Youtuber Fatal Crash

[DropTank]

When I got my ppl in 2019/20 it was $175 for a steam gauge 172 and another $60 for the instructor. It’s over $200 for the same plane today. Don’t known current cfi rates. Long Island pricing.

Some people move to a flyover state where the planes run on MoGas and save 30-50%.

You chose to get into a VERY expensive career that has the POTENTIAL to be very profitable.

You can chose to NOT to.

 

[DropTank]

I got a lot of “why should I pay you a few grand to ferry my $700k+ plane across country for me when I can go to the flight school and get some schmuck to do it for free and all I gotta do is pay for gas” back when I ferried planes as a side gig.

Yeah, sure I guess. Just hope your insurance covers that guy when he forgets to set he brake and rams it into a hangar one day cause I know that kid from the flight school doesn’t have any. (Not sure of the details but after I got turned down by a guy wanting his Baron ferried from Ohio to Arizona he called a few months later wanting me to pick it up from someplace in the Midwest where it had been getting repaired after it got damaged by the guy he picked to ferry it the first time and the story had something to do with hitting a hangar.)

These days, insurance has the FINAL say.
They have a lot more power than in the past (for better or worse) and that give MY Type Ratings and experience AND reputation a much high premium.

I suffered a LOT to get my qualifications.
And the people who can pay for a jet will pay a PREMIUM for them.

I will charge through the nose whenever I can WITHOUT REMORSE.

I stared in this career dirt poor, knew what I was getting into and sacrificed a LOT to get here.

"WAAAHH!!! DPE's are expensive!!"

Suck it up buttercup! It's the price of admission!

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[NovemberEcho]

Some people move to a flyover state where the planes run on MoGas and save 30-50%.

You chose to get into a VERY expensive career that has the POTENTIAL to be very profitable.

You can chose to NOT to.

I did it as a hobby. And to be frank, there are lots of people who don’t have the option to just move for flight training. I’m glad you were able to pull yourself up by your bootstraps, no need to pull the ladder up behind you though.

 

[knot4u]

I got a lot of “why should I pay you a few grand to ferry my $700k+ plane across country for me when I can go to the flight school and get some schmuck to do it for free and all I gotta do is pay for gas” back when I ferried planes as a side gig.

Yeah, sure I guess. Just hope your insurance covers that guy when he forgets to set he brake and rams it into a hangar one day cause I know that kid from the flight school doesn’t have any. (Not sure of the details but after I got turned down by a guy wanting his Baron ferried from Ohio to Arizona he called a few months later wanting me to pick it up from someplace in the Midwest where it had been getting repaired after it got damaged by the guy he picked to ferry it the first time and the story had something to do with hitting a hangar.)

After I'd gotten my PPL and was working on my instrument rating a person close to the school I'd been dealing with approached me about about flying a Cherokee from Texas back to Burbank. I declined not just because ferrying an airplane without a commercial cert might get me into trouble but also because the whole thing sounded shady. In retrospect I made the right choice, the engine decided that somewhere above west Texas was a great place to have a come apart, poke holes in the case and dump all of its oil. They landed safely on some God forsaken abandoned runway in the middle of nowhere, I think that "two day" trip ended up taking two months. I had a mechanic friend years later that traveled to "rescue" a BAE-146 from somewhere in South America. He had to climb out on top of the wing everytime they stopped to start one of the engines, I'm not saying he did the screwdriver on the starter thing but it was similar. They'd get at least one engine running, he'd go monkey around with the insubordinate powerplant, get back in the plane and then they'd start the rest of the engines and continue heading north. Wild times.

 

[Kingairer]

I charge more than that, and I probably don't charge enough.

I have an office that meets the requirements to conduct a checkride per the FAA, I have legal insurance, and I have CFI insurance, which covers me as a DPE conducting checkrides. On a PPL, I spend about 8 hours of labor on the ride. From the initial paperwork and prequalification we do before we even schedule the ride, to the physical paperwork qualification before the checkride can start. Then you add the ground portion, flight portion, post-flight debrief, and MORE paperwork. I take all forms of payment but prefer cash, and I declare it through my LLC. So 8 hours of work for 600 bucks after taxes is barely worth my time. CFIs can make more than that when it is all said and done. I could go pick up a turn at work and make triple that. My certs are on the line, and I am constantly scrutinized by the FAA to make sure I am doing the right thing. I will happily justify the price I charge. I paid 500 for my PPL checkride in 2002. That is 900 today. Airplanes cost more to rent, CFIs charge more, maintenance costs more, and insurance costs more. You spend 18,000 dollars on a PPL now. I am not sorry, embarrassed, or sad for anyone who has to spend 1200 on a checkride.

The system seems broken.

I do see the case you make for why you charge what you do, and considering the expenses for time and exposure, its probably the price that makes it worthwhile at all.

Its a good problem to have of course, but being able to "pick up a trip" for a quick weekend two day and make more than I would for 6 months worth of a side hustle (side hassle?) seem like a waste.

 

[DropTank]

I did it as a hobby. And to be frank, there are lots of people who don’t have the option to just move for flight training. I’m glad you were able to pull yourself up by your bootstraps, no need to pull the ladder up behind you though.

That's my point... no ladder.

I charge what's worth my time.
Just like any Doctor, Lawyer, or Airline Captain.

Don't hate the playa, hate the game.

You can always lobby the FAA to do it all again, but they get laid off every few months or so,
so good luck with that.