November 2005
Shared Ownership of an
Aircraft
It is
pretty common for pilots to consider
aircraft ownership at some point in time.
We find it difficult to justify renting
at close to $100 an hour, knowing that
when it's over, there is nothing to show
but another entry in our log book, and
hopefully some good experience.
On the
other hand, you've tallied all the costs
involved in owning your plane, and that
too exceeds the spare change in your
pocket.
Another
option is shared ownership, investing
with a partner (or partners). Personally,
I think it's a good compromise having
personal experience of three similar
situationis. Here is how we have been
operating our present partnership.
Although probably not entirely unique,
this seems to be a fair and relatively
inexpensive way to fly.
There are
three of us who own a Cessna 150. The
initial investment was split three ways,
as was an engine overhaul. We share
equally the hangar rental and insurance.
Here's something very important we
learned about insuring a shared aircraft.
We found that we could buy full coverage,
including hull insurance (Gold Wings
policy) from Marsh Insurance through COPA
for less than each of the three of us
purchasing the Silver Wings policy. More
coverage for less money when it's split
three ways. The people at Marsh were
helpful in pointing this out to us.
The
maintenance and annuals are paid from a
fund we build by charging ourselves an
hourly rate. In this instance, that rate
is $10 an hour. Since the 150 seems
pretty consistent at burning $22 an hour
for fuel, that puts the hourly cost at
$32.
Naturally
that is not the full cost of ownership.
The hangar and insurance must be factored
into that rate. In our case, if each
pilot flies 60 hours a year, the hourly
rate is about $52, or about half what we
would pay on the rental market.
There is
always the chance the annual maintenance
costs could exceed $1800 that builds up
in the fund when all partners fly 60
hours in the year. If it does, we will
contribute equally to the overrun, and
consider raising the rate we charge
ourselves.
As for
sharing the time on the airplane, any
arrangement that works for your group is
fine. We divide each month into three,
designating a period of 10 days for each
partner. We're flexible on that too,
offering our unused time to the other
fellows. We can request certain times of
the month, and work around each other's
schedules. Knowing we have our time
written on a calendar though, we can at
least plan an extended trip once a month.
This type
of partnership can work, not just with
airplanes, but with other toys like
boats, motorhomes, even lawn and garden
equipment. Basically, it's ownership
where each individual takes
responsibility for his particular share
or time he uses the item. It's fair for
the partner who may not make use of
whatever the item is. I have seen this
system work successfully with a group
owning a wilderness cabin. They split the
capital cost equally, then charge
themselves a daily rate for the time they
use it. For instance, a member who takes
3 friends to the cabin would pay his rate
of $10 per person, per day. That would
total $40 per day, $280 per week, which
goes into the fund for maintenance and
taxes. If a member has no time in a given
year to get out there, he has no
obligation to pay into that fund.
I have
discussed partnerships with pilots who
simply divide their annual costs equally
between the partners. However it doesn't
seem fair that the person who flies only
20 hours annually pays the same as the
one who has 60 or 100 hours in the log
book at the end of the year.
It's a
"user pay" system, but can
easily beat the cost of renting, and give
the owners more flexibility in when and
where they fly.
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