Hiring a plane in the USA asa tourise

[Akuji]

Hi P Pruners,

Im off to Las Vages next and i wanted to hire a plane to fly ove the Grand Canyon.

Is it possible to take my licence and hire a plane, oviously i may need acheck ride, but thtas not an issue.
Are there anyy special conditoons?

Otherwise i was thinking of having a lesson out in america and take my frineds along on the flight.

Please Advise.

Thanks,

Akuji

[MarkerInbound]

There are tour operators who make flights from LAS to the Grand Canyon and back daily. Probably the easiest thing to do. There are special air space rules for flying over the canyon.

If you don't have a FAA certificate, you won't be able to rent a plane in the US.

You could go up for a lesson without a whole lot of instruction going on or a sightseeing flight but the sightseeing has to be within 25 miles of the airport you start at as I recall. The canyon is much farther than that from Vegas.

[Cusco]

Is English your first language?

Just askin'

Because if I understand you correctly you plan to pitch up at a FBO in Las Vegas, hire an aeroplane and fly off over the GC with a planeload of mates.

Unless your licence is a FAA licence there are a whole load of hoops to jump through to get a FAA based on licence.

This takes time and energy. it has been documented on here previously many times: use the search facility.

Then you need to find a FBO who is willing to hire you an aeroplane: this will involve at the very least a checkride, but more likely a full BFR which involves, among other things mandatory groundschool.

Having jumped these hurdles you need to study the GC charts where you will find strictly demarcated airspace which the average renter is not allowed into: there are however a number of corridors over the GC that you can use.

Do your homework thoroughly:

It's not just like pitching up at the local Hertz and renting a 4x4 RV.


Cusco.

[PompeyPaul]

I've done this a few times

I flew from North Las Vegas (KVGT if memory serves) and both times I flew with First Flight aviation. Both times I took an instructor with me. Although I got to sit in in the left hand seat and basically did the flying on my UK JAR PPL. I suspect, unless you do some difference training, you don't really want to do this flight, on your own, for the first time (unless you have done a lot of flying in the states already, and you have an FAA PPL or piggy back license)

The RT is fairly different, the airspace above KVGT is all class bravo, you have Nellis airforce base in the vicinity, as well as a busy internation airport. The routes across Las Vegas change quite a bit (I believe) back to the airport so this, in my opinion, is really something that you don't want to attempt on your own for the first time. On the other hand you may be a 747 captain with 12,000hours and lots of US experience..

First flight were pretty good, but both times they have had the same name, the same building, but completely different people working there. Last time I flew was on New Years Eve (or the day before) and I took one of their Cirrus out. Looking at their website it still looks like the same people.

Only other thing is that they quote per hour prices, but they are using HOBBS time, so what you actually pay per hour will be different depending on how much you thrash the engine.

Flying as a PPL experience though did work out MUCH cheaper than going the tourist route when I looked into it. I also logged the flight as P1, which the instructor said I was allowed to do. To this day though I'm not sure I can have it count to anything (and certainly wouldn't want to rely on it).

[Akuji]

i have a ppl licence with around 50 hours.

[Gertrude the Wombat]

i have a ppl licence with around 50 hours

It always strikes me as far too much like hard work to get to the stage of being allowed to hire an aircraft solo whilst playing tourist, if the flying isn't the entire point of the holiday.

I just hire an plane and an instructor, I do the flying, the instructor does the navigation and the boring foreign radio, I stick a couple of kids in the back and I log it as a flying lesson. This has worked fine for me in three continents so far.

It's particularly useful if the type of flying is not something you're used to ... such as mountain flying (from someone who learned to fly over East Anglia), such as flying over water.

And of course the time I had trouble maintaining straight-and-level. I was getting more and more puzzled by this - yes, to be sure I wasn't used to a horizon being anything other than dead flat, but I really didn't think that the sloping horizon should be causing me this much trouble. After a while the instructor, watching me getting puzzled, said "yes, well, this one has never been quite the same since the accident". Fortunately my wife, in the back (this was our honeymoon), didn't hear this, not having a headset, so she didn't know we'd been flying in a bent aircraft until after we'd landed. I wouldn't have wanted to do that trip PIC!

[Cusco]

i have a ppl licence with around 50 hours.

Congratulations on getting your licence with so few hours: you have only 5 over the minimum45.

Unless you mean you have 50 post PPL issue hours.

Which brings me back to my original question.................

I would agree with the other posters: Just rent an aeroplane with an instructor, fly from LHS and shove your mates in the back.

I did this (no mates in the back though) from Westair Aviation from N Las Vegas and landed at West Grand Canyon airstrip (Owned and run by local Indians) about 10 years ago.

Much less stressful for a first venture over some of the most hostile terrain you're ever likely to encounter.

Oh and one tip: Go as early in the morning as you can as by midday it gets seriously convective and you'll get a pretty rough ride.

Cusco

[Akuji]

Hi All,

Thank you for all tyour help so far...

I will give the flying schools a call to arrange to hire a plane with an instructor and put the my 2 friends in the back...

Also any idea of the cost?

However i was going to send my Log book to CAA.. to get my night qualification added, but will i need my Lo book in America. or will acopy of the log book be needed?

[Cusco]

If your logbook's all signed up by the instructor you can take it to the CAA at Gatwick and get your NQ added there and then by their 'over-the-counter' service.

Best to arrive early though: It's first come first served.

Cusco

[Tall_guy_in_a_152]

Also any idea of the cost?

About $120 per hour for a basic 172 plus $50 per hour for the instructor. Say $500 - $550 for the trip, depending on how far along the canyon you want to go.