For Sale: Club Membership Great Club in Chicago Area

Avi8or2012

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Avi8or2012-Evan
Hey everyone,

Fox Flying Club at DPA has just taken delivery of a 2004 Cirrus SR20 which means we are accepting new members!!! Its equipped with the Avidyne PFD/MFD, dual G430W's, STEC55SR autopilot, and a GTX345 ads-b in/out (bluetooth). Thats not all, we have three other airplanes:

Cessna 172S with an Aspen PFD, G430W, King Autopilot, and GTX345.

Piper Archer III with an Aspen PFD, (2) G430W's, STEC 55 autopilot, and GTX345.

Piper Arrow III with an Aspen PFD, G430W, and GTX345.

We have 60 members who take pride in keeping the airplanes in tip top shape. We schedule meetings every month which sometimes include presentations by tower controllers, aviation historians, and local DPE's. We are planning more fly-in events and all our scheduling is online. Our goal is to have very nice airplanes, a great club atmosphere, promote safety, and to keep flying affordable. Our non-for-profit club bills on the tach (except the SR20) and the monthly dues are only $95! To get in, you only need $445, which includes the first months dues! The C172S (our least expensive option) is only $104/hr, WET! If you have any questions, feel free to message me or check out our website! Its www.foxflying.com. 20190601_135827.jpg 20190601_134610.jpg 20190409_113509.jpg 20190329_165438.jpg 20190105_222842.jpg
 
Looks like a good setup!

If you roll back through the past month or two, I think there have been a few posts of folks in the greater Chicago area looking for an organization such as yours. Sending them a PM might generate the interest you're seeking.
 
Looks like a good setup!

If you roll back through the past month or two, I think there have been a few posts of folks in the greater Chicago area looking for an organization such as yours. Sending them a PM might generate the interest you're seeking.

Thanks for the heads up! I'll check!
 
Great to hear. I'll be at a decision point in the near future and near DPA, 3CK, 06C. I’m curious what the availability is like with 60 members sharing 4 planes. This math would make me nervous on any sort of commitment.
 
Great to hear. I'll be at a decision point in the near future and near DPA, 3CK, 06C. I’m curious what the availability is like with 60 members sharing 4 planes. This math would make me nervous on any sort of commitment.

The beauty of our system is that we can schedule online, in advance. This also comes in handy because you're only allowed 3 schedule blocks at a time, which prevents people from monopolizing and cancelling last minute. If you're planning a trip a few weeks away, theres usually no issue. We also have a mass-email system in the event that someone cancels on any given day. Oshkosh week is usually the only week where things are booked. Weekends are busy, but there are openings and there are cancellations. It's worth noting that, in addition to your 3 blocks, if something opens up "day-of", you can still schedule it as long as its same day.

I just looked at our schedule for the next week - Today, a beautiful VFR day, if you wanted to go out and fly the archer? Open all afternoon! There are holes in the 172 and arrow schedules as well! The weekend will be busy, but there is room on the schedule for a few last minute flights. This is all before the SR20 has even been offered as a scheduling option (we haven't started our training program just yet). Hope this helps!

Evan
 
How much debt did the club have to take on to buy the Cirrus? I know when I was a member a few years back, most of the club was against taking on a bunch of debt to buy a more expensive aircraft. Most everyone was satisfied with the two 172s, the Archer, and Arrow that we had at the time. Well, except for a small group of folks who tried to twist arms to buy a Bonanza. I was under the impression that contingent had mostly left the club. Though I guess they never replaced the 172 that crashed so I guess they still had the insurance money to spend. I'm surprised that it took 4 years though. Has the club really been without a fourth aircraft since then? If so, how did that go over with the membership?
 
How much debt did the club have to take on to buy the Cirrus? I know when I was a member a few years back, most of the club was against taking on a bunch of debt to buy a more expensive aircraft. Most everyone was satisfied with the two 172s, the Archer, and Arrow that we had at the time. Well, except for a small group of folks who tried to twist arms to buy a Bonanza. I was under the impression that contingent had mostly left the club. Though I guess they never replaced the 172 that crashed so I guess they still had the insurance money to spend. I'm surprised that it took 4 years though. Has the club really been without a fourth aircraft since then? If so, how did that go over with the membership?

If you're interested, the treasurer has more info than I do at this point regarding the finances behind the new airplane.

Yes, this is the first time we've purchased something since, and I think the board has done a great job assessing the need for a 4th airplane based upon not only our membership numbers, but also each individual airplane's utilization. The membership now seems pretty excited to have the new airplane (we had a party to celebrate) and I think itll make a great addition to the club. It was a bit of a process, but the board went through everything with a fine-toothed comb, so I think they did a nice job of adding value for their members.
 
Do you know yet how much you will charge for the Cirrus? Reason I ask is that a local club is thinking of acquiring one similar.
 
Do you know yet how much you will charge for the Cirrus? Reason I ask is that a local club is thinking of acquiring one similar.

It is my understanding that the airplane will go for around $155/hr wet. Not too shabby for an SR20...
 
It is my understanding that the airplane will go for around $155/hr wet. Not too shabby for an SR20...
More than very reasonable. You'll get lots of interest and usage at that rate.
 
If you're interested, the treasurer has more info than I do at this point regarding the finances behind the new airplane.

Yes, this is the first time we've purchased something since, and I think the board has done a great job assessing the need for a 4th airplane based upon not only our membership numbers, but also each individual airplane's utilization. The membership now seems pretty excited to have the new airplane (we had a party to celebrate) and I think itll make a great addition to the club. It was a bit of a process, but the board went through everything with a fine-toothed comb, so I think they did a nice job of adding value for their members.

And if the current membership is happy, that's the important thing. A lot can change over the years in who the members are and their desires and expectations for the club. I just know that the majority of the members four years ago wanted another 172 to replace the one that was lost and was against buying a Bonanza. If I was still there, I'd fought for another 172 or even a 182 over the Cirrus but could have supported replacing the Arrow with a Cirrus if some members really wanted one.
 
And if the current membership is happy, that's the important thing. A lot can change over the years in who the members are and their desires and expectations for the club. I just know that the majority of the members four years ago wanted another 172 to replace the one that was lost and was against buying a Bonanza. If I was still there, I'd fought for another 172 or even a 182 over the Cirrus but could have supported replacing the Arrow with a Cirrus if some members really wanted one.


We discussed the C182 , but the members voted on wanting something more modern, and we couldn't touch a modern 182 for the price. Another 172 was not out of the question either, but the club wanted a cross country airplane with a little more speed. The bonanza got voted down, again.

It's an exciting time for the club because it's very affordable, modern, and we are still keeping the airplanes nice. We are also pushing for more social, fly out-type events. I think everyone is happy with the direction the club is moving, which is why we are looking for more friends to share it with!
 
Whoa, that is awesome.

These numbers are still PRELIMINARY.
We haven't had a chance to firm up the numbers based upon operation.
We are potentially looking at $175/hr wet to cover the engine replacement fund.
 
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