Opinion on club share

Thanks to all. Weekend availability was definitely my first concern and
was somewhat alleviated by the 20-minute phone conversation I had with
the club rep. But- Tony, I will take your advice and ask to see the
books from the past year! (You're right, weekends are pretty much the
only time I really have to fly, and if it's really hard to get then it's
next to useless to me.)

I agree that the $3800 buy-in seems low for a '97 Hawk with a new
engine. But, I must say that I was very impressed by the gent I talked
to, who struck me as completely upfront and honest.

Elliot- your plan does sound like a good one but my thought is that it
could very well possibly take the better part of a year or more to find
the several partners I'd need, and a suitable airplane. I'd rather not
spend that time. Yeah, I can rent in the meantime, but we all know the
drawbacks of that. My FBO has a 2-hour/day minimum for one thing.

As I said, I will ask to see those books, and probably move forward if
things look Ok to me. I will keep the group posted and thanks again!

Paul Folbrecht wrote:
I am considering this:

1/13th share in '97 172R. GPS. 2200TT, couple hundred hours on a new
engine.

Buy-in: $3800
Dues: $150/month flat plus $38/hr wet for time.

It seems like a pretty good deal to me. The aircraft is immaculate and
makes the 20+ year-old 152s I've been driving seem like.. well, 20+
year-old 152s.

Oh yeah, I don't yet have my licence but will be taking my PPL checkride
within the next few weeks. Club has no min time requirement.

I bought a 1/5th share of a decent-condition '79 C172 about 10 months after
I got my private. Have been in this for about 8 months and am probably 75%
satisified so far. FWIW I paid 10k for the hull and 110/mo and 50/wet tach
and it lives at BED, right near Boston (read expensive).

Given how new you are to all this my first instinct would be to wait and
look for something with a little less uncertainty. I just can't see a 1/13th
share working all that great, and the monthly payment is very high
considering the split ratio. Where is all that cash going, anyway? It just
doesn't sound right to me.

Best,
-cwk.

I bought a 1/5th share of a decent-condition '79 C172 about 10 months after
I got my private. Have been in this for about 8 months and am probably 75%
satisified so far. FWIW I paid 10k for the hull and 110/mo and 50/wet tach
and it lives at BED, right near Boston (read expensive).

I admit that a smaller # of shares appeals to me, but the club has just
granted me access to their scheduling records which I will go through.
We'll see.

Given how new you are to all this my first instinct would be to wait and
look for something with a little less uncertainty. I just can't see a 1/13th
share working all that great, and the monthly payment is very high
considering the split ratio. Where is all that cash going, anyway? It just
doesn't sound right to me.

I thought the monthly was high but I also thought the hourly ($38) was
low, favoring guys who fly a lot. I plan to be one of those guys.

Thanks for the comments.


Best,
-cwk.