I've wondered why more schools/owners don't do this. The national average for mogas is around $3.50 and will definitely drop if crude continues to sink. If we froze everything up right now the operator could save $10-15/hr by switching to mogas. If the plane flies 50hr/month that's >$500/month or $5,000/year/airplane. How much does the STC cost? Do you guys use your own truck, or does your field have mogas for sale?
I'm not convinced the explosion in rental prices is just from fuel, though. Even at $6/g, that accounts for maybe a $40/hr increase in operating costs over the past 15 years. The honest operaters reflect approximately this increase...the guys charging $180/hr for a shiny new 172 have just managed to convince most people that a 2008 Cessna is worth twice the rental price of its 40 year old equivalent.
Either that or insurance and mx costs have increased dramatically as well?
One word. Ethanol.
Remember that the engine and fuel system technology in these aircraft is about 50-60 years old. Fuel lines, fuel tanks, etc., ain't compatible with the stuff, even in small quantities evidently. With the rush to put ethanol in every grade of pump gas across the nation, that is quickly evaporating as an alternative. Truth be told, 93-95 octane mogas could probably replace avgas for all but the highest horsepower piston aircraft, but its going to take engine manufacturers bringing their designs out of the 1940s to do it.
If we love flying, we need to start putting pressure on our state legislators to ban the use of ethanol in premium fuel, not only as an alternative to avgas, but also so older power equipment, ATVs, boats, etc., have an ethanol free source of fuel, since most of those are not made to run ethanol either.
Unfortunately, I don't think most of the folks running flight schools and/or FBOs are the best businessmen in the world. Many of them have this attitude that everyone that flys an airplane is loaded, and just constantly raises their rates to keep their margins where they were, which drives off business...and consequently means there are fewer people to divide their fixed costs between...which leads them to having to raise their rates again. They're going to have to accept a smaller margin in the short run to get more people flying the airplanes.
But as I said in my other post, I think the chief culprit was easy access to cheap credit. Renters really didn't care what they were paying so the FBOs and flying schools just raised their rates to where they were making a generous profit. I just think it is going to come back to bit them in the butt unless they start making it more affordable for the cash customer to fly again.