Flight Training - January 2014 - 39

simpler from a tax and accounting standpoint (consult your lawyer and certified
public accountant).
MAKING IT ALL WORK. While the concept
of buying an airplane and setting up a
training situation around it may sound
great, it can be loaded with pitfalls if the
way it is operated isn't well thought out
ahead of time. More than one flying club
has gone bankrupt just because there
wasn't enough time spent working out
all the details in the way the club would
be run.
Although flying is a hobby to most
people, the club has to be viewed and
operated as a business. That means each
hour the aircraft is flown has to generate
revenue and records must be kept-even
though a profit margin isn't part of that
revenue. Members must pay their bills
when they are due.
Accounting is one area in which it is
well worth hiring a local independent
bookkeeper to come in once a month.
The bookkeeper can do the billing and
accounting at the same time.
Scheduling can make or break members' satisfaction with the operation.
Online scheduling will make everything
easier if enough thought is given to how
flying actually works (a one-hour flight
will generally tie up an airplane for an
hour and a half, minimum) and every
effort is made by both student/members and the instructor to adhere to the
published flight schedule. This is more
difficult than it sounds, and it must be
stressed with everyone concerned. The
instructor also has to be careful about
how he sets up his schedule, because the
briefing, preflighting, debriefing, and
aircraft servicing can easily run to 1.8
hours per flight.
CROSS-COUNTRY TRAINING SCHEDULE
EFFECTS. Different students will be at dif-

ferent stages of their training at different
times, so cross-countries will sometimes eat up blocks of time. They must
be planned with a reasonable cushion
inserted at both ends of the time allotted.
This is where cell phones can save a lot of
inconvenience.

Even things as simple as oil changes
become major scheduling obstacles if
sufficient planning doesn't accurately
project when they are likely to come
due. This requires someone to monitor
the planned flight time far enough ahead
that maintenance is done when it is due.
If not, maintenance always becomes
a crisis, which causes scheduling conflicts and tends to drag maintenance
past set deadlines. This also requires
a relationship with a reliable mechanic
or maintenance shop that recognizes
the necessity of maintaining the schedules to keep from inconveniencing
student/members.
DO YOUR HOMEWORK. With spreadsheet software commonly available,
it's easy to insert fixed operational
costs such as insurance, hangar rent, et
cetera, and instantly know how much
it will cost simply to own the airplane,
much less fly it. Then fuel, oil, and other
hourly costs are plugged in so the variable cost per hour is known. Then the
variable and fixed costs are combined
and divided by a number of different
assumed hour scenarios to be flown a
year. When that is done, the cost per
hour that must be charged to support
our flying addiction lets us know the
break-even point, in terms of hours
that must be flown per year to make the
entire concept feasible.
Don't be surprised if it won't work,
simply because it's difficult to fly the
number of hours required. Adding
just one member could suddenly
reverse the equation.
AND WHAT AIRPLANE SHOULD BE
CHOSEN? The choice of airplane will have

drastic effects on the hourly operational
costs and the maintenance numbers,
but there is at least one simple conclu-

sion that can be reached through basic
considerations.
If the aim is to get training costs as
low as possible, then what is needed is a
two-place airplane that burns the least
amount of gas, has very few complex
systems, is so reliable it seldom needs
maintenance, and costs very little to
buy. In other words, we need a Cessna
150/152. But not just any 150/152. We'll
be willing to pay a slight premium,
$25,000 to $30,000 for the right one.
This means it has a low-time engine,
fairly current (not antique) radios, good
tires, et cetera. We'll buy at the top of the
market, because we'll be able to sell it for
what we paid for it when we're all finished learning to fly. Plus, a high-quality
airplane will save greatly in maintenance.
There are lots of two-place airplanes,
including Light Sport aircraft, that
could fit the bill, but we ignored them
on purpose. We did so because the sheer
numbers of 150/152s available means the
"right" airplane is bound to be out there
for the right price.
The most important ingredients in
making the own-to-learn concept work
are advanced planning and flexibility. Sit
down with the spreadsheet and be very
conservative. Lower the expected numbers that will be flown, and increase the
expected costs. This way any surprises
will be kept to a minimum.
The own-to-learn concept is a sound
one, so analyze your situation carefully
before you put out the word that you're
looking for like-minded people who want
to learn to fly. They're out there and will
be eager to join. Have fun!
Budd Davisson is an aviation writer/photographer
and magazine editor who has written approximately
2,200 articles and has flown more than 300 different
types of aircraft. Visit his website (www.airbum.
com).

RESOURCES
Many more flying club resources, including a geographic finder, sample rules and
bylaws, and a cost calculator, are available at AOPA Online (www.aopa.org/
Pilot-Resources/Flying-Clubs.aspx).

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Flight Training - January 2014

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