Ok so I’ve never flown before to get that out of the way, I am planing on starting flight school locally and want to get hours as fast and free as possible. I’m looking to completely dive in to the aviation field and change my career… so I’ve priced several planes and can afford either pa32 or a Cessna 310. I understand the added cost of two engines and retractable landing gear and extra required certs for such. My questions would be 1) can I “rent” the plane to flight schools for complex and twin engine certs and is it worth chartering the plane out and hiring a new fresh commercial pilot at lower pay then major airlines they gain hours to hit there 1500 for the majors and I get some bills paid and gain hours myself and instruction
2) is it legal for me to co pilot chartered flights in anyway while getting instruction from the legal charters pilot
Sorry for newbie question as this I’m sure many people think about having a plane make them money and fly free… so I guess my 3rd question is… 3) is the just a pipe dream and I’m blowing smoke up my own arse… or is this type of venture possible and other do the same
We are not aircraft brokers or aviation attorneys and really cannot give advice on what you are asking.
What I can tell you is that your plan is full of many, many errors and simply isn’t realistic. Little airplanes almost never make money, they cost money.
I suggest you talk to a local flight school or an aircraft broker.
I’ll make this simple, there’s a reason why people invest $75-200k on flight lessons rather than buying their own aircraft and leasing it to flight schools. It doesn’t work. If you want to go into the aircraft leasing business then you should do that but if you want to become a Commercial pilot then leave the cost of acquisition, ridiculous maintenance cost (do you know what the cost of an annual is let alone a total overhaul on a twin? Not to mention aircraft for rent or instruction require 100hr checks), and scheduling to the flight school.
Thank you for the honesty that’s what I was looking for brutal honesty I appreciate it. Like I said I want to jump in and change my career just looking for the best way to do that is full commercial training.
I’ve owned a small General Aviation airplane for many years and I really can’t express just how expensive owning a Cessna 310 would be. I don’t make any assumptions about your income or how much you have researched but I can tell you for certain that purchasing an airplane to build hours will absolutely be more expensive than if you were to drive down to your local flight school and rent an airplane for all 1500 hours required. Purchasing a plane is nothing like buy a car and the lower price of a twin is simply a direct reflection of how much it costs to operate. A few questions to ask yourself:
Where will I store it and how much does it cost (likely $300-500 per month)
Cost of a pre-buy inspection from a good A&P (For a twin, plan on at least $5,000)
How many gallons of fuel per hour are your burning? Multiply that number by $5.50 and I’d say your are sending $150 - $200 out the exhaust pipe per hour in fuel
Insurance (you have zero time so yours will be more expensive…$3,000 - $6,000 per year depending on how much coverage you buy)
The annual inspection ($5,000 if absolutely nothing needs replaced…and something always needs replaced)
IFR Recertifications (A few grand)
How many hours are on your engine, prop, and airframe? Engines and prop’s need to be overhauled generally about every 2,000 hours. EACH engine runs $30,000-$40,000 and EACH prop will run maybe $10,000. Add all that up for the twin, and your are spending more money to overhaul both engines and props than you will on the entire capital purchase of the plane itself.
How dated are the avionics and guages? Is the pane ADS-B equipped per the FAA’s 2020 mandate? The panel is another extremely expensive area…especially when replacing certified/TSO’d equipment for an IFR aircraft. Buy a lemon than needs just two or three new instruments and you will need to shell out well over 10 grand.
To determine how much an airplane is to fly, add all your required monthly and annual costs up for the year (loan on the plane, hangar, insurance, annual, etc) and then divide that number but the estimated hours you will fly in one year. Then add your hourly cost of fuel and then add 20% for crap that needs fixed each year as well as for future overhaul of your prop and engine.
I can go on and on but you get the idea…and I’m not exaggerating these costs for a twin. There is a reason why people never buy an airplane to earn their 1500 hours. Buy an airplane to get your PPL and IFR so that you can fly the family around after, sure. Buy an airplane to get 1500 hours…never. Instead, people instruct and get paid to fly around (not assume massive amounts of debt). Heck, I own a plane and would never think of trying to fly it around until I reached 1500. It would be way cheaper to simply drive to the local FBO and rent a 172 at $150 an hour.
Thank you for your info I appreciate it. I do understand the costs of the twins that’s why I’m also looking at pa 32s. Sinnce you own your plane I have a few questions for you if you don’t mind… do u just use your plane for pleasure/personal travel or does it make you any money? I think I may have put to much info not enough detail in my op… the reason to purchase the plane would be to start a lower cost charter service for small families… looking for all options to make just owning the plane worth while with out me flying at all… the second reason would be for personal family travel and hours for myself… also could employ new commercial pilots while they wait for a major to pick them up first job kind of cheater company… I’m in nj so Florida snow birds, local wrestling feds need service to get wrestler in town, photography, tours, possible training craft… things like that… I’m trying to compile as much info about the earning potential of small 6 person aircrafts. I’m almost 40 so if I’m going to do it I have to make the decision so I can go the proverbial “all in” now so if anything goes wrong I’ll be young enough to retain my current job. So in short basically I’m asking if your plane just drains ur bank or can it maybe not fill the account but equal out or even a little in the green? Thanks for your time I appreciate it
I can’t agree more with what Trey said regarding plane ownership. It is a VERY expensive endeavor even on a reasonably priced aircraft. Yes, you can “rent” the aircraft to a local flight school, but it will be akin to buying a car and then letting Enterprise or Alamo rent it out for you when you don’t need it. All it will do is slightly defray your cost of ownership while introducing additional wear and tear and inspection costs.
“Charter” operations in aviation are not cheap either. You can’t just set up a website or put an ad up in the local newspaper to fly snowbirds south. First of all, any operations for hire are heavily regulated by the FAA. You can’t simply (legally) do what you’re suggesting without your aircraft and flight crews meeting stringent safety, equipment and experience requirements. Second, you will quickly find out that most people would prefer (for longer trips) to travel by airline due to comfort and speed. For shorter trips, car travel is more cost effective. Air travel by chartered aircraft fills specialty niches like medical transport, travel to destinations that don’t have good air service, or where ground transportation is sparse (like going to an island).
Heck, if you want a business idea that can possibly make some money, look into transporting deceased snowbirds to their final resting place up north by private aircraft. At that point they don’t complain much if the turbulence is too strong or the cabin is too hot (no A/C on most small planes).
All that being said, there is a reason why more people aren’t doing what you suggest. It’s not that it hasn’t been thought of before—it has and it’s been dismissed due to the lack of ROI or practicality.