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#1
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"Andrew Gideon" wrote A club around here is replacing an older 172 or 182 (I forget which) with a new glass version. But they're doing it w/o increasing the equity. However, it also seems to leave more room for investment w/o pricing a club out of the market. This is something I've been thinking about for a while, but I've not really reached any conclusion. Perhaps I'm missing some factor which would eliminate the "no more investment" issue. I'd appreciate the thoughts of others on this matter. - Andrew Perhaps I am missing something, because the answer seems so "out in the open." New members? -- Jim in NC |
#2
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"Andy" wrote in message oups.com... What do you look for in a flying club? I am currently an officer in a flying club and we are having trouble recruiting new members. What would make you want to join a club? I feel that our prices are the main deterrent. Students (this is a school club) pay $60/hr for a C172 (dry), alumi pay $70, I think having a cheaper rate for students would turn me off, if I were not a student. Seems unfair, for the ones with a ticket, to be helping to pay for the students. -- Jim in NC |
#3
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In a previous article, "Morgans" said:
I think having a cheaper rate for students would turn me off, if I were not a student. Seems unfair, for the ones with a ticket, to be helping to pay for the students. Our club used to have a cheaper rate for students, but they were restricted to one aircraft (the Warrior) so it balanced out. Now we still accept students and still restrict them to one aircraft, but we'd really rather that they got their flight training somewhere else. -- Paul Tomblin http://xcski.com/blogs/pt/ Experience is that marvelous thing that enables you recognize a mistake when you make it again. -- F. P. Jones |
#4
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I think having a cheaper rate for students would turn me off, if I
were not a student. Seems unfair, for the ones with a ticket, to be helping to pay for the students. -- Jim in NC The rate doesn't go up until you graduate, then its only a $10 increase. This club was founded with the intention of providing cheap flying to students (not just student pilots). I wouldn't mind helping to pay for someone elses training since I am getting it cheaper now, plus by the time that comes up I will probably own or have moved. So, I guess what I am saying is if you are a pilot, and taking classes at the school, it is still cheaper. It doesn't change based on experience, rating, or age. The only way to jump up to $70 is to graduate, and the only way to get to $80 is to have no affiliation with the school. |
#5
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What would make more sense is to have a lower monthly dues for student
pilots, but keep the flying rate the same. "Morgans" wrote in : "Andy" wrote in message oups.com... What do you look for in a flying club? I am currently an officer in a flying club and we are having trouble recruiting new members. What would make you want to join a club? I feel that our prices are the main deterrent. Students (this is a school club) pay $60/hr for a C172 (dry), alumi pay $70, I think having a cheaper rate for students would turn me off, if I were not a student. Seems unfair, for the ones with a ticket, to be helping to pay for the students. |
#6
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"Andy" writes:
What do you look for in a flying club? I am currently an officer in a flying club and we are having trouble recruiting new members. What would make you want to join a club? Simple. I would look at the club, and look at other alternatives in the area, and pick the best one. What does your competition look like? Your rates are not relevant without context -- are you in an area which has lots of people who can afford to fly? If so, are you cheaper or more expensive than the competition? Do you have better planes? More talented instructors? How many hours per month do I have to fly to make it worthwhile to join your club (versus using the local FBO)? I am currently looking at starting my flight training, and am in Pittsburgh. I am considering moving to the Bay Area of California for work. The price difference between those two locations is _huge_. (Strangely, there is a lot more competition in California, and also much higher prices. What the market will bear, I assume...) Chris -- Chris Colohan Email: PGP: finger Web: www.colohan.com Phone: (412)268-4751 |
#7
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I am a member of East Hill Flying Club in Ithaca, NY. The things that
brought me to the club were A good fleet of planes (3 152s, 3 172s and a Mooney 201) Planes are all well maintained Lower rental rates than available elsewhere ($60/hr, $75/hr & $102/hr wet, respectively) The 172s and Mooney all have Garmin 430s Monthly fees ($45) are lower than renter's insurance with better coverage We are a part 141 school which meant starting my Instrument Rating sooner The club draws many of its members and students from Cornell University. It, also, has a training program in affiliation with the local community college and does Air Force ROTC primary training. The club has 5-6 instructors ($30/hr) on staff at any one time (part-time and full-time). I would not be thrilled with your 3-tiered rental rate structure. If the focus of your club is one training, I would purchase a 152. Many of our students use the 152 for training to reduce costs. Instrument training and most member rentals are done in the 172s. Another key is marketing. We have two pancake breakfasts every year and do many discovery flights during them. One any given weekend there are several discovery flights taking place. Bob "Andy" wrote in message oups.com... What do you look for in a flying club? I am currently an officer in a flying club and we are having trouble recruiting new members. What would make you want to join a club? I feel that our prices are the main deterrent. Students (this is a school club) pay $60/hr for a C172 (dry), alumi pay $70, and all others pay $80. This is for a 1998 in good condition. The instructors usually give club members a reduced price (around $20/hr). The current club members will also loan out all training materials to further reduce the cost. Our only current activites are tower tours and fly-with-me weekends. We are in the planning stages for $100 hamburger runs with potential members. We are starting to look into purchasing a smaller plane (152/Warrior?) to further reduce the costs. Has this approach worked well for other clubs? What other suggestions can you come up with? |
#8
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Two salient features of the club I'm in that I appreciate: - no hourly minimum per day. (makes real trips in the aircraft feasible, and they would not otherwise be!) - insurance that puts all members as named insured; this is a better deal than renters insurance. The rental rates are also some of the lowest on the field, though there is another field nearby with FBOs with significantly lower (15% or more) wet rates. However, I'd need insurance there and their 3/hr day minimums make travel impossible. The club has a a 152, a several 172s, a 182, 172RG, Warrior, a couple of Archers, an Arrow, a Bonanza, and a Duchess. I guess that makes it a medium/large club? -- dave j Andy wrote: What do you look for in a flying club? I am currently an officer in a flying club and we are having trouble recruiting new members. What would make you want to join a club? I feel that our prices are the main deterrent. Students (this is a school club) pay $60/hr for a C172 (dry), alumi pay $70, and all others pay $80. This is for a 1998 in good condition. The instructors usually give club members a reduced price (around $20/hr). The current club members will also loan out all training materials to further reduce the cost. Our only current activites are tower tours and fly-with-me weekends. We are in the planning stages for $100 hamburger runs with potential members. We are starting to look into purchasing a smaller plane (152/Warrior?) to further reduce the costs. Has this approach worked well for other clubs? What other suggestions can you come up with? |
#9
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Andy,
I serve as the Operations Officer in a club in Louisville, Ky named Glendale Flying Club (www.glendaleflying.com). We focus on having well equipped planes at a very reasonable rate. Members really seem to be driven to nice avionics and quality mx. We currently have 70 members with about 20 on the waiting list with 4 planes (2 Warrior, 1 Skylane, 1 Lance, all with Garmin 430's). Also, by allowing members to keep the planes for extended trips, we have another edge over FBO rentals that charge daily minimums. Check out our web site if you are interested in more details, I hope it can help you out. Recently, our success has allowed us to complete the construction of our own 8000 sqft corporate hanger on Bowman Field (KLOU). This alone has brought us many members with having the benefit of a warm/cool waiting area and high-speed flight planning. Not to mention not having to use the Port-O-Let. There is a photo page on the site as well. It also helps to have some great volunteers who love aviation to keep everything running smoothly. SAC Check our site "Andy" wrote in message oups.com... What do you look for in a flying club? I am currently an officer in a flying club and we are having trouble recruiting new members. What would make you want to join a club? I feel that our prices are the main deterrent. Students (this is a school club) pay $60/hr for a C172 (dry), alumi pay $70, and all others pay $80. This is for a 1998 in good condition. The instructors usually give club members a reduced price (around $20/hr). The current club members will also loan out all training materials to further reduce the cost. Our only current activites are tower tours and fly-with-me weekends. We are in the planning stages for $100 hamburger runs with potential members. We are starting to look into purchasing a smaller plane (152/Warrior?) to further reduce the costs. Has this approach worked well for other clubs? What other suggestions can you come up with? |
#10
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("SAC" wrote)
We focus on having well equipped planes at a very reasonable rate. Members really seem to be driven to nice avionics and quality mx. We currently have 70 members with about 20 on the waiting list with 4 planes (2 Warrior, 1 Skylane, 1 Lance, all with Garmin 430's). (www.glendaleflying.com) I went to your website - nice hangar. 70 members on 4 planes = almost 18 members per plane. WOW! If one plane is gone for a week and another is down for a few days (or more) then you'd have 69 members on 2 planes. Hmm. It probably all works out just fine in the real world, but from the outside looking in - it appears like you don't have enough planes for all of those members. Montblack |
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