Charlie Zulu
29th Apr 2003, 03:37
A couple of friends and myself are looking to hire an aeroplane over on the western states of America to tour for a couple of weeks next March / April (2004). There will be three of us in total, two of us licenced pilots and one a student pilot (will be just before his 17th birthday).
As I'll have an FAA CPL/IR with SEP and MEP ratings with around 500 Hours total time we are looking to hire a Seneca II Turbo or similar aircraft for two weeks. A Turbocharged aircraft would be more suitable due to the mountainous terrain.
I'll be flying around 50 hours in total on the Seneca and upon our return we'll change the aeroplane for an Arrow which my friend will be flying for a week (we are looking to go our for three weeks). The reason for him hiring an Arrow and not a Seneca is that he won't have an MEP rating.
My question is, does anyone have any recommendations on where to hire a Seneca II Turbo or Seneca III from? Bearing in mind that I'll only have around 25 - 30 hours multi time including about 5 hours in a Seneca II Turbo (gained here in the UK) so insurance requirements may have some limitations to them.
I was looking at Rainbow Air's Seneca II Turbo as the rates seem very reasonable but the insurance requirements require 50 hours multi or 25 hours dual in their Seneca...
I've hired an Arrow and Archer from ADP at Brackett, L.A. in years gone by but they too have very high hour requirements (as in experience) to hire their Seneca's and they are only Seneca 1's so not very hot on the single engine performance.
Anyway any suggestions would be welcome. We would consider the East Coast also and fly up to New York / Chicago / New Orleans etc but we do find the Western states a lot more interesting in flying / sight seeing terms.
Also any suggestions for airfields in the Western States to camp at? We'd like to camp (we'll be taking a tent) but of course places like Las Vegas will require a hotel. Sacramento will be at my Uncle's house. A night over at Grand Canyon is called for and will be using the camp site I saw there whilst on a day trip back in September '01.
I've flown quite extensively around California, Arizona and Nevada so just really looking for multi aircraft rental / airfields that allow camping or camping nearby suggestions.
Many thanks for any suggestions in advance.
As I'll have an FAA CPL/IR with SEP and MEP ratings with around 500 Hours total time we are looking to hire a Seneca II Turbo or similar aircraft for two weeks. A Turbocharged aircraft would be more suitable due to the mountainous terrain.
I'll be flying around 50 hours in total on the Seneca and upon our return we'll change the aeroplane for an Arrow which my friend will be flying for a week (we are looking to go our for three weeks). The reason for him hiring an Arrow and not a Seneca is that he won't have an MEP rating.
My question is, does anyone have any recommendations on where to hire a Seneca II Turbo or Seneca III from? Bearing in mind that I'll only have around 25 - 30 hours multi time including about 5 hours in a Seneca II Turbo (gained here in the UK) so insurance requirements may have some limitations to them.
I was looking at Rainbow Air's Seneca II Turbo as the rates seem very reasonable but the insurance requirements require 50 hours multi or 25 hours dual in their Seneca...
I've hired an Arrow and Archer from ADP at Brackett, L.A. in years gone by but they too have very high hour requirements (as in experience) to hire their Seneca's and they are only Seneca 1's so not very hot on the single engine performance.
Anyway any suggestions would be welcome. We would consider the East Coast also and fly up to New York / Chicago / New Orleans etc but we do find the Western states a lot more interesting in flying / sight seeing terms.
Also any suggestions for airfields in the Western States to camp at? We'd like to camp (we'll be taking a tent) but of course places like Las Vegas will require a hotel. Sacramento will be at my Uncle's house. A night over at Grand Canyon is called for and will be using the camp site I saw there whilst on a day trip back in September '01.
I've flown quite extensively around California, Arizona and Nevada so just really looking for multi aircraft rental / airfields that allow camping or camping nearby suggestions.
Many thanks for any suggestions in advance.