One of the largest reasons for general aviation would be the independence it gives us. We could go wherever we would like, limited only by occasional restricted airspace, weather conditions, and our funding.
Okay maybe it isn't so much freedom, but dangit it feels this way! A great use of an airplane rental is booking an airplane for that weekend trip. You can easily stay clear of all of the headaches of commercial flying plus a 2-3 hour flight can cover some considerable distance even in the slowest aircraft. Renting an airplane for this trip isn't that dissimilar to booking it on any day, but there are a few suggestions to remember.
Book the aircraft far in advance. Weekends are clearly sought after days for any rental aircraft, so if you want to monopolize it for 2-3 days you'll have to reserve earlier on. If you fall under a large club with lots of aircraft, you possibly will not have to worry so much, however if you're sharing 1-2 planes along with a large number of pilots, it's another story. Give people ample notification and you'll keep everybody satisfied.
Attempt to fly the plane a few hours every day. Most multi-day rentals will likely have a stipulation in the rental contract that you average a small amount of hours per day on your trip. This is just an average, however, so for instance: Lets say you want to take an airplane for Three days and the minimal average daily use is 4 hours. If your journey is Six hours total each way, you'll fly 6 hours on day 1, 0 on day 2, and 6 on day 3. You would average 4 hours per day even when you didn't fly at all on the second day. Worst case scenario you need to pay for several hours you don't fly, but many clubs will waive this if there was not really much demand that weekend anyhow.
Don't forget about basic safety. If you're flying significantly outside your normal area, don't neglect to think about added precautions you might need to take: water safety equipment if crossing a sizable body of water, make sure you won't run across a mandatory 100 hour inspection while away, etc.
Also think about the types of flying might be different. Are you current on night landings? If you're flying into mountains, are you at ease with the hazards of this type of flying? Since you'll need to book beforehand anyhow, you could use the interim to get current and brush up on any rusty skills you'll need on your trip.
Are you prepared for inclement weather? Accident reports are filled up with stories of folks that simply had to get back home for work and other obligations making an awful choice. Try and pad holiday with extra time so that you don't have this issue, and make certain everybody knows how they could end up grounded somewhere until conditions greatly improve. Don't plan a key meeting for 9am Monday morning and intend to get back late Sunday night; leave yourself a little space for the unanticipated.
Most of all, have a great deal of fun and come back with a few fantastic stories!.
Okay maybe it isn't so much freedom, but dangit it feels this way! A great use of an airplane rental is booking an airplane for that weekend trip. You can easily stay clear of all of the headaches of commercial flying plus a 2-3 hour flight can cover some considerable distance even in the slowest aircraft. Renting an airplane for this trip isn't that dissimilar to booking it on any day, but there are a few suggestions to remember.
Book the aircraft far in advance. Weekends are clearly sought after days for any rental aircraft, so if you want to monopolize it for 2-3 days you'll have to reserve earlier on. If you fall under a large club with lots of aircraft, you possibly will not have to worry so much, however if you're sharing 1-2 planes along with a large number of pilots, it's another story. Give people ample notification and you'll keep everybody satisfied.
Attempt to fly the plane a few hours every day. Most multi-day rentals will likely have a stipulation in the rental contract that you average a small amount of hours per day on your trip. This is just an average, however, so for instance: Lets say you want to take an airplane for Three days and the minimal average daily use is 4 hours. If your journey is Six hours total each way, you'll fly 6 hours on day 1, 0 on day 2, and 6 on day 3. You would average 4 hours per day even when you didn't fly at all on the second day. Worst case scenario you need to pay for several hours you don't fly, but many clubs will waive this if there was not really much demand that weekend anyhow.
Don't forget about basic safety. If you're flying significantly outside your normal area, don't neglect to think about added precautions you might need to take: water safety equipment if crossing a sizable body of water, make sure you won't run across a mandatory 100 hour inspection while away, etc.
Also think about the types of flying might be different. Are you current on night landings? If you're flying into mountains, are you at ease with the hazards of this type of flying? Since you'll need to book beforehand anyhow, you could use the interim to get current and brush up on any rusty skills you'll need on your trip.
Are you prepared for inclement weather? Accident reports are filled up with stories of folks that simply had to get back home for work and other obligations making an awful choice. Try and pad holiday with extra time so that you don't have this issue, and make certain everybody knows how they could end up grounded somewhere until conditions greatly improve. Don't plan a key meeting for 9am Monday morning and intend to get back late Sunday night; leave yourself a little space for the unanticipated.
Most of all, have a great deal of fun and come back with a few fantastic stories!.
About the Author:
Finally, if you would like to learn more on how to rent a plane for the weekend, or if you would just like to learn more on aircraft rental and flying in general, please come visit my website and say 'hello." We have tons of free info that you might find useful, and I always like to meetin my fellow pilots from around the world.
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