Fort Worth rental

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ChrisRikli

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Oct 4, 2010
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Lincoln. And Dallas.
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Chris
Does anyone have any recommendations for IFR rental in the FW area?

I'm going to be doing my IR training with a friend of mine who's a grizzled old sky dog but I need a plane to rent. Problem is I'm low time (<100 hrs) so finding rental is tough.

Now, I'm going to be traveling from Lincoln to do it so if worse comes to worse I'll rent taters' Cherokee and fly down for each stint. Actually, this is want I want to do but the bookkeeper/wife is balking at the added $1K or so for each trip so I'm doing some due diligence. :D
 
TangoWhiskey, what are their rates these days?
 
I got checked out to rent at Skymates in a 172, because I live literally minutes away from GKY. I haven't been back since, and won't be renting there. The instructor thought I was crazy for wanting to sump the fuel, refused to let me fly in the right seat even though I have my CFI (and was acting as PIC), and tried to convince me we didn't need a fire extinguisher when I noticed there wasn't one in the plane during my pre-flight. Shoot he acted like I was crazy for even wanting to do a pre-flight.

The guy I went up with has been instructing for them for 2 years at least (I asked). I felt like I was teaching him, and I know I still have a ways to go when it comes to instructing, I have 0-hours dual given, and only 225 tt.

Don't go to skymates.

On the other hand, Monarch is a highly professional/recommended outfit; here is their rental page http://www.monarchair.com/rental-fleet

But they may be too far for your liking (Addison).

I also have a contact who is part owner 1977 172n (160hp) and only asks that you pay for fuel. He's located in Grand Prairie, which is not far. I don't think it's IFR rated though, and he wants to go along for the flights as well. If I wasn't jobless I would be flying with that guy any time I had money for fuel....

I know that he just started working on his commercial at a local flight school where he got his Private Pilot Cert. If you would like, I could ask him if they rent as well. He said it was a small outfit, and I think he mentioned it was near (or in) Ft. Worth.
 
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I've had a similar experience with the people at skymates. I've felt their checkouts were a joke. Their planes are horribly maintained and have a TON of time on them (like 8000+ hours)

I have had to cancel due to stupid mechanical isssues so many times. Horrible tires that desperately needed to be replaced ("They were fine, instructors have been flying like that all day" - If they are dumb enough to fly like that, wow). Throttles have been stuck. Things previous pilots should have noted and had fixed immediatley and didnt.

Just curious, what was the guys name you went up with? A guy I went up with said he wants to go to airlines and has "4000 + hours". I find that funny. Someone with that much time should be easily hired by an airline.
 
for Skymates renters:
http://www.ntsb.gov/ntsb/GenPDF.asp?id=DFW08FA031&rpt=fa

Instructor was doing aerobatic manuevers in non-aerobatic airplanes. I don't care how many inspections were done, what other Skymates planes has that guy done that with?



NTSB ID: DFW08FA031
Occurrence Date: 11/15/2007​



The Investigator-In-Charge (IIC) conducted interviews at Skymates Inc. following the accident.
The first flight instructor reported that she had flown with the accident flight instructor in the
past and felt completely safe with his flying abilities. The instructor continued that the flight
instructor would occasionally do spins with his students; however, she felt it was unnecessary
because it was not required for their stage of training.
The student who was riding in the back seat of the airplane at the time of the accident was her
student. Since English was not his primary language, and he was having trouble with aircraft
communications, she suggested that he ride along on the accident flight to observe the radio
communications.
Before the accident flight, the instructor and the accident flight instructor had lunch together.
The instructor reported that she asked the accident flight instructor to "not do any funny stuff"
with her student on board. She didn't want him to learn any "bad habits." The instructor further
reported that she had heard, before the accident, that the accident flight instructor had done a
"barrel roll" in one of the flight school's airplane's.
According to a second flight instructor, the accident flight instructor was the best pilot he had
ever flown with. This instructor recalled a conversation where the accident flight instructor
revealed that he had performed a "snap roll" in a couple of flight school's airplanes. According
to the instructor, he had expressed his displeasure to the accident flight instructor about his
performing "snap rolls." The instructor reported that he had not heard anything further about the
accident flight instructor performing this maneuver and assumed he had stopped.​
Click to expand...
 
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ajstoner21 said:
I've had a similar experience with the people at skymates. I've felt their checkouts were a joke. Their planes are horribly maintained and have a TON of time on them (like 8000+ hours)

I have had to cancel due to stupid mechanical isssues so many times. Horrible tires that desperately needed to be replaced ("They were fine, instructors have been flying like that all day" - If they are dumb enough to fly like that, wow). Throttles have been stuck. Things previous pilots should have noted and had fixed immediatley and didnt.

Just curious, what was the guys name you went up with? A guy I went up with said he wants to go to airlines and has "4000 + hours". I find that funny. Someone with that much time should be easily hired by an airline.
Click to expand...


You know I don't remember the guys name, and it's not listed in any of the papers that I saved from that day. He wasn't the type of person who's name I wanted to keep in my Rolodex, all I remember is he had dark hair, which I'm sure doesn't help... I do have his CFI # in my logbook, but I'm not about to post that (lets just say it ends in "CFI" haha). I just got married last June and wanted to take my wife up because she has never been in a small aircraft; no way I'd ever bring her around a skymates plane after that day, she would never want to fly again. One of these days I'll be able to take her up!
 
Contrail the Kid said:
You know I don't remember the guys name, and it's not listed in any of the papers that I saved from that day. He wasn't the type of person who's name I wanted to keep in my Rolodex, all I remember is he had dark hair, which I'm sure doesn't help... I do have his CFI # in my logbook, but I'm not about to post that (lets just say it ends in "CFI" haha). I just got married last June and wanted to take my wife up because she has never been in a small aircraft; no way I'd ever bring her around a skymates plane after that day, she would never want to fly again. One of these days I'll be able to take her up!
Click to expand...

You'll have no such complaints about MarcAir, which is why I rent there. Consummate professionals, impeccably maintained aircraft.
 
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