Visiting Australia for a month - how to access an aircraft for that term?

[pfranzon]

I am Australian born and bred pilot living in the US. I return to Australia quite frequently and have often rented an aircraft for short to medium trips while there. I hold CASA and RAA licenses as well as a US commercial license. I harbor a dream of circumnavigating Australia (have cross the US several times) and making other long trips. Renting an aircraft by the hour for such a trip would be quite expensive. What other options are there?

 

Options that have occurred to me include.

 

1. Buying an airplane and putting it on leaseback to an operation. Here in the US leasebacks are considered riskly financially.

 

2. Come to some arrangement with an operator or private owner to rent the aircraft at a lower rate in recocognition of the long trip. Most operators want their aircraft to stay on field to generate instructional revenue, so this seems unlikely. A private owner might be open to the right deal.

 

3. Join or start some sort of syndicate (or club) whose structure reflects that I wont be using the plane regularly. A little unusual but you never know what people would be open to.

 

4. Owning an aircraft that sits in a hanger 11 months of the year. Not very smart really.

 

I suspect my only realistic option is 1 but thought I would ask on this forum.

 

Thanks

 

Paul

 

 

[Robbo]

Welcome

 

Buying an airplane and putting it on leaseback to an operation. Here in the US leasebacks are considered riskly financially.

This is not that easy these day, there is just not much of a demand.

 

Come to some arrangement with an operator or private owner to rent the aircraft at a lower rate in recocognition of the long trip. Most operators want their aircraft to stay on field to generate instructional revenue, so this seems unlikely. A private owner might be open to the right deal.

You may get some sort of deal if you plan to do a heap of hours in it.

 

Join or start some sort of syndicate (or club) whose structure reflects that I wont be using the plane regularly. A little unusual but you never know what people would be open to.

Still going to be doing a heap of hoirs in it, so you may end up doing more hours than someone who joins to fly it on casual weekends.

 

Owning an aircraft that sits in a hanger 11 months of the year. Not very smart really.

Yep

 

I suspect my only realistic option is 1 but thought I would ask on this forum.

You could hire one privately, advertise in aviation trader and see if you can hire one from someone, of course you will need to be on there insurance but worth a shot.

 

 

[Nobody]

A few options to consider but there are plenty of others.

 

This is a private owner willing to rent out his aircraft and take it traveling arround OZ to people who have a few hours.

 

http://members.optusnet.com.au/~mooney202/

 

A Sydney based syndicate that has 2 aircraft. They are generally happy for people to take them away for a few weeks at a time.

 

http://www.alphaaviation.com.au/

 

 

[turboplanner]

Hire an aircraft, with an Instructor, and fly wherever you want; that's what I do in the US.

 

Beats bringing yourself up to date with the latest regulations, conditions, radio procedures and even aircraft equipment level.

 

And in some locations you can get straight off the airline flight (from one end to the other of Australia these days can cost under $150.00 on specials), and step into your ride.

 

 

[thommo]

Contact me I have aircraft available to do what you want.

 

 

[Geoff13]

I return to Australia quite frequently

4. Owning an aircraft that sits in a hanger 11 months of the year. Not very smart really.

 

Paul

Paul I would have thought that buying into a syndicate where you have the aircraft for 1 month of the year rather than 1 day a week would be a perfectly viable possibility.

 

 

[coljones]

Contact me I have aircraft available to do what you want.

how is the c140 going?

 

 

[Geoff13]

how is the c140 going?

The C140 is now in Brisbane and I have had my first intro lesson on it.

Let me say at this point in time I would say it is a challenge. LOL

 

 

[coljones]

The C140 is now in Brisbane and I have had my first intro lesson on it.Let me say at this point in time I would say it is a challenge. LOL

is it going back to Orange?

 

 

[Geoff13]

No mate it has been purchased by CRA and is now online at Caboolture.

 

 

[ozbear]

The C140 is now in Brisbane and I have had my first intro lesson on it.Let me say at this point in time I would say it is a challenge. LOL

In what way Geoff

 

 

[Geoff13]

In what way Geoff

Good question. The only t/w I have flown is a Drifter.

 

This is bigger and heavier. On the ground to be honest the rudder pedals, especially the right one feel useless.

 

When taxiing I can not get it to move right at all without brakes.

 

It has a climb rate equivalent to my Hanuman when it had the Jabiru motor in it.

 

It is difficult to get into and out of and very cramped once you are in it.

 

Having said all of that, it should all get better with practice. I am certainly going to need more lessons though.

 

 

[ozbear]

Not bad for 1946 built aircraft it's one of my favorites imagine me thommo and a bunch of aircraft parts jammed in it taking off with the old 85 hp motor on a bush strip

 

 

[Andrew]

Hi Paul,

 

We have an A22 Foxbat that is on wet hire in W.A.

 

 

[Guest SrPilot]

On the ground to be honest the rudder pedals, especially the right one feel useless. When taxiing I can not get it to move right at all without brakes. . . . . It is difficult to get into and out of and very cramped once you are in it. . . . . Having said all of that, it should all get better with practice. I am certainly going to need more lessons though.

Interesting Geoff13. If by C140 we are discussing a Cessna 140, I used to own 1/2 of a C120 (bought it with another chap; he later bought a 2d C120 so I flew "ours" and he flew "his" - good deal for me!). We went far and wide traveling in pairs to airshows and flyins.

 

I cannot remember ever having any problem with the rudder pedals or brakes. They always worked fine and saved my rear end on more than one occasion during gusty crosswind landings. I had owned a Citabria KCAB previously but thought the C120 was just as challenging, if not a mite more so, than the heavier KCAB. Later I had a Hyperbipe, an RV-3A, and a t/w GlaStar. I would count the C120 as a bit of a challenge in windy conditions but not so bad overall. Luscombes have a nastier reputation. The Hyperbipe, to me, was a more difficult plane. It and I just never meshed as well as the others.

 

I would think that within a few hours of good t/w instruction (and an inspection of the rudder pedals and tailwheel by a competent, experienced mechanic to ensure correctness) that will quickly find the airplane a friendly little cuss - except for the ingress/egress. That's the real challenge for me. I love my A22LS because I actually can just plop into it. The C120 was always testing my pretzel-bending ability.

 

Mine was - I think - a 1947 C120 . It had the C140 rear side windows but - of course - no flaps. Two friends of mine completely rebuilt it before selling it to the person who later sold it to my partner and I. They had bought it from a elderly retired female professor at the University. When they went to rebuild it, they found a bedpan under the passenger seat. They asked her about it and she said during the 1950s and 60s, there were few to no ladies facilities at airports so it was just easier to take her "facility" with her. Humm, I can't find that one in my aviation history book. The original owners were two FBI agents. Never found any weapons in the plane though.

 

Now it's based just 90 miles away. It's been owned since new by maybe 7-8 people (some in partnerships) and has never been based more than 100 miles from the original factory delivery point. Yet it has been flown cross-country from Alabama to such far places as California and Wisconsin. The little birds are what they are, but they are nice little planes if kept in good condition. (in my opinion). Keep practicing; they're great for going to airshows or flyins (although I have moved over to light sport and the A22LS these days).