On 4-Apr-2004, Stephen N Mills wrote:

The 3-way partnership that I am in (Cardinal RG '75) has a mixed form:

snip

I have owned planes solo previously, this is my first partnership.
I have been in this for just over a year and am "happy as a hog in
slops" as the country phrase goes.

- Steve


I, too, have been in 3-way partnerships, in my case for a number of years
and with three different airplanes. We have always used a simple formula in
which all fixed and maintenance expenses are divided evenly and fuel
(returned to specific tank levels) is paid by the user. This works for us
because we each use the plane approximately the same number of hours per
year on average.

In my opinion, a GOOD partnership is the best compromise between cost and
availability, Our Arrow IV gets flown about 180 - 220 hrs/year, and even
with a hangar and meticulous maintenance we honestly figure our average
hourly costs are below what we would have to pay if we rented a comparable
airplane. But unlike renting, we have almost complete scheduling freedom.
With three owners each flying about 70 hours/year, conflicts are rare. We
now use an on-line scheduling system that makes things even simpler.

--
-Elliott Drucker