building hours USA (need advice)

[jfly]

Our first Tour will start in June and we will meet in Glendale/Arizona (Phoenix). From there we will fly along the entire southern coast to Florida. In Florida, we will try to fly over to the Bahamas, or the Keys (or both). The flight back to Phoenix goes trough the Midwest.

If you have any advices for us for this trip (nice airports, must sees, cheap places to stay, cheap car rentals ...etc.)

... or if you would like to join us for a shorter trip, or the entire tour,

please write an email to: [email protected] and visit this page for an overview of the tours.

Thank you very much!

[jfly]

http://www.geocities.com/jochenfly/2002.html

[GoneWest]

You may find this link useful for your planning

http://www.airnav.com/fuel/local.html

enter the identifier of any airfield - it will tell you the cheapest fuel prices within about 40nm.

[FlyingForFun]

jfly,

Sounds like a nice trip, I'm jealous! :D Logged around 100 hours flying around Phoenix, and enjoyed every minute of it. If you've got time and you fancy doing some aerobatics, try popping into Chandler Air Service (http://www.aerobatics.com) at Chandler Airport while you're in the area - you can book dual flights in a Great Lakes bi-plane, or if you've got a few hundred dollars to spare you can also try out the Pitts S2C.

Doesn't sound like you'll have much time for sightseeing in Arizona, but if you do, here's a couple of nice trips:

Fly into Tucson Airport. Just flying into an international airport is an experience in itself if you're not used to it - they're very general-aviation-friendly. Once you're there, go and visit the Air and Space Museum. It's a short cab-ride from the airport (get a cab from outside the main passenger terminal), and it's full of interesting aircraft. There's also the aeroplane graveyard (sorry, it's not a graveyard, it's a storage site) - you can book a bus tour from the ticket desk at the museum.

If you fancy going north from Phoenix to do some mountain flying, go to Sedona. Book yourself onto one of the Pink Jeep Tours - can't remember the details, but any tourist office in Arizona will be able to help you. The guys at Pink Jeep will pick you up from Sedona Airport if you ask them nicely, and the tours are fantastic - superb scenery, and some real professional off-road drivers. Watch out for the inclined runway at Sedona - it's usual to land uphill, to the east, and take off downhill, to the west, except in very strong winds. (The restaurant at the airport is expensive, and serves very average food - you're better off getting something to eat in the town.)

And, of course, there's the Grand Canyon. You can do what I did, which is fly into Grand Canyon airport, then book yourself onto a helicoptor tour which leaves from the other side of the airport. There are also aeroplane tours over the canyon, which are a lot cheaper, or you could hire a car. Unfortunately, you can't fly over the canyon yourself (except very high along a couple of corridors - too high to be able to get a decent view).

Feel free to e-mail me if you want any more info - and have a good time!

FFF
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[Troy McClure]

Would have to agree with FFF re Tucson. Very GA friendly, and shares runways with F16's, B2's and things too.

PIMA Air and Space Museum is a must. You can get a joint ticket for the boneyard and the museum and just hop on the next bus from the museum entrance - then go back in the museum after. Most of the aircraft are outside, so take a hat... And don't forget to poke around the hangers on the outskirts full of old warbirds and things. Not a lot make it to some of the more distant corners of a big site, and there are plenty of interesting old boys manning the info desks who are glad someone's made the effort to get to see their pride and joys.

Also make a point of overflying the boneyard on your departure. Just call up Davis Montham Tower and request an overfly - amazing how happy they are to give you a clearance at a few hundred feet.

TMC

[jfly]

Cheers for the ideas. GoneWest, FlyingForFun and Troy McClure! I will try to manage to visit all the great places. Does anyone of you have a recommendation about renting a safe, cheap plane like a C172, a C182, a cherokee, or a warrior in AZ?

[Captain Airclues]

jfly

Arizona Aviation at Falcon Field (Mesa) have all those types. The C182 has all the kit including short-field mods and GPS. Very reasonably priced. You need to guarantee three hours per day if you take the aircraft away.

Airclues

[A and C]

A bit off the subject geographicly but for hours building in the UK contact

[email protected]

[FlyingForFun]

Chandler Air Service (see the link in my previous post) will rent to you - although they're not the cheapest around. They mainly rent Warriors - they have several 2-seat Warriors, which are just standard 4-seaters but with the rear seats removed - apparently the insurance is cheaper this way. There are a couple of 4-seaters, too, if you have more than 1 pax, and I think they have 1 172. Check them out - but you can probably get cheaper at other places. 3-hour rule also applies if you're taking it for the whole day - but this seems to be pretty standard, both in the UK and the US.

FFF
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[Noggin]

There are still lots of PPL holders building 100+ hours to qualify for a CPL course, when you could be spending your money more profitably by adding an IR to your PPL. You only need 50 hours of Cross Country flying post PPL so you can gain an IR at around 150-170 hours. The CPL course is reduced to 15 hours for applicants who already hold an IR, so you finish up with a CPL-IR at 200 hours rather than 250 hours. Why bore unnecessary holes in the sky?

[slim_slag]

Chandler Air Service (see the link in my previous post) will rent to you - although they're not the cheapest around.

Who are cheaper in Phoenix? Also remember if you give them $1000 they make it $1100. You have to get used to the owners, but they have the best instructors around, and if you want to fly aerobatics or tail-draggers they are without compare.

[FlyingForFun]

Good point, slim_slag.

I should probably re-phrase what I said: the reason I chose Chandler Air Service was not cost-related - it was because they have aerobatic aircraft, taildraggers, twins and complex aircraft. They also have the best instructors around - although I didn't know that before I flew with them.

I get the impression that they are slightly over-priced by US standards - although still far cheaper than anywhere you can rent from in the UK. But I didn't compare prices to anywhere else, since price (within reason) wasn't a factor in choosing where I was going to hire from. If, as you imply, they are the cheapest around, then I can't think of a single good reason not to hire from them!

FFF
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[slim_slag]

FFF

What you say is totally true, I would recommend them too.

I am pretty sure they are the cheapest in the Phoenix Area, and by some margin. If they are not, then it's close. The extra $100 they give you if you pay them $1000 by cash/cheque should be taken advantage of.

I'm not sure how they manage it. Most of the other places have raised their rates by $10-$20 per hour over the past year or so, apparently insurance costs have rocketed. I have heard that Sunbird, which is on the same field, have stopped renting altogether after a couple of claims made insurance prohibitive.

One of the more annoying aspects of Chandler Air is their currency requirements. If you have not flown with them for 60 days you need to go up with an instructor. If you have not logged 3 hours in their supercub within the previous 21 days you need an hour of dual (negotiable). This is actually a good thing IMO, as they constantly are keeping your skill levels up, and they do not let you get sloppy at all. I am sure this has an effect on their insurance claim rates. Also they do their own work, so if you bend a supercub they just charge you the $2000 deductable and fix it themselves. It never sees the insurance company, so rates do not rise.

To the original poster, if you do rent from Chandler Air I would book time with an instructor well before you arrive. The instructors are incredibly busy - they are damned good - and last time I was there I had to wait 10 days to get re-checked out in a supercub!!!!!

You can get cheaper rates than Chandler Air elsewhere in the US, but not by much. The best rates I have seen in the more developed :D :D parts of America are at Gibbs at Montgomery field in San Diego. That place is ridiculously cheap. California has a lot of flying clubs whichyou join for $5 per month or so. That way you don't pay sales tax either, which saves 8%, so you can definitely get deals in SOCAL which you might not expect.

Cheers

[jfly]

I have just visited the webpage of Arizona Aviation ... and true, they are very reasonably priced. Does anyone have experience with their C172`s, warrior, or Archer? and how much will they charge you ontop for insurance ...etc...