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Okihara
3rd Feb 2020, 11:03
Does anyone have a good website or a few pointers to find aeroplanes for hire in the USA? I'm looking to hire something like a 206/210 or a Bonanza. I find it quite hard to find results on Google as most matches are for private individuals looking to hire jets with pilot.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

340drvr
3rd Feb 2020, 11:45
Do you mean you wish to hire a charter flight for passengers, or you want to be able to do checkout training so you could fly yourself?
For charter, www.charterhub.com has listings and search by type of aircraft.
For flight schools and/or pilot rental, Your Freedom to Fly - AOPA (http://www.aopa.org) has directories, but I'm not sure whether you must be a member to access or not.
There aren't very many flight schools that have that kind of aircraft (6-seater, high performance) in their fleets, rates are expensive, and insurance takes a big jump at the 6-seat retractable gear level.
It might help narrow your search if you had a certain general location in mind, as well.

Edit: There are schools that have various models of Cirrus aircraft available for training.

Dave Gittins
3rd Feb 2020, 12:02
You may be struggling to rent a big Cessna or a Bonanza (just as you would in the UK and I assume Oz). You'll have much more chance with a 172, PA-28, DA-40. Where are you planning to go in the USA ? and what do you want to do ? I've rented all over and it isn't that hard. I assume you have the appropriate license.

Maybe give better advice if you narrow the question down.

Okihara
3rd Feb 2020, 12:20
Thanks for the pointers. I'm on a foreign validated PPL +IR. We're pretty flexible in terms of location as we're still exploring options have no other constraint than having a good time. My intention is to hire a plane for some three weeks and do tour with 3 friends, hence the need for something larger than a DA40/PA28 for weight and luggage allowance. The last tour we did in Australia was on a PA32 and something like that would be fine. The area of preference would be the Rockies states/west coast but we're open to anything as we intend to do ~ 2-3 h of flying at a time from strip to strip.

Here in Australia I've always been reluctant to hire from schools as they usually their rates are usually inflated to reflect the fact that students do their training lesson to lesson. I usually approach various owners and offer a deal, e.g. 30h dry on air switch paid upfront or something alike. I intend to do something similar in the US and I'm indeed looking at 30-40h.

340drvr
3rd Feb 2020, 13:53
https://americanflightschools.com/aircraft-rentals/international/

https://www.tandgflying.com/rental-rates.html (https://americanflightschools.com/aircraft-rentals/international/)

Victorian
3rd Feb 2020, 13:57
Northaire, Prescott, Az have 310's as well as a fleet of 172's. Prescott is 100mi N of Phoenix at 5000' elevation in class D airspace. By 172, it's 1 hr to the canyon, 2Hr to Vegas, 3 hr to Durango...

https://www.northaire.com/fleet Ask for Jason.

(no relation, but regular renter, just got back from 20 Hrs on the west Coast with a 172)

Asturias56
3rd Feb 2020, 13:57
make sure you don't fall foul of the rules if you hire from an individual......... https://www.faa.gov/about/initiatives/safe_charter_operations/ and https://www.faa.gov/documentLibrary/media/Advisory_Circular/AC_91-37B.pdf

The FAA are pretty strict on what you can and can't do...................

I'd recommend using a decent local company TBH

Ebbie 2003
3rd Feb 2020, 15:00
It has been a long while since I have rented in the US - but found 182RG, 172 RG to rent - in North Carolina and Florida (The Orlando Executive) and Las Vegas for the 172 Cutlass.

The deal was wet (so refund on the fuel to an agreed rate per gallon) - bought the renter insurance from AVEMCO - flew the first 182 up to Oshkosh and the out to Boulder Co and back, the second 182 down to Key West and then over to Nassau and down to Farmers Cay - all no hassle. I seem to recall we had I think a two hour a day Hobbs minimum and managed to exceed that - could be an issue if you just want to go somewhere then fly back.

I am not sure you would find a 206 to rent or a Bonanza - but all you need do is phone around flight schools - if they do not have airplanes they may know people who do - I think that was the deal with the Cutlass - they put a private owners airplane on their insurance and we had the renter insurance, all sorted out in a day including some dual. Of course we had FAA PPL - for what it is worth the 182 out of North Carolina was rented to my brother when he had total time of 58 hours plus the 4 hours of check out to get the complex added to his licence, so total time seems not to be an issue; the insurance was about $150 and lasted a whole year but we flew for only a month or so on it.

The Las Vegas one we rented by going up to the North Las Vegas airport and asking around at the flight schools - there were lots to choose from we wanted another 182 RG but there were none hence the Cutlass.

MrAverage
3rd Feb 2020, 15:24
Okihara

Make sure you understand the significance of Ebbie's mention of renter insurance. I'm not sure how things work in Oz but, if it's anything like the same as the UK, rental generally includes hull insurance. That is more often not the case in the U.S.A. The renter is usually expected to have insurance to cover the hull and possibly other risks. Another gotcha is, many smaller fields offer a "courtesy car" so you can explore the local area or get to and from a restaurant. You will almost definitely not be insured in that vehicle and it's almost impossible to get cover for any "loan" cars. It is the norm in the States that the driver is insured, not the vehicle as such.

n5296s
3rd Feb 2020, 17:15
That is more often not the case in the U.S.A.
It's a bit more complicated than that, but you certainly need renter's insurance.

What actually happens is that the owner has insurance, and if you wreck the plane, the insurance will pay the owner. But then the insurers will come after you, in what is called "subrogation". If you have insurance, it all gets dealt with between insurers. If not... you have a problem.

As far as rental goes, just about anywhere will want you to pay for a minimum daily flying time, typically 2 or 3 hours. Renting a Bonanza will be hard, there are very few available to rent. You would have a lot more luck with a 182, which would seem to be adequate for what you need.

Victorian
3rd Feb 2020, 19:01
I think that the renter's insurance covers the deductible, or 'excess' in European terms, which is why it's so cheap. The whole issue of subrogation is another bag of worms with little hard information, presumably because people are bound by privacy agreements. One thing to watch out for is that neither of the leading on-line providers will accept foreign addresses, but instead encourage the use of accommodation addresses. I persuaded my insurer to put in writing that I was a foreign national living abroad, but they will still only correspond with my US address.

The point on courtesy cars is a very good one that should be noted especially since driving uninsured is a crime in some states. However it's largely a moot point nowadays, since the advent of Uber has transformed the utility of small airports for travellers like us in my opinion.

None of my 1000 hrs+ of renting has been in anything larger than a 172, but the point about the 182 makes sense. Have in mind that the West is largely high and hot in the summer, not to mention bumpy, and plan to fly at dawn. US airports and operators start early too, so the sort of 'opening hours' nonsense that we put up with in Europe are rare or non-existent.

alland2012
4th Feb 2020, 12:51
From personal experience I think you'll find it difficult to rent a plane for 3 weeks straight, most rentals double up as trainers, when I rent in the US 1 day maybe 2 is the longest I can take a plane off the flight school line for.
Where I rent from to take the aircraft for the day means paying for a minimum of 5 hrs regardless of how many hours you fly in that day. Example I've flown 2 hours down to Key West stayed overnight and flown back 2hrs the next day. but paid for 10 hrs.

Victorian
4th Feb 2020, 14:19
Agreed it's not easy to rent for longer periods, but it's definitely possible without committing to 5 hrs per day, which is impracticable for a private pilot. Much depends on forming a relationship to convey your experience and reliability, perhaps on the phone but better face to face. 3 hrs is a more reasonable objective and probably closer to what they'll average on training, especially at quiet times of year. Your booking is a valuable slice of revenue, after all. It's important to choose an operator who has several aircraft of the same type, so they are not losing some unique training resource. I'll never forget the expression on the CFI's face in Ardmore, New Zealand when I walked through the door on time on the appointed day for my check ride. Evidently most Brits are dreamers who don't show up!

Okihara
4th Feb 2020, 15:44
Heaps of good pointers. Many, many thanks to you all (or y'all). I'll pay close attention to insurance to ensure that we're covered. It's still a few months away and I'm already in the US and was advised to add rental insurance on top of that my own car. As with all things related to aviation, one would be surprised by how long planning just about anything takes.

It has been a long while since I have rented in the US - but found 182RG, 172 RG to rent - in North Carolina and Florida (The Orlando Executive) and Las Vegas for the 172 Cutlass.

The deal was wet (so refund on the fuel to an agreed rate per gallon) - bought the renter insurance from AVEMCO - flew the first 182 up to Oshkosh and the out to Boulder Co and back, the second 182 down to Key West and then over to Nassau and down to Farmers Cay - all no hassle. I seem to recall we had I think a two hour a day Hobbs minimum and managed to exceed that - could be an issue if you just want to go somewhere then fly back.

I am not sure you would find a 206 to rent or a Bonanza - but all you need do is phone around flight schools - if they do not have airplanes they may know people who do - I think that was the deal with the Cutlass - they put a private owners airplane on their insurance and we had the renter insurance, all sorted out in a day including some dual. Of course we had FAA PPL - for what it is worth the 182 out of North Carolina was rented to my brother when he had total time of 58 hours plus the 4 hours of check out to get the complex added to his licence, so total time seems not to be an issue; the insurance was about $150 and lasted a whole year but we flew for only a month or so on it.

The Las Vegas one we rented by going up to the North Las Vegas airport and asking around at the flight schools - there were lots to choose from we wanted another 182 RG but there were none hence the Cutlass.

Would you mind PMing me with the contact details of the North Carolina aircraft? I'll find myself in neighbouring Virginia so that might be handy. Cheers

eagleflyer
14th Feb 2020, 21:01
Checkout Plus One Flyers in San Diego, CA. Itīs a club, but not one to be compared with the typical European one. The fleet consists of a large number of C172s / PA28s, but they do also have SR20/22 and more unusual types like a C205 or PA24. They also have a couple of A-36 Bonanzas.
The best part of the club is the insurance and overnight rental policy. Itīs well worth checking if you want to do a long trip and donīt mind to start from California. The joining process is very straightforward and easy to do online. You will only need a briefing and a club checkout before renting.

Grelly
15th Feb 2020, 14:47
SpacePort Aviation had a V-tail Bonanza a year ago, but I notice it isn't listed on their website. Apparently, I can't post a link, but literally spaceportaviation dot com.

If they still have it, it had a five hour minimum Bonanza time to solo rent it. Having flown it for an hour, I think that wise!