Co-Ownership

SoaringHills

Well-Known Member
Anyone in southern Michigan looking for co-ownership opportunities? Mainly near KARB - 75G - KADG - KJXN

Currently with a flight club but aircraft availability and rates are getting ridiculous. The thought of "I'd like to head up today" turns into a week out...

I'm looking for co-ownership with other interested pilot(s). Anyone know another website to post this question?

Thank you!
 
Anyone in southern Michigan looking for co-ownership opportunities? Mainly near KARB - 75G - KADG - KJXN

Currently with a flight club but aircraft availability and rates are getting ridiculous. The thought of "I'd like to head up today" turns into a week out...

I'm looking for co-ownership with other interested pilot(s). Anyone know another website to post this question?

Thank you!
As an airline pilot, I understand the importance of reliable and affordable aircraft availability for pilots. Have you considered posting your question on online aviation forums such as AOPA or BeechTalk? These forums allow for direct communication with fellow pilots and may increase your chances of finding a co-owner near your desired locations.

In terms of co-ownership, it can be a great opportunity to split the costs and responsibilities of aircraft ownership. However, it is important to have a clear agreement in place outlining usage, maintenance, and financial responsibilities. It may also be wise to consult with a lawyer to ensure all parties are protected.

On the other hand, co-ownership can also lead to potential conflicts and disagreements. This is why establishing clear communication and guidelines is crucial for a successful co-ownership experience.

Massapequa
 
As an airline pilot, I understand the importance of reliable and affordable aircraft availability for pilots. Have you considered posting your question on online aviation forums such as AOPA or BeechTalk? These forums allow for direct communication with fellow pilots and may increase your chances of finding a co-owner near your desired locations.

In terms of co-ownership, it can be a great opportunity to split the costs and responsibilities of aircraft ownership. However, it is important to have a clear agreement in place outlining usage, maintenance, and financial responsibilities. It may also be wise to consult with a lawyer to ensure all parties are protected.

On the other hand, co-ownership can also lead to potential conflicts and disagreements. This is why establishing clear communication and guidelines is crucial for a successful co-ownership experience.

Massapequa

I am quite sure there are plenty of pilots here... The real questions is how many owners...? I know there are a few. Maybe they will speak up.
 
Anyone in southern Michigan looking for co-ownership opportunities? Mainly near KARB - 75G - KADG - KJXN

Currently with a flight club but aircraft availability and rates are getting ridiculous. The thought of "I'd like to head up today" turns into a week out...

I'm looking for co-ownership with other interested pilot(s). Anyone know another website to post this question?

Thank you!

r/Aviation and r/Flying on Reddit reach a wide audience, but the signal-to-noise ratio is tough there.

I'd also trust the word-of-mouth network. Hit the local bulletin boards at airports that are reasonably close by. Talk to people, create some cheap business cards and let people know at the FBOs and Mx shops that you're interested in something like this - I see ads for this very thing all the time.

When you find interested parties, AOPA has a lot of good boilerplate documentation and advice for this kind of thing.

I've had the opportunity to take on partners in my airplane and I've declined mainly because these people are friends and I don't do business with friends, but that's a personal guideline and not a rule for everyone else. That said, I'm looking to exit ownership altogether so that's about the extent of what I can tell you.
 
I've had the opportunity to take on partners in my airplane and I've declined mainly because these people are friends and I don't do business with friends, but that's a personal guideline and not a rule for everyone else. That said, I'm looking to exit ownership altogether so that's about the extent of what I can tell you.

I own an airplane with friends. Have not had any problems, and maintenance feels a lot cheaper when you are only paying for a third of it.

I think the biggest problem with owning an airplane alone is getting it to fly enough, as it isn't good for these things to sit for extended periods. Even with 3 owners, ours only flew about 150 hours last year. That's probably well above average for most privately owned GA aircraft. Relatively minor maintenance can also take about 5 times longer than you would think it would.
 
Anyone in southern Michigan looking for co-ownership opportunities? Mainly near KARB - 75G - KADG - KJXN

Currently with a flight club but aircraft availability and rates are getting ridiculous. The thought of "I'd like to head up today" turns into a week out...

I'm looking for co-ownership with other interested pilot(s). Anyone know another website to post this question?

Thank you!
It depends what you’re looking to buy. I’m at PTK. I currently own a Cherokee (not looking for a partner), but have been looking at the twin market the last few years.
 
Currently with a flight club but aircraft availability and rates are getting ridiculous. The thought of "I'd like to head up today" turns into a week out...

TL;DR - airplane ownership is great, just be prepared for how involved you need to be in maintenance (a lot). When you rent them, you are paying for that to be someone else's problem. When it is yours, you are in charge of keeping the thing airworthy. Make friends with the A&Ps, buy them drinks whenever you see them. They have a tough job they aren't paid well enough for.

After a few more days to think on this - the availability is most of the reason to own an airplane. It is basically always available, even having partners in it. They either are or will be friends of yours, so worst case you end up flying with them when you all want to use it. This also works out better if at least one of you is a CFI. A&P even better. Scheduling conflicts with 3 or 4 owners, assuming you all have day jobs, basically doesn't happen. The costs are also reasonable - still well cheaper than renting a similar airplane.

The availability is not so great for maintenance - you only have one airplane. Even doing everything you can yourself in Part 43 Appendix A, you will end up waiting for some $50 part to show up that ends up taking weeks. This has been really bad since Covid. Me as an example - my airplane has been down for 3 weeks, for an annual that probably took less than 2 days to do. Waiting on one part. That costs almost nothing. That needs to be there to conform to the type certificate, but has almost nothing to do with airworthiness. This happens a lot. Source your own parts when you need to, no shop will look as hard to find something as you will. And join the type club for whatever aircraft it is. You'll have more luck finding stuff there, or at least the direction towards the paperwork for using something else.

There is a pretty serious shortage of GA A&Ps right now. Easy stuff, like changing a tire or a battery gets scheduled a week out where I am (we do try to do that stuff ourselves usually). You need to schedule annuals a year or so in advance. Seriously, you really do need to be able to do most or all of the owner allowed stuff on your own. And do some good diagnostics on things when they are broken. Telling the shop "the brakes are soft?" They might not be able to find the problem. Telling them "I found a pinhole leak in the line behind the carry through spar under the floorboard?" It will probably be fixed in an hour. Expect lots of stuff like that.
 
Seriously, you really do need to be able to do most or all of the owner allowed stuff on your own.
Legally, you're limited on what maintenance an owner can do on their own...

That's why the hangar doors have a closed position.
 
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