Paying for private flights
 

Following the Emilio Sala crash, there's a huge stink in Europe about a blind eye having been turned to PPLs conducting commercial operations in the guise of the cost sharing exemption(see the "Accidents & Near Misses" section for the sorry saga to date).
I was therefore interested when my 8 y.o. son was invited on a $100 club excursion which apparently includes a C172 flight and saw the following: "flying activities carried out by XXX are conducted as a private flying operation and all participants share in the costs." Pardon my perhaps unjustified concern, but what documentation, if any, should I be asking for? Is this any different from buying a trial flight at a flying school?

Max Tow,
Firstly, no, it is nothing like a "trial instructional flight", which would be conducted under an Air Operators Certificate for a flying school.
"Cost sharing" is "legal" but only under defined circumstances, and cost must be shared by all on board, INCLUDING the pilot.
There is a long history of very inventive excuses/schemes to conduct disguised charters as "private flights", this may or may not be one of them, but one thing is certain, there would be no Passenger Liability Insurance in the event of injury or death. Such insurance is mandatory for all passenger operations conducted under an AOC.
In this particular case, much more detail is needed to determine whether the operation was "legal", let alone wise.
CASA (rightly, in my view) take a very dim view of disguised charters ( soon to be Part 135 Air Transport at this level) .which are private operations.
Tootle pip!!

Thanks for the replies. To clarify, which is difficult I appreciate without naming names, the organisation concerned is well regarded, has been taking kids up for years and does hold an AOC. I'm more concerned about the level of qualification required of the pilot to fly kids around as the "private" and cost sharing bits ring alarm bells (possibly unnecessarily) after poor Mr Sala. Even though I remember being scared s...less at the tender age of 14 in a Chipmunk AEF!

Max Tow,
Something doesn't jell here.
Either it is a private flight, or it is not, what kind of an AOC does this mob have??
If they are saying it is a private flight, cost share, that is NOT under any relevant AOC.
For the pilot, for a private operation, the only CASA qualification is to have a current Private Pilot's License, which means a valid minimum Class 2 medical certificate and recency.
Tootle pip!!

LeadSled: PM sent.

I think the UK may close that stable door now that the horse has bolted (recent pages by far the most interesting):
https://www.pprune.org/accidents-clo...el-island.html

Advice heeded as ties in with my gut instinct so son is now off the list - I'll make it up to him & he's looking forward to the A380 in a few weeks!

Thank goodness my Dad (irresponsibly) allowed me to go flying in GA aircraft. Gliders too! :eek:

Perhaps I should add that at the age of 8, my son has almost 200 flights in his logbook, from Eurocopters and Beaver floatplanes through to the 380. I intend that he adds many more, on my terms until he can decide for himself.
Fly Safe!

Sadly, how very true.
Some time ago, a private operation, but the pilot was a Regional Captain, the aircraft a private C-172, last flight of the day, of a series of flights at a charity open day.
Bad gust, aircraft wrecked, and the only passenger, a child, permanently disabled.
No insurance cover for TP Personal damage.
The big winners were the lawyer, of course, at the point where I ceased to have any further involvement, the combined legal expenses were already approaching $1.0M, with personal bankruptcy a real prospect for at least one involved, with further damages action ahead.
Tootle pip!!

How times change. Used to skydive in the sixties and still have the letter from the regulator giving me approval to fly skydivers as a PPL, didn't pay a dime myself while doing the flying, had to of course if I were jumping. :{

Yup, those were the days and I remember the same. Thalidomide babies & a commercial airliner crash every week. I think we've moved on and can still have a lot of fun. By the way, he's an only child so I don't have a spare. Querying paperwork I don't understand has made me long-lived & rich, so I'm happy to be old rather than just bold!

As you probably already know, & if you look at the pPrune Sala thread linked above, the Malibu was flag-of-convenience N Reg, the pilot was allegedly a heavily indebted PPL, apparently not even licensed to fly at night and there's no published evidence that the he paid anything or was intending to fly the same route/time before any cost-sharing passenger climbed on board (also a requirement under FAA rules). The scenario is fairly obvious, IMHO, and no doubt a lot more will come out of the woodwork.

Megan,
You still can fly meatbombs on a PPL in AU, it is a private category operation. No approvals required.
Tootle pip!!

Leaddy,
you might not need approval from the regulator but nor can you rock up to the nearest DZ, slap your log book on the desk and say “let me fly”
https://www.apf.com.au/apf-members/a...ot-information