS in the right place..

Yes, it WILL haul 4 people (in a pinch, WITH a pinch!)

And it is a good trainer,


Nope, worst trainer ever.

Well, after the Ercoupe, maybe.

People without legs are alowed to fly them.

they cover a multitude of sins whilst training


And is tough and inexpensive.

True. They are tough.


And parts are reasonable, and available..

And it is a simple to maintain plane..

Also true.

Ald although not a "fast" plane, has decent cross country speed...

Did I mention that the wing is in the right place?

A Cessna 150 is great trainer, but not much else.. It is slow, light,
cramped, no payload..


You're comparing apples and oranges.

the 150 has less than 2/3rds the burn for instance.




Bertie

On Mon, 17 Dec 2007 00:42:45 +0000 (UTC), Bertie the Bunyip
wrote:

Dave wrote in
:

I know 3 guys who are doing this now, and saving a pile... (by their
own numbers)

It is a Cherokee 140..

Yes, the wing IS in the right place..

Yes, it WILL haul 4 people (in a pinch, WITH a pinch!)

And it is a good trainer,


Nope, worst trainer ever.


Many say the Cherokee family is just too docile to be a trainer.
You can put the 180 into a full stall and still use the ailerons to
make turns while in the stall. In some planes if you touch the
ailerons in a stall it'll roll over and/or go into a spin. In the 180
it just sets there with the stabilator vibrating a bit and a high rate
of descent. Do that in my Deb and it takes concentration and some
timely control inputs to keep the greasy side down.

Roger (K8RI)

"Roger (K8RI)" wrote in
:

On Mon, 17 Dec 2007 00:42:45 +0000 (UTC), Bertie the Bunyip
wrote:

Dave wrote in
m:

I know 3 guys who are doing this now, and saving a pile... (by their
own numbers)

It is a Cherokee 140..

Yes, the wing IS in the right place..

Yes, it WILL haul 4 people (in a pinch, WITH a pinch!)

And it is a good trainer,


Nope, worst trainer ever.


Many say the Cherokee family is just too docile to be a trainer.
You can put the 180 into a full stall and still use the ailerons to
make turns while in the stall. In some planes if you touch the
ailerons in a stall it'll roll over and/or go into a spin. In the 180
it just sets there with the stabilator vibrating a bit and a high rate
of descent. Do that in my Deb and it takes concentration and some
timely control inputs to keep the greasy side down.


Well, exactly, it teaches you little,.
Good pickup truck, rotten trainer.

Bertie

Thanks for the unexpectedly large response. I could use a few more
recommendations about which models of aircraft are particularly well suited
to being used as a trainer.

Also, I could really use tips on buying and potential sources of good used
aircraft.

Thanks!

Craig

On Dec 20, 7:52 am, wrote:
Thanks for the unexpectedly large response. I could use a few more
recommendations about which models of aircraft are particularly well suited
to being used as a trainer. Also, I could really use tips on buying and potential sources of good used
aircraft. Thanks! Craig

Craig,
Strange as it may sound, there aren't 100's of models to chose from
regarding a trainer. You've ruled out the C 150, 172..so that kind of
leaves the Cherokee and possible one or two others. As for where to
find one, you've got Aerotrader, Ebay, the local FBO corkboard and I
suggest doing a Google for Used Planes.

Not to rain on your parade, but you might want to get a few lessons in
some different planes before you go spending the kind of cash you guys
will need to part with.
Speaking of, have you added up all the costs you will be faced with ie
a tie down, insurance, club set up fees, any immediate repairs your
plane will need, headsets etc......

Doug

"gliderguynj" wrote in message
...
On Dec 20, 7:52 am, wrote:
Thanks for the unexpectedly large response. I could use a few more
recommendations about which models of aircraft are particularly well
suited
to being used as a trainer. Also, I could really use tips on buying and
potential sources of good used
aircraft. Thanks! Craig

Craig,
Strange as it may sound, there aren't 100's of models to chose from
regarding a trainer. You've ruled out the C 150, 172..so that kind of
leaves the Cherokee and possible one or two others. As for where to

I don't know that I would agree - Champs and Cubs are good basic aircraft -
you could "upgrade" to a Citabria... I learned in a Cessna 120. The Yankee
was designed as a trainer. What about a Stinson? Maul? Luscombe?

Lots of LSA's out there you could use for training.

What about homebuilts? No reason you have to use a certified aircraft for
training if you own it yourself - my brother's son learned to fly in a T-18
(probably not considered by most to be a "trainer" but his first hour of
official "dual instruction" was in a Pitts S2).

Wouldn't it be a blast to learn to fly in a Stearman (insurance might be a
problem, eh?)?

Look beyond the ramp of the local FBO - consider what you might want to fly
after you get the ticket (my dad learned to fly in a Navion) - if your
"trainer" turns out to be a real nice running sweatheart, some of you might
want to hang on to it - if not, unload it.

--
Geoff
The Sea Hawk at Wow Way d0t Com
remove spaces and make the obvious substitutions to reply by mail
When immigration is outlawed, only outlaws will immigrate.

On Dec 20, 7:15 pm, "Capt. Geoffrey Thorpe" The Sea Hawk at wow way
d0t com wrote:
I don't know that I would agree - Champs and Cubs are good basic aircraft -
you could "upgrade" to a Citabria...

Good points Capt. but IIRC Craig also asked about it being a 4 seater
so his buddies could perhaps fly along with the instructor and learn
from watching... that would rule out most of your suggestions.

Doug

"gliderguynj" wrote in message
...
On Dec 20, 7:15 pm, "Capt. Geoffrey Thorpe" The Sea Hawk at wow way
d0t com wrote:
I don't know that I would agree - Champs and Cubs are good basic
aircraft -
you could "upgrade" to a Citabria...

Good points Capt. but IIRC Craig also asked about it being a 4 seater
so his buddies could perhaps fly along with the instructor and learn
from watching... that would rule out most of your suggestions.


OK, I didn't recall that part (must be getting senile(er)). I saw
"trainer" - which tends towards two seats. But I did mention the Stinson and
the Navion, didn't I? See, I was right all along ;-)

--
Geoff
The Sea Hawk at Wow Way d0t Com
remove spaces and make the obvious substitutions to reply by mail
When immigration is outlawed, only outlaws will immigrate.