How often are your flights cancelled?

TheWife

New Member
I am just so fed up with our FBO and this is why I wanted to move but OH WELL.
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Last week, out of 5 scheduled flights, *3* were cancelled! One was because the prior student went over his time and would have made my husband's instructor late for something if they had gone. One was because the plane was at the 100 hour. And I don't remember the other. Now today another flight cancelled for the 100 hour again. Is this typical every where or WHAT? How do you deal with this? It's not a big deal on an individual basis, but when you look at a whole month of 5 days a week scheduled, that's a total of 20 days, he is probably only getting to fly about 12-13. And as soon as we get into December it will just get worse since the bad weather will be factor. Is this one of those things you just have to put up with or should he do something about it? Some places, if you cancel an appointment, you have to pay $20. Well I think if they cancel his flight, he should get a $20 credit!
 
I would say it has a lot to do with the number of aircraft the FBO has. Mine is fairly large and runs probably between 20 and 25 airplanes. I also have a freelance instructor who is usually available.

Sorry you guys are having so many problems!

Good luck!
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The FBO where I fly has 11 aircraft:

1 C150
3 Tomahawks
4 C172's
1 Warrior
1 Arrow
1 Travel Air

I have had maybe three or four flights cancelled in the past year - total.

Just a streak of bad luck for you guys and nothing more (I hope). Don't get discouraged.

R2F
 
Grr. If it's a streak of bad luck, it's a streak that has been going on for about 5 years. It is always like this, which is why we wanted to go to FSI. They have a lot of Katana's, but right now he is flying an arrow. They have 4 arrow's. But there is never another one available when his gets cancelled. Grrrrrrr. I want this over! He's on his commercial. Still has so many more to go though.
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It is always like this, which is why we wanted to go to FSI.

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I bet you'll be glad he didn't go to FSI when the loan payments begin!
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the FBO I work at does a really good job of projecting when the 100 hr will be and take it off of the schedule. It might go in at 95, but flights don't get canceled.
 
No loan payments flyitup. We are still wishing we were in Vero right now!

Viper, THAT would be nice! It only seems logical right! Let's see, the pilot who is in the plane when it hits 90 could politely inform the dispatch that they should only accept 2 or 3 more time blocks cause then it will be to 100. Maybe I will suggest that to them, it seems so logical it should just be common practice.
 
I've only had three flights cancelled in my two years at my FBO. One was yesterday (instructor had the flu and at 8 AM, all the other instructors were booked), one was due to a bad alternator in the 182 (found this out during the runup when the VOLTS light stayed on) and all the other 182s were gone, and one for a 100 hour. Well, the last one wasn't really cancelled. Since they didn't take it off the schedule, they gave me another plane and didn't charge me for the difference. I had a 172N blocked out, and they gave me a 172R for the N price. At first I thought the 182 problem was just low RPMs on the engine. Then I turned on all the lights, and the ammeter dropped like a rock.
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Needless to say, I did NOT get to go to the Bahamas that day.....
 
They keep very close track. A few weeks ago I went out with a student and the manager told me not to fly more than 1.5, because there were 2 more lessons after me in the plane and there was only about 5 hours left.
 
Do you think it would tacky or inappropriate of me to suggest this type of system to the dispatchers? Or at least, have my husband suggest it?
 
No, It's a great idea. They should be scheduling their inspections to keep the turnaround time down anyway.
 
Another one cancelled today due to a prop problem
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Corbin says the reason they can't/won't predict when the plane will be down is becuase the dispatchers can schedule flights 3 weeks in advance, instructirs two weeks, and students one week so it's "too complicated"?? Does that seem normal? What's complicated is revovling your day around your schedule yet not knowing till about 30 minutes before flight time if you actually get to go.
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Tomorrow he will have his first flight in a brand new Seminole though...
 
I would have to consider myself very lucky. I have never had a flight canceled because of maintenance. I had to squawk a C172 last week because the seat belt would not fasten, but there was another plane for me to take. My FBO's fleet is rather large; 6 or 7 PA28-161's and 3 C172's (less than 3 yrs old and 1 brand new)
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The PA28's are the sled dogs of the fleet along with the Piper Tomahawks. I could not fly the Tomahawks for more than a few minutes without taking on more fuel. They also have a few other multi/complex planes as well.
 
Sounds like they have some problems there.

I had to cancel a checkride, because the day before, while I was out doing my last bit of practice, the vacuum pump started to go out. I had been saying the DG was precessing a lot for about a week, so I guess you could say it was their problem it was down the next day. Fine, I rescheduled the ride for a week or two later.

I had one time I couldn't go for IFR training. Radios were stolen out of the plane night before, navcom1 which went to the glideslope, and DME. ADF was on the list to be repaired in that plane, so the only approach that could have been done is VOR in that plane, and I'd done that one about 20 times.

Had a couple times, 100hr issues. I always got a call a day or two before, or was told so since I am out there almost every day. Said things should be done by 9am or whatever, if I had it at 10am, but waiting for a tire, or air filter or some such small part that was late arriving. The FBO runs the shop to maintain their planes, and are ususally really good at keeping things online. Sure it is annoying now and then on the little issues, but from what I'm hearing, sounds like I should be thankful the issues are few and far between for me. Of course, I'd vote taking my business elsewhere if it were otherwise.

Josh
 
The problem with pulling the plane at 95 hours is that the plane's owner has to pay for the 100hr and they just lost 5 revenue hours off of their plane. My family owns an arrow that we have on leaseback at a local FBO. The 100hr costs us about $1000.00. this comes out to about $10 a flight hour four our 100hr. If you decide you are going to put the planes in for 100hr. at 90hrs. That money has to be offset to the customers just like any other business, because you just cost us $100. out of the revenue from the other 90hrs, since we paid for an inspection that is good for 100hrs but only flew 90 on it, and your rental rate will increase. The problem with many flight schools and FBOs, with the exception of the large academies is that there are not that many multiengine, complex, or high performance airplanes. This has to do completly with the demand. There are a lot of people taking private instruction, a good number taking instrument training, but not a whole lot of advanced training. The FBO knows this and they will have the type of planes that their typical customer is going to fly. For instance our FBO has eight 172s, three Katanas, one Warrior. These planes fly all of the time. Then they have our Arrow and a 172RG which get used for trips and the occaisional commercial students, a 182 and a Cheorkee 6 that are used for trips and high performance endorsements, a Duchess that is used for multiengine training, and a Baron that is rarely flown. They have less planes total for all the advanced training than they do 172s, and that is because the average renter at an FBO just wants to rent a 172.
 
Cancellation for weather, is beyong anyone's control. Time to do some ground work then.
But a cancellation for a planned 100hr is not acceptible. The FBO knows a 100hr is coming up. If it is 5 or 10 hours away, they should be going out, EVERY day, to check on it, to monitor how close it is. My FBO started putting a place on the hobbs sheets to write in tach time. That way, they can see, without having to go look inside the plane, how close it is. I've had a few times I've been told, 7 or 8 hours til 100hr now, and 2 people after you today, 2 before tomorrow, just wanted to let you know.

You are only allowed past the 100 to transport to a location for the 100hr. You can start at 99.9 on the tach, and fly it around for a couple hours and come back. That is bustin' the rules. And insurance companies really would like it either. Bad all around if something happens. And if it goes in a 101hrs, that 1hr HAS to come off the next 100, so the owner doesn't really gain anything. Owners are going to likely have to do them in the 98-100hr range to avoid any problems, and get the maximum out of the time. Let the FBO manage it. That is their job.

Josh
 
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I get an average of 1 cancellation per week......always weather related =(



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Was it severe weather?? I always want to go up with the instructor in bad weather. Even if your just trying to get your private why log hood time when you can get actual? You get to expierience real conditions that I feel are much more valuable than hood. When I was doing my PPL my instuctor wanted to WX cancel because of 400 ft ceilings and rain. I asked to go and he said ok. We filed IFR and flew missed approaches. Great expierience and alot of fun breaking out 100 ft above DH
 
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When I was doing my PPL my instuctor wanted to WX cancel because of 400 ft ceilings and rain. I asked to go and he said ok. We filed IFR and flew missed approaches. Great expierience and alot of fun breaking out 100 ft above DH


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Depends on where you fly, I guess. Where I was previously instructing, I probably would have gotten canned for doing that. It was "against policy" to take a private student into IMC, unless it was to get on top for maneuvers, and back down to the airport.
 
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