Saying a lot more now I'm on my laptop, not my phone.
As I said earlier (thanks for the detail) the 2016 ANO amendment removed the limit of 20 members to a syndicate, so you can now have as many as you want.
I've rented, sole-owned, and been a member of various syndicates for a quarter century - I still do both, although personally have a massive preference for being a member of a syndicate.
20 strong syndicates still fly remarkably few hours in my experience - I'm in one at the moment and probably have the aeroplane when I want it 3 times out of 4. Last weekend five of us pitched up to share the donkey work of the annual (saving us several thousand quid), we have a couple of instructors in the syndicate who help out internally, and run an aeroplane for, roughly speaking, 60% of the per hour cost of renting a similar aeroplane.
The advantages of syndicate ownership are..
- Getting to know an aeroplane far better
- Having the ability to fly a few hours in a day or week - and no penalty for cancellations, or frankly if you just want to book it for the day, take a deck chair, and sit and admire it.
- Sharing costs
- Often getting to fly a type you simply couldn't rent.
- Having a group you can do things with, who have a common interest.
The disadvantages are...
- That you pay, to some extent, for your cheap flying, by putting some time in, for tasks like cleaning, accounts, unskilled maintenance, and so-on.
- If the aeroplane's sick or broken, there's nothing to fly (well, you can go and rent from somewhere else) but you are still paying.
- Every once in a while you find that a syndicate member "turns bad" and becomes an almighty nuisance.
- If you want out, it's generally your job to sell your share, and you still have the monthlies to pay until then.
- Less (type) variety in your flying.
In my experience the break even on syndicate ownership typically sits somewhere around 24 hours per year - less than that, and you are probably better off financially renting (but still don't get the other advantages). More than that, and it pays off financially as well. But it's easy enough to do the sums, for example...
For example, just looking at AFORS there's an Arrow 1/7th share there going for £5k then £175/month and £115/hr. Going rate to rent an Arrow is around £230/hr at the moment I think - so think in terms of total bill (ignore the £5k for just a moment)...
10 hrs.pa: rental cost £2,300; syndicate cost £3,250
20 hrs.pa: rental cost £4,600; syndicate cost £4,400
30 hrs.pa: rental cost £6,900; syndicate cost £5,500
36 hrs.pa: rental cost £8,280; syndicate cost £6,240
(I like using 36 hours for these sort of calculations, as about 3 hours per month is where I tend to mentally peg my syndicate useage).
So at 3 hours per month, you need to stump up £5k initially, then your flying is such that you get the flying at £230/hr effectively for the first three and a half years, followed by £173/hr (but still own the £5k share).
Here's another set of calcs, more at the bargain end - AFORS shows a 1/12th C150 share going for £1600, then £50/month and £60/hr. Running the same numbers, and I think that rental on a 150/152 is usually around £135/hr...
10 hrs.pa: rental £1,350; syndicate cost £1,200
20 hrs.pa: rental £2,700; syndicate cost £1,800
30 hrs.pa: rental £4,050; syndicate cost £2,400
36 hrs.pa: rental £4,860; syndicate cost £2,760
So to buy 1/12th of a C150, and fly 30 hours per year you'll pay off your share in the first year at £135/hr for your flying and subsequently pay about £80/hr for your flying; £77/hr if you fly 36 hours.
That's the financial position - the rest, both pros and cons I see as fairly clearcut - either this suits you or it doesn't. I wouldn't be worried about big syndicates - I would just always caution to get to know as many members as you can and ensure it's a *good* syndicate.
G