Well I am on the trail for a group share in a suitable touring Aircraft and this is my story so far.
I was really interested in the RV6 at Gloucester. Following a recent round-the-world flight in the aircraft, Manual Querioz was offering 1/6 shares. A two seat, permit taildragger and a ‘hot ship’ to boot (150 kts). Could be just the job. So I met up with Manuel and had a look around the aircraft. It would certainly be ‘snug’ but do-able. The range would be excellent, the running costs very little. But the big question was, could it take the weight of me (200 lbs) and my buddy (250 lbs)? A quick dabble with the spreadsheet said yes, but only if I took 20 minutes of fuel. The strange thing was that the aircraft was cleared to a higher MAUW with a single pilot than with dual occupancy. If I could have used the higher single MAUW, it would have worked. With great regret, I had to let my head rule my heart and turn this one down.
I trekked over to Bidford to see if any shares were available. Only 10 minutes further away for me than Gloucester and likely to be cheaper for hangarage etc. When I got there the place was deserted and the airfield closed due to water-logging – matbe not such a great base! In the clubhouse was a single notice for a very nice Robin DR400. ¼, built in 2002 and all the toys. Downside was a whopping £30,000 share cost. Perfect plane, airfield probably OK, but eeekkk! The cost!!!
I am resisting looking at Kemble as it is 40 minutes away and that starts to become a bind.
There is a Piper Seneca going at Gloucester. 1/6th for £10,000. Thought briefly about this, but no – two lots of fuel – think of the hourlies! All that for a mere 150 kts to boot. No, too much like hard work – a single it is for me.
There are of course other shares going at Gloucester. One for a PA28 (not sure whether it’s a Warrior or Archer). But it is for 1/10 and that isn’t group ownership for me, it’s a ‘buy in deposit’ on a ‘club aircraft’.
So the favourites are two quite different aircraft where groups are forming where the aircraft is currently 100% owned by the current pilot trying to form the group.
One is a 1964 Cessna 172 with a recent excellent paint job and a low hours engine. It has a VFR instrument fit though. Looking at ¼ to 1/6 for the group and fairly and reasonably priced. A bit of a come down from the Arrow and not my ideal tourer. I think I would also miss the IFR / IMC option that my IMC rating allows.
The other is a 1959 (yes!) Beech Bonanza (V-tail). It has a good paint job, looks very well maintained, has a low hour engine and an excellent avionics fit. Great performance and in many ways an ideal tourer (apart from a four seat permit type that is). Selling ¼. The snag is the initial cost over the top end of my budget and the monthlies won’t be great. That said, the monthlies aren’t a huge amount more than I was paying with the old group. The hourlies are more, but then it is 150 kts as against 130 kts for the Arrow, so I’ll get there that bit quicker.
I’m going to have to have a serious think about this one. It’s a three-way fight – head vs heart vs wallet.
Anyone giving odd as to who will win?
Sunday, January 21, 2007
Tuesday, January 09, 2007
Group Ownership
Many people think that group ownership of an aircraft is a panacea. They look at straight rental rates (say £GBP165 per hour for an Arrow) and compare it to rates for group ownership of £GBP70 – 75 per hour and decide ‘that’s a no-brainer’. Of course that is not the whole story by any means, and I don’t suppose anyone considering buying into a group thinks that is all there is to it either.
On top of the hourly charge, there is typically the fixed monthly charge per member (say £GBP130 for a six man group) and of course the up front buy-in costs (usually a proportion of the value of the aircraft plus money in the bank for the group for accruals for engine funds etc.). OK – most people reckon that between 25 and 35 hours per year is the ‘break-even’ point between renting and group ownership. That said, some may still buy into a group below these hours purely to escape the tyranny of rental timeslots and minimum hours per day.
On top of that of course are the unexpected bills that cannot easily be budgeted for, although you will only pay 1/n th of course, such as vacuum pump failures, replacement cylinders (ouch!) etc. Don't underestimate these or assume that they happen to someone else's plane but not yours!
But over and above all of this is the nature of the group itself. How is it structured? What is the method and proof of ownership? Do you all gel as a group? Are you all happy with the charging structure? What happens when some of the members interest in flying wanes and the monthlies become the significant charge?
The reason I mention this is because regardless of the hard money facts, the ‘soft stuff’ is as, if not more important.
I have recently experienced an example of the above, where I felt compelled to sell my share as the majority of the group were about to vote for an expansion of the group numbers – where I was outvoted. Let’s be very clear, I am not bitter, just disappointed. I really liked the Arrow and the group was going OK. Two of the member had shares for sale (which is a bit worrying and ‘de-stabilising’ in itself). Both for perfectly valid personal reasons - you know, just one of those coincidences.
The group was approached by three individuals who were looking to buy a share of their own at the same airfield, also in an Arrow or similar. Not unreasonably, they approached our group and asked if there may be a third share for sale now or in the near future and if so, they would be interested to buy in ‘en-bloc’. The caveat was that all three wanted to buy in at the same time or not at all. If there wasn’t a third share, then fair enough, they would continue to look their own aircraft.
Well, no one else wanted to sell, so we had a group meeting with a motion to expand the group from six to seven. Personally, I find 1/6th to be an ‘absolute maximum’ for me. I would happily vote for a reduction as I have some ambitious touring plans and am happy to ‘pay’ for good availability – after all, the plane is for fun, it is not a business asset which must be ‘sweated’. However, I was in a minority of one, so rather than agree to a reduced share, I offered my own share for sale as it was clear to me that the group were going in one direction and I was going in the other.
All very amicable, but as I say, disappointing. Now there may or may not be a huge difference between 6 and 7 members. I was simply going on my own instincts and ‘gut feel’ – which I have learned to trust over the years. Availability for our group of six has been excellent, but I feel this is only because the two members selling their shares flew it very little in one case and not at all in the other. It was going to be a bit of a ‘feeding frenzy’ with six active members, let alone a seventh – hence my rationale and my decision.
Anyway, I got a reasonable price (not what I paid, but not too far short) and the new members got a good deal.
I write this as an experience that other may read and understand that there is more to a group than simple financials.
Now on the look out for a group at or near Gloucester (maybe also Kemble, Croft Farm, Bidford?) with a decent touring aircraft and a group size of between 1/4 to 1/6 maximum.
If anyone knows of a group of 4 with a four seat touring aircraft that does 150 kts on Jet A1 at 25 litres per hour with a per hour charge of £GBP50 and monthlies of £GBP100 and endurance of 5 hours then I am your man – no aircraft around like that? What a surprise!! Guess I’ll have to compromise somewhere!!
On top of the hourly charge, there is typically the fixed monthly charge per member (say £GBP130 for a six man group) and of course the up front buy-in costs (usually a proportion of the value of the aircraft plus money in the bank for the group for accruals for engine funds etc.). OK – most people reckon that between 25 and 35 hours per year is the ‘break-even’ point between renting and group ownership. That said, some may still buy into a group below these hours purely to escape the tyranny of rental timeslots and minimum hours per day.
On top of that of course are the unexpected bills that cannot easily be budgeted for, although you will only pay 1/n th of course, such as vacuum pump failures, replacement cylinders (ouch!) etc. Don't underestimate these or assume that they happen to someone else's plane but not yours!
But over and above all of this is the nature of the group itself. How is it structured? What is the method and proof of ownership? Do you all gel as a group? Are you all happy with the charging structure? What happens when some of the members interest in flying wanes and the monthlies become the significant charge?
The reason I mention this is because regardless of the hard money facts, the ‘soft stuff’ is as, if not more important.
I have recently experienced an example of the above, where I felt compelled to sell my share as the majority of the group were about to vote for an expansion of the group numbers – where I was outvoted. Let’s be very clear, I am not bitter, just disappointed. I really liked the Arrow and the group was going OK. Two of the member had shares for sale (which is a bit worrying and ‘de-stabilising’ in itself). Both for perfectly valid personal reasons - you know, just one of those coincidences.
The group was approached by three individuals who were looking to buy a share of their own at the same airfield, also in an Arrow or similar. Not unreasonably, they approached our group and asked if there may be a third share for sale now or in the near future and if so, they would be interested to buy in ‘en-bloc’. The caveat was that all three wanted to buy in at the same time or not at all. If there wasn’t a third share, then fair enough, they would continue to look their own aircraft.
Well, no one else wanted to sell, so we had a group meeting with a motion to expand the group from six to seven. Personally, I find 1/6th to be an ‘absolute maximum’ for me. I would happily vote for a reduction as I have some ambitious touring plans and am happy to ‘pay’ for good availability – after all, the plane is for fun, it is not a business asset which must be ‘sweated’. However, I was in a minority of one, so rather than agree to a reduced share, I offered my own share for sale as it was clear to me that the group were going in one direction and I was going in the other.
All very amicable, but as I say, disappointing. Now there may or may not be a huge difference between 6 and 7 members. I was simply going on my own instincts and ‘gut feel’ – which I have learned to trust over the years. Availability for our group of six has been excellent, but I feel this is only because the two members selling their shares flew it very little in one case and not at all in the other. It was going to be a bit of a ‘feeding frenzy’ with six active members, let alone a seventh – hence my rationale and my decision.
Anyway, I got a reasonable price (not what I paid, but not too far short) and the new members got a good deal.
I write this as an experience that other may read and understand that there is more to a group than simple financials.
Now on the look out for a group at or near Gloucester (maybe also Kemble, Croft Farm, Bidford?) with a decent touring aircraft and a group size of between 1/4 to 1/6 maximum.
If anyone knows of a group of 4 with a four seat touring aircraft that does 150 kts on Jet A1 at 25 litres per hour with a per hour charge of £GBP50 and monthlies of £GBP100 and endurance of 5 hours then I am your man – no aircraft around like that? What a surprise!! Guess I’ll have to compromise somewhere!!
Sunday, January 07, 2007
Flying in Ottawa
I had a trip booked back to my homeland to see my friend in Ottawa over the Christmas and new year period. So of course I checked up on some of the local flying clubs to try to book a quick flight while I was there.
The weather in Ottawa was superb. It had only recently snowed, unusually the first of the year for this area (it is normally much colder – more evidence of global warming?).
I selected Rockcliffe flying club, based at Rockliffe which is about as close to central Ottawa as you can get. We went to the aviation museum which is on the other side of the airfield (which is excellent by the way) and I called in at the club to book a flight. We booked it for the next day, 29th December.
The day dawned clear and crisp, a balmy -5 C (it is usually much colder) with a moderately high pressure and a good covering of snow, so off we went.
I had booked a Cessna 172 as this is a Cessna school. This was only the second time I have flown a Cessna, but of course they are simple enough – I just don’t much like the throttle and mixture controls – I prefer the throttle ‘quadrant’ and low wing of the Piper series, but there you go!
They had just refuelled to the brim and we only just squeezed into the weight and balance limits with me (not small), my friend (a lot more not smaller) and an instructor (mercifully light). I had to go with an instructor as although I have both a JAA and an FAA license, I don’t have a Canadian one (and even if I did, they would sensibly have wanted a check flight).
I asked the instructor to do the radio work, while I flew the plane. I am fine on the radio and would probably have gotten by, but it is always the slight differences that throw you, and being so close to Ottawa controlled airspace (and of course the capital of Canada) I didn’t fancy creating air alerts through misunderstandings!
The runway was cleared of most of the slow by snowblowers, but there was enough about to make it all look white. The instructor advised me to use the soft-field technique because of this. So off we went on Rockcliffe runway 09. I was surprised at how quickly the aircraft accelerated and became light at MAUW and had to ‘hold it down’ in ground effect to gain speed as it really wanted to shoot skywards.
Up we went, a bit too slow, so I checked forward to gain speed. I am always surprised at how quickly C172’s climb and today was the same. Probably due to the flattering met conditions of low temperature and high’ish pressure.
We wanted to see my friend’s house from the air then back for a tour of central Ottawa. So we set course and followed the Outaouais river initially, then cut inland towards Casselman. It took about 20 minutes to find his house over flat, snow covered countryside. We were given a squawk by Ottawa control before take-off and used this, flying at the cleared altitude of 2000’ all the way. A quick orbit of the house, then back to Ottawa.
The countryside looked great in the snow, and with good visibility, this was easy flying indeed.
Unfortunately, due to some poor time calculations on my part, the instructor advised us that we had to go back to Rockcliffe and skip the tour of downtown as the plane was due out for another lesson at 13:30. A shame but not a problem as I am sure I will be back another time – maybe for a Canadian license?
Rockcliffe is an uncontrolled airfield and we joined downwind for 09. This involved flying over the north of the river and over Gatineau, which is in Quebec. Another aircraft was joining at mid-downwind as a 45 degree angle (common in North America). We thought he was well ahead of us, but he wasn’t. So we did a full orbit to allow for spacing until we saw that he was well onto base before continuing.
Did the downwind checks as normal and turned base.
I came onto final and was too high. I did think about a small sideslip, but didn’t think it was that bad, so pulled on the carb heat and dropped the power. I had the approach speed nicely pegged and was still a bit too high but it was starting to come off.
I missed the numbers, but it is a long runway and the exit was at the end. I noticed to airspeed dropping off so put a squirt of power on, then started to flare. I found this harder than normal as the usual visual clues were missing – the whole bloody thing looked white! I did flare and we touched. Not a great landing, but then not one measured on the richter scale either – my first landing in snow!
We taxied back and shut down at precisely 13:30, and yes, the next student was waiting – they run this place like clockwork!
The bill for dual rate wet hire (i.e. me flying with an instructor) was $CAN161 – about £GBP70! Bargain! I highly recommend Rockcliffe Flying Club and the airfield. They were a very friendly and helpful bunch and have reasonable rates (bargain by UK standards).
A really fun flight which could give me a real taste for flying in Canada!
The weather in Ottawa was superb. It had only recently snowed, unusually the first of the year for this area (it is normally much colder – more evidence of global warming?).
I selected Rockcliffe flying club, based at Rockliffe which is about as close to central Ottawa as you can get. We went to the aviation museum which is on the other side of the airfield (which is excellent by the way) and I called in at the club to book a flight. We booked it for the next day, 29th December.
The day dawned clear and crisp, a balmy -5 C (it is usually much colder) with a moderately high pressure and a good covering of snow, so off we went.
I had booked a Cessna 172 as this is a Cessna school. This was only the second time I have flown a Cessna, but of course they are simple enough – I just don’t much like the throttle and mixture controls – I prefer the throttle ‘quadrant’ and low wing of the Piper series, but there you go!
They had just refuelled to the brim and we only just squeezed into the weight and balance limits with me (not small), my friend (a lot more not smaller) and an instructor (mercifully light). I had to go with an instructor as although I have both a JAA and an FAA license, I don’t have a Canadian one (and even if I did, they would sensibly have wanted a check flight).
I asked the instructor to do the radio work, while I flew the plane. I am fine on the radio and would probably have gotten by, but it is always the slight differences that throw you, and being so close to Ottawa controlled airspace (and of course the capital of Canada) I didn’t fancy creating air alerts through misunderstandings!
The runway was cleared of most of the slow by snowblowers, but there was enough about to make it all look white. The instructor advised me to use the soft-field technique because of this. So off we went on Rockcliffe runway 09. I was surprised at how quickly the aircraft accelerated and became light at MAUW and had to ‘hold it down’ in ground effect to gain speed as it really wanted to shoot skywards.
Up we went, a bit too slow, so I checked forward to gain speed. I am always surprised at how quickly C172’s climb and today was the same. Probably due to the flattering met conditions of low temperature and high’ish pressure.
We wanted to see my friend’s house from the air then back for a tour of central Ottawa. So we set course and followed the Outaouais river initially, then cut inland towards Casselman. It took about 20 minutes to find his house over flat, snow covered countryside. We were given a squawk by Ottawa control before take-off and used this, flying at the cleared altitude of 2000’ all the way. A quick orbit of the house, then back to Ottawa.
The countryside looked great in the snow, and with good visibility, this was easy flying indeed.
Unfortunately, due to some poor time calculations on my part, the instructor advised us that we had to go back to Rockcliffe and skip the tour of downtown as the plane was due out for another lesson at 13:30. A shame but not a problem as I am sure I will be back another time – maybe for a Canadian license?
Rockcliffe is an uncontrolled airfield and we joined downwind for 09. This involved flying over the north of the river and over Gatineau, which is in Quebec. Another aircraft was joining at mid-downwind as a 45 degree angle (common in North America). We thought he was well ahead of us, but he wasn’t. So we did a full orbit to allow for spacing until we saw that he was well onto base before continuing.
Did the downwind checks as normal and turned base.
I came onto final and was too high. I did think about a small sideslip, but didn’t think it was that bad, so pulled on the carb heat and dropped the power. I had the approach speed nicely pegged and was still a bit too high but it was starting to come off.
I missed the numbers, but it is a long runway and the exit was at the end. I noticed to airspeed dropping off so put a squirt of power on, then started to flare. I found this harder than normal as the usual visual clues were missing – the whole bloody thing looked white! I did flare and we touched. Not a great landing, but then not one measured on the richter scale either – my first landing in snow!
We taxied back and shut down at precisely 13:30, and yes, the next student was waiting – they run this place like clockwork!
The bill for dual rate wet hire (i.e. me flying with an instructor) was $CAN161 – about £GBP70! Bargain! I highly recommend Rockcliffe Flying Club and the airfield. They were a very friendly and helpful bunch and have reasonable rates (bargain by UK standards).
A really fun flight which could give me a real taste for flying in Canada!
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