Kyle Boatright wrote:

The board for my EAA chapter has just adopted a policy where the
chapter reimburses chapter members up to $75 of their rental aircraft
expenses for giving Young Eagle rides.

Aside from the issue that I'm not particularly comforable with the
idea of where the chapter's hard earned money is going, I don't think
it is a fit with the FAR's either. Yep, I've read the FAR's to
research this topic, and can't find a exception where this would be
allowed for private (non-commercial) pilots.

Have I missed something?


It may be worth reminding your board that the cost of renting a plane
rented solely for the purpose of flying young eagles is a tax deductable
expense, as are the direct costs of fuel, oil, landing fees and tiedowns
(not at your home base) associated with a young eagles flight. Owners
are only eligible for the direct costs and cannot deduct the hourly cost
of the airplane. With that in mind, if they give a subsidy to anyone,
it should be to owners to offset the inability to deduct use of the
airplane. That said, if you need to offer financial incentives to the
pilots, are you really sure you want those pilots being the ambassadors?
If the $75 is an issue, then as someone else said, the pilots are
likely not all that current. If they are current, then flying the kids
isn't all that different than taking a solo flight around the patch on a
sunny weekend, only it is far more rewarding. If it were my EAA
chapter, I'd be looking for a new chapter and be certain to let them
know why I was quitting.