One of the better things about general aviation may be the independence it provides. We may go anyplace we wish, restricted only by occasional restricted airspace, weather, and our resources.
Okay possibly it isn't a great deal of freedom, but dangit it feels like that! A great usage of an airplane rental is booking an aircraft for your weekend holiday. You can easily avoid all of the complications of commercial flying plus a 2-3 hour flight can cover some significant range even in the slowest aircraft. Renting an airplane just for this trip isn't that dissimilar to renting it on any given day, but here are a few tips to keep in mind.
Book the aircraft far in advance. Weekends are clearly sought after days for any rental aircraft, so if you want to monopolize it for 2-3 days you'll have to reserve earlier on. If you fall under a large club with lots of aircraft, you possibly will not have to worry so much, however if you're sharing 1-2 planes along with a large number of pilots, it's another story. Give people ample notification and you'll keep everybody satisfied.
Plan to fly the plane a couple of hours each day. Most multi-day rentals will likely have a condition in your rental agreement that you average a small quantity of hours daily on the trip. This is simply an average, however, so to illustrate: For this example you want to take a plane for 3 days and the the minimum average daily use is 4 hours. If your journey is Six hours total each way, you'll fly 6 hours on day 1, 0 on day 2, and 6 on day 3. You would average 4 hours each day even when you didn't fly by any means in the second day. Worst case scenario you have to pay for a couple hours you don't fly, but some clubs will waive this if there was not going to be much interest that weekend anyhow.
Don't forget about basic safety. If you're flying significantly outside your normal area, don't neglect to think about added precautions you might need to take: water safety equipment if crossing a sizable body of water, make sure you won't run across a mandatory 100 hour inspection while away, etc.
Also consider the types of flying may be different. Are you current on night landings? If you're flying into mountains, are you currently confident with the risks of this kind of flying? Since you'll have to book beforehand anyhow, you can use the meantime to get current and brush up on any rusty skills you'll need on your trip.
Do you think you're prepared for bad weather? Incident accounts are filled up with stories of individuals who simply had to get back home for work and other responsibilities and made a bad choice. Try and pad your vacation with time to ensure you don't have this issue, and make certain everyone knows they could end up grounded someplace till conditions improve. Don't plan a major meeting for 9am Monday morning and propose to return late Sunday night; leave yourself a little bit of room for the unanticipated.
Best of all, have a great deal of fun and come back with a few great stories!.
Okay possibly it isn't a great deal of freedom, but dangit it feels like that! A great usage of an airplane rental is booking an aircraft for your weekend holiday. You can easily avoid all of the complications of commercial flying plus a 2-3 hour flight can cover some significant range even in the slowest aircraft. Renting an airplane just for this trip isn't that dissimilar to renting it on any given day, but here are a few tips to keep in mind.
Book the aircraft far in advance. Weekends are clearly sought after days for any rental aircraft, so if you want to monopolize it for 2-3 days you'll have to reserve earlier on. If you fall under a large club with lots of aircraft, you possibly will not have to worry so much, however if you're sharing 1-2 planes along with a large number of pilots, it's another story. Give people ample notification and you'll keep everybody satisfied.
Plan to fly the plane a couple of hours each day. Most multi-day rentals will likely have a condition in your rental agreement that you average a small quantity of hours daily on the trip. This is simply an average, however, so to illustrate: For this example you want to take a plane for 3 days and the the minimum average daily use is 4 hours. If your journey is Six hours total each way, you'll fly 6 hours on day 1, 0 on day 2, and 6 on day 3. You would average 4 hours each day even when you didn't fly by any means in the second day. Worst case scenario you have to pay for a couple hours you don't fly, but some clubs will waive this if there was not going to be much interest that weekend anyhow.
Don't forget about basic safety. If you're flying significantly outside your normal area, don't neglect to think about added precautions you might need to take: water safety equipment if crossing a sizable body of water, make sure you won't run across a mandatory 100 hour inspection while away, etc.
Also consider the types of flying may be different. Are you current on night landings? If you're flying into mountains, are you currently confident with the risks of this kind of flying? Since you'll have to book beforehand anyhow, you can use the meantime to get current and brush up on any rusty skills you'll need on your trip.
Do you think you're prepared for bad weather? Incident accounts are filled up with stories of individuals who simply had to get back home for work and other responsibilities and made a bad choice. Try and pad your vacation with time to ensure you don't have this issue, and make certain everyone knows they could end up grounded someplace till conditions improve. Don't plan a major meeting for 9am Monday morning and propose to return late Sunday night; leave yourself a little bit of room for the unanticipated.
Best of all, have a great deal of fun and come back with a few great stories!.
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Well now that you're all excited for a great weekend, check out this article that teaches you tips and tricks for getting a great deal on your next rental aircraft. Don't make a huge mistake and shell out way too much for your next flight!
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