Starry Fox Aviation Flying Club

This flying club never gained enough interest and is no longer being pursued

Starry Fox Aviation is planning to form a flying club to be based in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Possible home bases may be Fort Worth Spinks, Meacham, Alliance, Arlington, or Grand Prairie. This will allow members of the club the ability to fly at a greatly reduced rate and to meet other pilots through various club meetings and social events.

The structure and organization of the club is still up in the air. The current idea is an equity type club. The club owns the aircraft and club members own an interest in the club. The following items are initial ideas. All by-laws and club policy is still up in the air.

Club Interest – Buy in

The club would have 10-20 members. Each member would provide a “club interest” or “buy-in” fee equal to his or her share of the aircraft. Assuming a used aircraft is purchased at approximately $30,000, this would mean a fee between $1500-$3000 initial fee. The club will not finance this fee. If a member is unable to provide the fee, they may find a bank to finance it for them, in their name.

Initiation Fee

An additional “initiation fee” may be charged and saved for use as an “unexpected maintenance” fund or “second aircraft” fund, etc. The use of this fund can be determined.

Monthly Fee

A monthly fee will be charged to all members. This fee will be based on number of club members, liability/hull insurance, tie-down/hangar fees, and an annual inspection. This fee is intended to pay all fixed costs.

Hourly Fee

The hourly fee charged to members will based on oil consumption, routine maintenance and overhaul-reserves. The club can decide to operate on a dry rate or wet rate. If the club operates on a wet rate, this hourly fee will include fuel. The club can operate on a dry rate, as long as each member agrees to top off the fuel tanks after each use so there is no debate on how much fuel to reimburse. A minimum number of hours flown per year may be set due to requiring an assumed number of flight hours per year to set this fee. If a club member fails to meet the minimum flight time (may be set to 12 hours as an example), they may be asked to pay a penalty fee equal to the difference.

New Members

New members may be subjected to a background check and credit check. This may include talking to references. A Board of Directors must agree on all new members. Pilots flying history will be reviewed for total flight experience, recent experience, and accidents/incidents

Members Wishing to Quit

Members wishing to quit must offer their share to the club before offering their share to new members. Their share price will be based on present market value (which may have gained value or depreciated). If the share gets offered to a new member, the transaction cannot be completed unless the club Board of Directors accepts the new member.

All Members

All members must agree to obey all FAA, FCC, and NTSB regulations in addition to club rules, which have yet to be written. Club rules may include requiring a club-instructor checkout for all new/initial members. Each member may also be required to fly at least once every 90 days or be subjected to another club-instructor checkout.

Aircraft Scheduling

Aircraft scheduling may be based on a first come first serve basis using an online scheduling system. A scheduling system is still up in the air. New ideas are welcome. Over night trips must be scheduled in advanced. Number of days in advanced would be based on number of days used. To avoid conflicts, members may be urged to fly during the week, so everyone isn’t trying to fly all at once on the weekend. May be a rate differential to encourage this.

Example set of Fees

Assuming basic aircraft is flown 150 hours a year (if 10-20 members, this means between 7.5 to 15 hours per year per member. 15 hours minimum per member may be required as an attempt to keep users current and proficient).

Fixed Costs:

Annual Inspection: $650
Insurance: $1200
Parking: $85 per month * 12 months, $1020
 
Fixed Cost Per Hour: (650+1200+1020)/150 = $19.14
OR
Fixed Cost Per Month Per Member Total (10-20 members) = $24.00 to $12.00

Operating Costs:

Fuel: 8 gallons per hour at $4.00/gal = $32
Oil Consumption: 0.10 quarts per hour * $2.50 per quart = $0.25
Oil Change: $125 per oil change, every 50 hours = $2.50
Engine & Airframe Maintenance = $8.25
Avionics Maintenance = $2.00
 
Total Operating Cost = $45 per hour
 
These costs do not include engine or prop overhaul reserves and do not include any fees intended as a savings account for future upgrades.

Break Even with Renting using Numbers above:

Assume Average Rental rate from a Flight School at $135/hour

$135/hour * HOURS = $1500 (buy in) + $24/month * 12 months + $45/hour * HOURS

This means, in order to break even with rental fees over a year, about 20 hours will need to be flown in a year. Which active members of the club should have no problem doing. This means, after the first year in the club, you can fly a club airplane for 53 hours for the same price as renting a flight school plane for 20 hours.

Aircraft

An IFR-certified, equipped for at least three different instrument approaches, Cessna 172 may be the best aircraft for the first club-bought aircraft. This club may target members wishing to get a private license or an instrument rating. This may allow for a larger potential pilot group. Flying Clubs in the surrounding area (Mckinney and Addison) have high performance and complex aircraft with high flight experience requirements and higher rates due to higher insurance.