Is it worth joining a club while i wait to do my hourbuilding??

[PaddyMcGinty]

I just got my PPL last month and am currently doing module one of my ATPLs. I'm starting my hourbuilding at the end of june in the US hopefully. I'm at home here in ireland and i really want to get back up flying soon but it seems so expensive. It's going to cost me at least €650 membership and 40 a month plus 110 an hour for an aircraft. So for 20 hours i'd be paying about €3300. If i did it with a flight school I could be paying up to €3400 euro. Is it really worth that much to stay current? Any Irish wana start a syndicate????


Stephen.

[peb]

For that amount of money you can do around 100 h in the States. I would wait and go back to the states to do them and you can do it in less that 2 months (so you dont waste much time). If you dont fly for a year in 10 hours I think that you will fly as well as you do it now.

[FLYbyWIT]

Check your PM's mate, and only reply to the second one, it will make sense when you read them.

[silverknapper]

****** that!!! Is that a syndicate or a club?
To stay current why not join a club here and pop over once every month or two. You would still be quids in mate. Clubs here will give a decent rate for a block of hours. Depending on where you look and what you want to fly I reckon pay no more than £120 join, nothing a month and £70 an hour if you were doing ~20 hours. Don't know what todays rate is but thats still a fair bit cheaper.

[FlyingForFun]

Or alternatively, buy a share.

To use my aircraft as an example (there are no shares for sale in it at the mo, so it's only intended as an example):

Cost of the share is £6500. It will then cost you £50/month, and around £35/hour to fly it. Afterwards, you can sell the share to recover your initial £6500 (which you can then use for the CPL/IR). The only danger is that you'll get hooked on your aircraft and not want to sell it!

(Incidentally, for £35/hour, I get to fly a fun aircraft with a variable pitch prop, retractable undercarriage, turbo-charged engine and a 120kt cruise. The only disadvantage is that it's day-VFR only, being a PFA aircraft.)

FFF
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[PaddyMcGinty]

FFF,

I have been considering a share alright but I had no idea that it cost as little as £35 an hour to run. What aircraft is it? I know your not looking for another shareholder at the min but keep me in mind if ever you are.


Steve

[HomerJay]

Hi Paddy, I feel your pain, the closest flying school to me wants 145euro an hour which im just not paying when its a third of the price in the US. It makes it hard to stay current though

[FlyingForFun]

Paddy, my aircraft is a Europa.

FFF
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[Global Pilot]

G'day Steve,

Being part of a club in Orland can open up quite a few doors for you. You seem set on hour building overseas and no doubt have thought it all out and decided it is the best option for you, so go for it. Before you go and in the coming months before you fly again I would strongly urge you to get involved in a club in some capacity.

Being an active (even non flying) member means people get to know you. Social membership at most clubs can be had for about €30 a year. Aircraft owners take pity on low hour pilots who are just can't wait to get back into the air. I only became involved in my local club last year and have amassed some great friends in this short time, some I hope to fly with for a very long time. Indeed so many cleb members that have been keeping GA alive in Ireland for all these years tend to know quite a few guys in the bigger planes. Be it former students who have gone on to become f/o, capts or even chief pilots with various Irish carriers.

It is a very small world out there so even if you are not in a position to pay for flying at a club now then just join in whatever capacity you can afford. A very small investment in membership will be worth millions when you have your CPL and are job hunting.

best of luck, PM me at any time if you need anything from someone who has made a few mistakes in the way I did my training.

GP.
:ok:

[mazzy1026]

I like FFF's idea of buying a share, then getting cheaper hourly rates and then selling the share at a later date to invest in something else - what a great idea I never looked at it like that before - thank you FFF !

Is it normal to find people selling aircraft shares at flying clubs ? I will be a member of Ravenair in Liverpool soon and would love to be able to invest in a share or a nice aircraft.

Many thanks

Maz :ok:

[D 129]

Or, if you have a lot of hours to do over a longer period ... consider buying an aircraft !.

You'll need a friendly engineer who knows what to look for.

I was surprised that you do not need £ 30 to £ 40 K to get started. I bought an aircraft for £ 14 K and it is an excellent VFR machine. Chose from Rallyes, C 150s etc. Also these are good for hour building because they are slow !!!.

She needs about £ 25 an hour for fuel and oil. Insurance and parking £ 1 K a year each. Maintenance / Annual checks - variable but under £ 1 K if all is well. Aircraft ownership also teaches you a lot about how it works (learn how to do the routine maintenance yourself ...).

Look after the aircraft and you can sell it at the same price you bought it for. (In my case I syndicated it and kept a quarter - had to pay for the CPL/IR fees somehow :-( !). Make sure that the aircraft is a popular type and easy to sell on !.

Cheers,

D129

[FlyingForFun]

Is it normal to find people selling aircraft shares at flying clubs ?Depends on the club - my club has a noticeboard where people advertise shares, or aircraft, for sale. But if you ask around any club, you're sure to find people who will point you in the right direction.....

FFF
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[onehunga]

I am thinking along similar lines of joining a group and buying a share and getting away from club hire rates. Usual caveats apply though and there is a wealth of information in the Private Flying forum on buying shares and what can be the potential pitfalls. Would be a shame not to get your share back at the end (assuming you want to sell) or you get landed with a the need for a new engine on joining. Good luck in your search.