Is it Possible-Fly and own a business?

You DO know the rule money making in aviation, right?


If you want to make a little money in aviation, you need to start with a lot. (A WHOLE lot) Sorta like 100 dollars spent for every one made. You can expect to take losses for 3-5 years, so.... calculate the numbers on just your living expenses for 5 years and start there. Then, figure in the cost of operating an aircraft through those 5 years. Factor in operational costs outside of the aircraft, maintenance, inspections, hanger, and insurance.... Coupled with the 1st rule of starting a business; (everything will take twice as long, and cost twice as much) you can be out of capital before your first year is over.

Two little stories for you... A buddy on mine works for FedEx. He flys MD11's and works roughly 12 days a week, and runs a farm. He boards ugly horses, or something.... He does it for fun and for a write-off and has yet to show a profit. He's been enjoying his losses for about 10 years. But he makes almost a half million a year and finds eating that dough acceptable.

One of the reasons I left ATC was to create time to run the businesses that I have. There's a lot of guys flying airplanes and running successful businesses.
 
I dance for the ladies in my spare time. It tires me out but the smiles on their faces is why I do it.
 
Dynasty22 said:
There are quite a few pilots I know of that do close to the company minimum of flying hours and strictly run their businesses during the week.
Click to expand...

What would "minimum flying hours" translate to in terms of days off, at least at regional level? Does seniority factor in?
 
Thanks for taking the time to discuss some things with me. There are a lot of people on here that have given me their professional opinion and advice. There are few aviation consulting companies that assist with the 135 paperwork and certification. I was thinking about using a Cessna 34-A RAM. I'm quite a few years away from executing any of these plans since I'm still in the military and yet to start flight training. I'm about 2 years away from finishing my bachelors from Embry Riddle in Av Business Admin. They have a lot resources for this kind of thing too and some networking. Can you use an FBO like signature at your home base and just 'rent' a hangar spot and utilize their pax lobby? This BIG question is whether or not it's even worth trying. It's an idea that I've had since I was a sophomore in high school and something I'm passionate about trying to start. I have some unique ideas and marketing techniques to make my charter stand out and be more accessible to more people.
I'm keeping my options open though- flying 121 or 135 and starting a different business.
Another key question is what the future of aviation looks like... I've read of possibilities of flying cars and changes being made to make learning to fly easier and more available to average people... That makes me a little nervous.
 
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