Owning an aircraft comes with additional responsibilities beyond that of just being the pilot that flies the plane. The owner of an aircraft is responsible for ensuring that it is maintained and operated in accordance with FAA inspection requirements. Most of the time this means that once a year we drop our aircraft off to our maintenance shop for its annual inspection and hope that no other maintenance is needed during the year. As the owner of an aircraft, something you can do to help make sure your aircraft will receive the best possible service is to make sure proper documentation for your aircraft is in your library.
I still don’t know why I learned to fly, but for some reason I almost feel like it was always in my blood. Perhaps it was, even though when I began, I didn’t know it.
Yesteray I received a letter in the mail from my Uncle Jim, who had been going through some old family documents. Included was an old promotional packet from the American School of Aviation in Chicago for pilot training that had been sent to my grandfather’s brother back in 1928. It got me thinking about how much aviation affects people and how many times it goes overlooked in our family roots. The material also got me thinking about our aviation roots collectively and how aviation has changed and how it hasn’t. Continue reading
We all are hoping that the government shutdown will be over soon, but in the mean time, a few things that are important for instructors and examiners to know:
FAA Knowledge Tests Halted
– FAA knowledge test providers have been notified that they will no longer be able to give FAA knowledge tests after the close of business Friday 10/4/13 until the staff who oversee this operation at the FAA are brought back to work.
This means that anyone that has not already completed their FAA knowledge tests before this time will not be able to do so until the government staff has returned. This effectively stops applicants who are pursuing training to have the ability to become eligible for practical tests that require any FAA knowledge tests. Continue reading
Aircraft rental and instruction rates are too low in many places around the country. I know, this sounds blasphemous and like I am advocating that companies raise their rates just so they can make more profit. There is no doubt a concern that any increase in rates may drive more potential pilots out of the world of aviation when they are not able to afford the prices. I have the same concern, but there is another concern that I think is even more important. If businesses that provide instruction and aircraft rental don’t increase their rates, they aren’t charging enough to break even or make a profit from a business viewpoint. The result of not charging enough to cover costs is simple to determine, they will go out of business and we won’t have places to rent aircraft.
Many providers of rental aircraft set their prices relative to other providers of similar aircraft in their market area. In many instances this is done without consideration of what the real hourly operational costs for the aircraft are and what is required for the aircraft to support its own cost. This is less than scientific from a financial perspective and does nothing to ensure business success. Continue reading