How to start a syndicate

[rubberprune]

Forgive me if I have overlooked an existing thread.

I would like to start a syndicate at a regional Australian airport with three or four pilots like me who don't have access to a decent aircraft for hire. Not having done this before I seek guidance from those who have.

Please share and any advice you feel like, or examples of successful member agreements, which may point us in the right direction.

Many thanks, rub

[Al E. Vator]

Great question.

The New Zealanders do this very well but syndicates in Australia seem to be unusually problematic.

I too would like the secret. From my observations, everything needs to be in place from the outset. Everything needs to be in writing such that if one difficult member causes issues, the syndicate agreement is very specific and if breached that member must pay/leave or both. One suggestion is to spend half the pooled funds on the aircraft and keep the remaining half in a pool for the inevitable unforeseen engine and maintenance issues.

Syndicates have to be the way to go in order to minimise the effect of increasing charges and to make ownership available to pilots who otherwise may not be able to afford and aircraft.

Expert guidance most welcome.

[Glasgow_Flyer]

Rub, out of interest - what airport? I might join you!

[Horatio Leafblower]

Can I suggest that the key to a good syndicate is not how to start it but, as Al E Vator alludes, how to wind it up or get out of it.

I am in a syndicate which works largely because very few members are actually interested in flying.

[no_one]

Syndicates are a great way of increasing participation as they allow for barriers to entry. Syndicates are more common in the gliding world and I believe that in the past the GFA had a kind of template rules for syndicates. I wonder if this is something that the likes of AOPA or RAAus could pull together making forming syndicates easier.