I think we have to be realistic and not try and do too many things at once. We are first time plane buyers so renting out to others at the moment - I don't think that will be a runner.
Realistically although Damyns Hall is attractive £133 per month inc VAT and £80 pa to join the Tiger Moth Club - I am leaning away from it due to AVGAS on request and a bit further across town we have Earls Cone with a Tarmac Runway and Grass and Cavendish Aviation that are a maintenance shop I was thinking of.
Earls Cone is £116 per month plus £132 for a landing card per annum and 1 landing a day free.. but £5.50 per landing thereafter which seems weird to me but anyway it could be the norm like other airfields.. I don't pay landing fees at my current home base so perhaps something I am not used to.
Denham is £130 a month plus £90 for landing card per annum, but this is a bit further away for at least 3 of us to get to.
£220 a month might be a bit steep or some of the guys as they may raise a point of contention that similar groups (I have only been in 1) have been around £120 a month or £65 a month (that some others are used to).. and operating per tacho have been at £130.60 an hour or £105- 125 an hou (North Weald) but these are more and longer established groups, so the aim wouldn't be to 'compete' but to us the aircraft ourselves and be able to maintain it according to the schedule and TBO etc.
I guess we have to be realistic and practical and try and be economical at the same time..
I am not going to lie.. the overhaul and cost of this does concern me and this is all new to me so still filling in some gaps so we don't have to 'cash call'! I haven't worked all the maths out yet.. but the penny will drop soon
In terms of the 'bank account' - am I correct in saying you have to run a group like a LTD company or put the money into a segregated bank account which is on a personal name? The only way I can think of with the 'Plane having a bank account' is for a LTD company to be registered and the name of the group serves as the bank account name and separate number?
This eliminates any temptation by any member to use the money for personal use!
Scoobster
Originally Posted by
alex90
Yes, I would recommend you put all the static costs together and divide them by the number of people who have equal shares, and pay them either monthly or annually into the plane's bank account. Then charge yourselves the variable costs as outlined per hour. If there are 4, I'd hazard a guess at £220pm (ish) + £100ph wet. In that case - if she doesn't fly, or some people in the group fly less than others, its still fair as they own part of the plane, and these static costs don't change whether or not the planes are used. Also remember that planes like to be flown, not left to rot, so if someone pays £200+pm, they'd want to get their worth out of it!
Don't estimate the number of hours you think she will fly to base your costs on as if she flew less hours than anticipated (which is quite common) you'd be left out of pocket...
If you wanted to rent it out as well though, ie: to allow yourself to top up the account, and help pay for that £25k overhaul (well might be more, might be less... you never know!) you'd probably want a "membership fee" of something reasonable like most clubs, say £200pa and then charge £180ph wet or something like that - but you might not get many takers, and would ruin your availability probably!
Anyway - things to consider...!