Why FBOs Must Charge a Fortune

But it's two days before
Christmas, in the middle of winter. Of course it's slow! (n.b., some
years back I flew over Bethlehem on Christmas Eve).

BTW: This took place last week -- well before Christmas. Today has
actually been fairly busy at the airport, thanks to some decent weather
and folks heading out of town.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

We both knew the answer. That's why they must charge stupidly high
rates for annual inspections, and five bucks for a quart of oil. In
the summer, when the line is hopping, they must make what they can on
those of us who fly. And even at that, they're barely breaking even
for the year, if they're lucky.

How is that different from owning an airplane? If you own one, and you
run into a spell where you don't fly much, you still pay off the loan,
do the annual, pay the tiedown...

"Success" in airplane ownership means that you hope not to divert too
much of your income into maintaining it. That's a far different
definition than success in the business world, which requires a return
on your investment in order to continue in operation.

Unless they are employees of the airport (common at smaller airports),
FBOs at medium-sized airports are a marginal business, at best. And
watching an Iowa FBO in December is like watching a time-lapse video of
a rose dying. You know the roots are still alive, but you sure can't
tell by looking at it.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

"Jay Honeck" wrote in message
ups.com...
I drove around our airport last week, giving a tour to some folks who
are interested in making Iowa City a stop on a future "National Air
Tour"-type event, and was appalled to find...nothing.

No planes moving. One plane on the ramp, going no where. No people,
no vehicles. It was as if someone had set off a neutron bomb nearby,
leaving only the structures.

This is a popular myth but a neutron bomb will destroy all the building just
like any atomic weapon.

------------------------------------------------
DW

"Success" in airplane ownership means that you hope not to divert too
much of your income into maintaining it. That's a far different
definition than success in the business world, which requires a return
on your investment in order to continue in operation.

They are not as different as you imagine. Diverting too much of your
income into maintaining [your own] plane eats into the return on
investment. When the return is insufficient (your one "customer"
doesn't fly enough to justify the cost), you sell the plane and your
ownership goes out of business. In the interim, owners have been known
to attempt to boost their sales by entering into partnership, thus
allowing more flying hours to carry the (same) fixed costs, but the same
basic arithmetic holds true.

It's all the same, just using different words to reflect a different POV.

Jose
--
"There are 3 secrets to the perfect landing. Unfortunately, nobody knows
what they are." - (mike).
for Email, make the obvious change in the address.

I wonder how many people here are involved in ownership of an airplane
because the out-of-pocket expense is less than renting?

I certainly don't think it is less expensive to own rather than rent a
machine like our very well-maintained IFR C172N. I know I'm paying more for
the privilege of flying the same airplane all of the time when I fly and I
freely admit to sometimes going out flying just because I can do so quite
easily. It is important to me to know ALL of the other pilots who are
flying her and how they care for her.

I suppose the question for me isn't "is it cheaper to own?" but "what is the
value of owning?". For me the value is sufficient to push me over the
threshold of the ownership decision. How about you?

Cheers,
Leonard
N2870E
"Peter R." wrote in message
...
Jose wrote:

How is that different from owning an airplane?

For starters, owning a small airplane is, for many, not a for-profit
business. Expenses to own therefore are irrelevant to the point Jay was
making.

--
Peter

I am not, because it isn't cheaper......

I know the pilot that flew our Warrior last.

HE would have told me of ANYTHING that gave him any concern about the
aircraft.

HE would NOT abuse it, overload it, ask it to do anything it was not
designed to do.

He would have cleaned it if he got it dirty.

He would have checked it thouroughly

He would have preheated the engine if it was too cold.

EVERYTHING on the aircraft works, or it is serviced immediately.

There are NO cracks in the spinner, no duct tape on the side windows,
the carpets are not torn, the stuffing is all INSIDE the seat fabric.
(all found on rentals assigned for flight duty)

There is less than 33 hrs on the oil & filter....

There is a one third chance that the last pilot was ME!

And the other 2/3rds chance is not a chance at all....

That's why I (1/3) own....

..and I am fortunate to have two excellent partners that are just as
anal as I on matters of the use and maintenance of the aircraft as I
am..

Cheers!

Dave

On Sun, 24 Dec 2006 01:53:29 GMT, "Leonard Ellis"
wrote:

I wonder how many people here are involved in ownership of an airplane
because the out-of-pocket expense is less than renting?

I certainly don't think it is less expensive to own rather than rent a
machine like our very well-maintained IFR C172N. I know I'm paying more for
the privilege of flying the same airplane all of the time when I fly and I
freely admit to sometimes going out flying just because I can do so quite
easily. It is important to me to know ALL of the other pilots who are
flying her and how they care for her.

I suppose the question for me isn't "is it cheaper to own?" but "what is the
value of owning?". For me the value is sufficient to push me over the
threshold of the ownership decision. How about you?

Cheers,
Leonard
N2870E
"Peter R." wrote in message
...
Jose wrote:

How is that different from owning an airplane?

For starters, owning a small airplane is, for many, not a for-profit
business. Expenses to own therefore are irrelevant to the point Jay was
making.

--
Peter

("Darkwing" wrote)
This is a popular myth but a neutron bomb will destroy all the building
just like any atomic weapon.


http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0081249/
The Nude Bomb (1980)


Montblack