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Old November 14th 06, 08:17 PM posted to rec.aviation.owning
xyzzy
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Posts: 193
Default Fractional piston ownership - what say you?


Nathan Young wrote:
$20,184 or $269 per flight hour

So is this a good deal?


Doesn't look like one to me, but...

To me, it seems like a quite large amount to spend per hour for a
single, even if it is a 'technologically advanced aircraft'.

One of the Chicago area flying clubs is asking $218/hr, and they have
two SR22s online, as well as ~20 other planes.


What people are paying for with those fractional ownership dealies IMO
is the ability to fly a new airplane and have someone else worry about
everything, from washing to gassing to maintanence. Also no
maintanence surprises, if you have a problem you just tell the
fractional company when you drop it off, and you have good availability
because the fractional company usually as a few of them at your site.

I know a guy who sold his Mooney to go into one of these deals with an
SR-22. Last I heard he loves it. He could never have got an SR-22 on
his own with what he got out of his Mooney, and he was tired of dealing
with all the hassles of ownership. They do everything, including
pulling the plane out of the hangar and having it waiting on the ramp
for him.

I think that from the standpoint of having owned an expsnsive plane
and taken the hits that inevitably gives you, this looks like a better
deal, with much more predictable costs. Compared with renting it's
very expensive, but so is owning. But I would expect these fractional
owners to have a lot more availability and flexibility than a renter
does, on the plus side for this deal.

One big red flag for me is that Mr. Goyer has been writing about this
for several years. Several years ago he wrote about being in a
fractional ownership where the other owners outvoted him and moved the
plane to an airport an hour and a half from his house. Prospective
fractional owners definitely need to look into how protected they are
from things like that happening.