does anyone use Openairplane or similar

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classicrock

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I am about 3 mos from a PPL. after I get it, I anticipate that I might travel to a city on a commercial flight and then need to rent a plane locally in that city

I found this online and wonder if anyone uses it or a like service?

https://www.openairplane.com/

comment about it appreciated
 
I have a few customers who are signed up with open airplane and in my talks with them, they say it works out well and they have had no troubles with the renters. I'm not sure what the checkout procedures are, but I've heard pretty good things about it.
 
I was debating it with my old flight school, I think it still has a ways to go before it really catches on.
 
prices are generally considerably higher with openairplane. I'm also not sure it's a great idea to go up without at least a very short orientation in a plane and specific area.
 
Gotta love the poopoo'ers that haven't tried it.

I did, works great, I recommend it.
 
MichiPilot said:
prices are generally considerably higher with openairplane. I'm also not sure it's a great idea to go up without at least a very short orientation in a plane and specific area.
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I think it's good for the "airplane tourism" market. It may be more expensive, but it's cheaper than getting a local checkout. At some places, I think an intro video/slide show on the localisms is good enough....
 
I have not used it yet though I do plan on it. I love the concept. I have wondered why in years past that Cessna Pilot Centers and the like did not offer this service. If you travel to various locations each year by airline and end up having some extra time and want to fly GA locally, OpenAirplane is probably the best way to go. Now if you go to the same locales frequently, it would probably be cheaper in the long run to do a local checkout to save the extra money from the premium that you otherwise pay.

I have talked to a few people who use Open Airplane and their opinions range form liking it to loving it, no haters in the group though they probably do exist somewhere.
 
FWIW, I believe they are building a network of Cirrus locations. Rod who founded it flies out of my airport actually the CAP who he flies for on a volunteer basis is based in my hangar and we talk about open airplane online, on phone, and in person. Seems like a good program conceptually.
 
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A very good concept,that was discussed for years,good to see FBOs signing on. Will probably try it this year.
 
hook_dupin said:
I think it's good for the "airplane tourism" market. It may be more expensive, but it's cheaper than getting a local checkout. At some places, I think an intro video/slide show on the localisms is good enough....
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I've looked into it rather seriously, and the price differential is so great that I break even on a local checkout after an hour of flight. Even though I get the OA checkout waived for current CAP credentials.

$170/hour for a 172 is outrageous. I don't need a G1000 for sightseeing. And every local checkout I've done has been little more than a few landings and maybe an engine-out.

OA is a great idea, but the execution isn't quite right.
 
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I have issue with Open Airplane's checkout requirements.

I like the concept and the ability to go from place to place on one checkout. The problem I have is for the occasional pilot that flies infrequently, it is a financial hole in the ground. The checkout form resembles a check ride and it has to be done annually I believe. The occasional flier is not going to pay that much money to rent from OA. The check out may make one's pilot skills fresher and better but it doesn't help the person that doesn't have the funds to keep up with OA's requirements.

OA is only for pilots of good financial means. If every FBO went to this the pilot population would decline.

David
 
flhrci said:
I have issue with Open Airplane's checkout requirements.

I like the concept and the ability to go from place to place on one checkout. The problem I have is for the occasional pilot that flies infrequently, it is a financial hole in the ground. The checkout form resembles a check ride and it has to be done annually I believe. The occasional flier is not going to pay that much money to rent from OA. The check out may make one's pilot skills fresher and better but it doesn't help the person that doesn't have the funds to keep up with OA's requirements.

OA is only for pilots of good financial means. If every FBO went to this the pilot population would decline.

David
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The occasional pilot that flies infrequently is the one who most dearly needs the recurrent flight training and evaluation.
 
It works great! Sign up and try it for yourself, you'll see.
 
Brad Z said:
The occasional pilot that flies infrequently is the one who most dearly needs the recurrent flight training and evaluation.
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That may be true; but is also THE prime contributor to the declining pilot/GA population (not being one of the Ultra Stinking Rich members of the Good Ole' Boy Playboy Club)

Reining hatred upon the normal part of society doesn't help matters -- it only exacerbates them.
 
Wow. $ 170 for a Hobbs hour in a 172??? That's about double what I'm paying for Tach time.

I guess if I was traveling somewhere, and wanted to do some sight-seeing, maybe as a one-time only deal I might do it.

The "local checkout" - everyone thinks their local area is "special". Maybe the AFD and Notams just aren't adequate? Not sure how we've managed to fly cross-country for decades without knowing that the traffic pattern at Upper Horseshoe must be flown south of the water tower.

I encountered two ladies in a Cardinal at a local airport in Maryland - they had flown across the country from California - a nice trip, nice airplane, in no particular hurry.

The local airport manager was giving them loud grief about some policy/procedure that "everyone knows" - the older lady was sweet, asked him if she'd missed it in the AFD?

"It's not in the AFD" he responded;

"Then everyone doesn't know, do they? Perhaps you might catch up on your backlog, and get that taken care of? Or, just F* off!"

Coffee came out of my nose. . .
 
Sundancer said:
Wow. $ 170 for a Hobbs hour in a 172??? That's about double what I'm paying for Tach time.
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No. I was wrong.

Locally (to me), you can get one for the low, low price of $187. Yes, for a 172.

https://www.openairplane.com/aircraft/N63251/

If you really don't want the glass cockpit, you can find a steam gauge 172 for the low, low price of $165.

https://www.openairplane.com/aircraft/N458SP/

This is why I say it doesn't work. The local "going rate" for a 172 is $115-$130. The OA prices are nothing short of insane.

The OA idea is a good one, but people are sabotaging it by marking up airplanes that badly.

Elsewhere, outside OA, $165 buys me an hour Hobbs on a 182.
 
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So what would y'all think of an older straight-tail 172 renting for $130 on Open Airplane in the Metroplex? That's about what it would cost to rent it out considering the mx costs around here. I just checked with my insurance provider and they would actually allow it.
 
I am a member of OpenAirplane and have happily used it to do a 1.5 hour scenic tour of San Diego bay when I was there for a conference. It didn't cost me anything to join and the check out flight I had to do for OA was the same flight needed for me to rent at my local flying club (which is part of the OA network). Thus the one checkout served a dual purpose. I don't mind paying a premium to have the opportunity to fly at virtually any primary destination I may go to within the U.S. For instance, the next time I'm in Vegas, I'll definitely plan on doing a Grand Canyon flight. And likewise with any other interesting destination I happen to be at in the future. I consider it to be a great solution for enabling me to conduct 1-3 hour sight seeing flights while being away from my home fields; flights that I would otherwise not bother with on account of having to go through individual checkouts.

Now, if we had a network of local pilots offering up free flights to visiting pilots, then we would REALLY have something. :lol:
Anyone?
 
Having a standardized (and annual) checkout allowed them to get the insurance companies onboard. They handle local familiarization by having the FBO fill out a detailed briefing section (which is available to everyone, not just members). I have heard that the OpenAirplane rates are somewhat higher than the normal rates. Those are set by the local FBO, not OpenAirplane. Note that the checkout DOES count as a Flight Review. I think that both the Cirrus and CAP Form 5 checkouts also count as OpenAirplane checkouts.
 
The Open Airplane agreement includes that they get 10% of the cost - so if you've figured out that you need $120/hr for the aircraft rental you basically have to charge $135 to make the same with Open Airplane with no markup for the plane flying with someone you've never flown with before.

Right now in Dallas if you have to hire a MX guy for something you're looking at $75-85/hr for MX anywhere I've gone so far, so that can get eaten up in a hurry plus you have to plan for 100 hrs and annual and insurance is $3K+ for rentals.
 
MAKG1 said:
[...] $170/hour for a 172 is outrageous. I don't need a G1000 for sightseeing. [...]
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I think $170 for a G1000 172 is only a little bit on the high side, but quite reasonable. When we rented in the past, I usually saw between $150 and $160 for such aircraft.

Now, if you say that you don't need a G1000 for sightseeing, this is an entirely different story and you are comparing apples with oranges.
 
German guy said:
Now, if you say that you don't need a G1000 for sightseeing, this is an entirely different story and you are comparing apples with oranges.
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It's not apples to oranges because you can't get a cheaper 172 on OA. That makes the comparison fair.

Even steam gauges locally run at $165/hour. I can get a 182 for that, but not on OA. A comparably equipped 172 (SP with steam, KLN94 and KAP140) can be found elsewhere for $125.

And the OA G1000 is $187/hour, not $170.
 
Sundancer said:
I encountered two ladies in a Cardinal at a local airport in Maryland - they had flown across the country from California - a nice trip, nice airplane, in no particular hurry.

The local airport manager was giving them loud grief about some policy/procedure that "everyone knows" - the older lady was sweet, asked him if she'd missed it in the AFD?

"It's not in the AFD" he responded;

"Then everyone doesn't know, do they? Perhaps you might catch up on your backlog, and get that taken care of? Or, just F* off!"

Coffee came out of my nose. . .
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Hah, I love it. I've never gotten chewed out for not knowing local procedure, but a few helpful employees have pointed me to a board that shows the recommended (but unpublished) noise abatement procedure. Unless they write "RWY 33 DPT NOISE ABATEMENT IMMEDIATE TURN LEFT 310 OVERFLY THE WALGREENS" how would we know?
 
Since most folks who use OA out of town are only going to fly an hour or so sightseeing, does it really matter that it's $30/hr more than what you might overwise pay? The competition is going to require a checkout that undoubtably costs more than $30.
 
mkosmo said:
Unless they write "RWY 33 DPT NOISE ABATEMENT IMMEDIATE TURN LEFT 310 OVERFLY THE WALGREENS" how would we know?
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You'd think that would irk Walgreens. :)
 
Brad Z said:
Since most folks who use OA out of town are only going to fly an hour or so sightseeing, does it really matter that it's $30/hr more than what you might overwise pay? The competition is going to require a checkout that undoubtably costs more than $30.
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When I rent out of town, an hour is very short. If you're just going to do a few laps, just take the instructor along and you're done. The most recent one was three hours for a cross country across LA.

And it's a lot more than $30. I can get a local 172 for $115. Just, OA has no N or P models. And their cheapest is $165.
 
I am in the Sacramento area and the closest OA is in the Bay Area, two hours away. I travel a lot for work and I usually just grab an instructor at a local airport and go up for an hour or so. Driving two hours one way just to get a check out doesn't seem worth it and most of the Podunk towns I end up visiting don't have OA either. They are going to need to get a bigger network to be viable in my opinion. It is a great idea, but still has a ways to go.
 
rodrakic said:
Actually... our least expensive 172 rents for $96 an hour wet, and has was given rated 4 stars by the pilot who flew it.

https://openairplane.com/aircraft/N12871/#plane-reviews-pane

Please don't hesitate to drop us a line or gve us a call if you have questions. We're here to help!
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Welcome aboard Rod. I realize that you most likely just joined POA to contribute to this thread after being informed by someone of its existence but I think you might have a lot to contribute to not only this thread but others as well so I help you stick around.
 
MAKG1 said:
[...] I can get a local 172 for $115. Just, OA has no N or P models. And their cheapest is $165.
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We'll be in the Seattle area next week. I just checked OA for rates. Arlington Flight Sevices offers their Warriors for exactly the same price on their website
and on OA: $125/hr.

Regal Air charges for a GTN650 equipped 172 $157 on their website and $169 on OA. Rather steep, but not much difference between their website and OA.

While I agree that the network of participating FBOs is still pretty thin, I don't see anything systematically wrong with OA. :dunno:
 
I wonder what the return would be if an airplane was purchased specifically to be rented out via OpenAirplane, and priced competitively. Negative?

I'm thinking perhaps volume has not yet reached critical mass.

It would be fun to buy a 152 and throw it online, priced reasonably and see what happens.


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What if 20 of us did that in that many markets? One of the biggest potential problems I see is arriving somewhere but not being checked out for the aircraft. If there was more fleet standardization there would be less hassle.


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RyanShort1 said:
What if 20 of us did that in that many markets? One of the biggest potential problems I see is arriving somewhere but not being checked out for the aircraft. If there was more fleet standardization there would be less hassle.


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For the most part, there really only needs to be four planes in this type of setup: 172, 182, Warrior (or equivalent Cherokee), and an Archer. That would mean 99% of pilots out there could fly. Any other models would be just a bonus.
 
drotto said:
For the most part, there really only needs to be four planes in this type of setup: 172, 182, Warrior (or equivalent Cherokee), and an Archer. That would mean 99% of pilots out there could fly. Any other models would be just a bonus.
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Well, for instance there are some Grumman Tigers available at Redbird. Nice airplanes, but useless if your Open Airplane place doesn't have the ability to check you out in one.
 
drotto said:
For the most part, there really only needs to be four planes in this type of setup: 172, 182, Warrior (or equivalent Cherokee), and an Archer. That would mean 99% of pilots out there could fly. Any other models would be just a bonus.
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I think that Cirrus would be another contender. And then you need to consider the glass panel. There's (very understandably) a requirement to be checked out in a glass panel that's separate from the airframe. I don't know how specific OA gets on those. Garmin vs Avidine? Different models of Garmin (G1000 v G500)? Down to the software revision level:yikes:?
 
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