"Robert M. Gary" wrote in message
om

Why was Mark going there? If teh FSDO comes around asking he better be
able to produce a grandmother out there he was visiting. You can't
just hang up a sign on your plane and say, "I'll fly anyone anywhere
if you split the gas". Even that would be 135.

Who asked whom for the flight? If "Mark" advertises or suggests that he'd
fly them for a fee, then that's clearly a commercial operation. If,
however, "Paul" asks Mark to fly him out to pick up his plane and Paul chips
in half the cost of the one-way trip, I don't see that as a commercial
operation and I've not seen anything yet that convinces me it's a violation
of 14CFR91. If Paul paid Mark for half the cost of both legs of Mark's
flight, then I'd agree that Mark isn't paying his pro rata share and is in
violation. (Without knowing what plane was used and the distances involved,
I have no way of knowing whether $175 is a reasonable figure for a pro rata
share.)

If you know of something concrete that contradicts my understanding, please
let me know where I can read it. I'm really not trying to be obstinate
here, but I keep seeing people reference what is essentially the word of
somebody's interpretation of what they heard a FSDO or legal counsel may
have ruled.

I think everybody agrees that Mark would not be in volation of any FAR's if
he "donated" his flight time to take the crew out to retrieve Paul's plane.
The only question is whether he can accept *any* money for the flight. My
assertion is that he can accept payment as long as it does not exceed the
cost of the outbound leg minus his pro rata share. In other words, Mark
would pay no less than an equal share of the outbound leg and all of the
inbound leg costs.

I don't think it's the FAA's intent to force all pilots of stranded planes
to:
a) hire a charter flight; or
b) fly commercial; or
c) drive; or
d) take any transportation not operated by a private pilot
to get their plane.

However, since we *are* talking about the FAA, I could be wrong. So, if
you know of links with documentation to demonstrate my error in
understanding, please let me know.

--
John T
http://tknowlogy.com/TknoFlyer
http://www.pocketgear.com/products_s...veloperid=4415
____________________