Comparing aircraft rentals and training costs.

Recently, Vishvas Vasuki posted:

Hi,

Does either option provide any insurance for you?

If you are a part owner in the plane, make sure you are listed as a
'named insured' on the insurance policy (or that the policy includes
a 'no subrogation' clause). This will help prevent the insurance
company from coming after you in the event they pay the club for a
claim.

Will you be responsible for any deductibles in either case?

Thanks for the insurance warnings. I will check them out.

The university club web-page says, "As a member of the CFC, you
will become an equal owner of our aircraft. All aircraft are
maintained to the highest standards and we carry excellent
insurance." But the university club's constitution has this to say:

"Section B - Financial Responsibility

1. A flying member operating a Club airplane shall be totally
responsible for any damage occurring while the airplane is in his/her
custody.

2. A flying member's responsibility shall begin when the airplane is
untied or accepted from another member, and continued until it is tied
down or turned over to another member.

3. If damage should result from a mechanical defect or other factor
beyond the control of the member concerned, the flying members may
elect, by majority vote, to share or absorb completely the resulting
cost, depending on the circumstances of the individual case."

I'm hard pressed to see any advantage to this insurance coverage, and
would consider it a requirement to carry your own insurance. Factor in
that, and the costs come closer to or exceed that of the other flying
school, depending on the number of hours that you fly.

But I have not yet found insurance information at the other flying
school (Northampton Airport) online.

That may be an important difference. If their coverage is no better than
the university's, that will also imply that you obtain your own insurance.

Regards,

Neil

On 05/10/07 21:23, Vishvas Vasuki wrote:
Hi,

Does either option provide any insurance for you?

If you are a part owner in the plane, make sure you are listed as a
'named insured' on the insurance policy (or that the policy includes a
'no subrogation' clause). This will help prevent the insurance company
from coming after you in the event they pay the club for a claim.

Will you be responsible for any deductibles in either case?

Thanks for the insurance warnings. I will check them out.

The university club web-page says, "As a member of the CFC, you
will become an equal owner of our aircraft. All aircraft are maintained to
the highest standards and we carry excellent insurance." But the
university club's constitution has this to say:

"Section B - Financial Responsibility

1. A flying member operating a Club airplane shall be totally responsible
for any damage occurring while the airplane is in his/her custody.

2. A flying member's responsibility shall begin when the airplane is
untied or accepted from another member, and continued until it is tied
down or turned over to another member.

3. If damage should result from a mechanical defect or other factor beyond
the control of the member concerned, the flying members may elect, by
majority vote, to share or absorb completely the resulting cost, depending
on the circumstances of the individual case."

Well, this certainly makes it sound like the club's insurance policy does
not cover you. You may want to consider getting your own insurance. Just
beware that the cost of hull coverage for renter pilots is not cheap.

Also, if the club tells you that their insurance will cover the airplane,
and they will only need you to cover the deductible, keep in mind that
the club's insurance company can still come after you for the full amount
of the claim, unless the policy has a no subrogation or similar clause.

The main driving force behind joining the club I did was that they include
each member as a 'named insured' on the policy, so the insurance company
can't come after us for recovery. The club even covers the deductible.
When I weighed the $20/month club dues against what it would cost me to
carry that much renter's insurance, it was a no-brainer.


But I have not yet found insurance information at the other flying school
(Northampton Airport) online.

Sincerely,
Vishvas




--
Mark Hansen, PP-ASEL, Instrument Airplane, USUA Ultralight Pilot
Cal Aggie Flying Farmers
Sacramento, CA

Vishvas Vasuki wrote:
But, either website does not mention anything about checking out pilots
before renting out aircraft for ambitious flights. Is it a common thing?

oh that's not what I meant. All I meant was that if you train and graduate
at some operation A, and then wants to fly with another operation B, said
operation B will want to check you out first; that's very common; actually
I don't know of any operation which will hand over the keys without any
kind of checkout, no matter how impressive your credentials might be;
the time required for said check out will depend on your experience,
the local policy, the type of aircraft, etc.

The point I was trying to make is that you want to plan ahead and take
into consideration the kind of flying you'll want to do when you graduate
with your private certificate; availability of aircrafts for more
ambitious flights, possibilities to undertake more advanced training
(instrument, commercial, etc.)

Note that flying can also be quite a time intensive activity; I have
been a graduate student for a few years, I don't recall having much
free time :-)

all the best in both endeavor,

--Sylvain

Thanks for your excellent replies, everyone!

--
Vishvas Vasuki