TMetzinger
Final Approach
This message (redacted/altered slightly to protect the innocent and the stupid) came across from my flight club mail server today:
I plan to fly to YYY from our home base on 10/26 departing 10 AM using N123XY. The flight time is slightly over 2 hours. I need someone to accompany me to YYY and fly the plane back solo to home base. I am a student pilot who has passed the written test and all required flight times, waiting to schedule the check ride.
I also need someone to fly N23XY to YYY from our home base solo on 10/31 arriving at YYY around 1 PM so that we can fly back to JYO together.
[FONT='Calibri','sans-serif']Please let me know if any of you are interested and whether you are willing to share some of the cost.[/FONT]
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[FONT='Calibri','sans-serif']I grok a lot of wrongness in this request, which makes me think that this student doesn't understand the FAR very well. [/FONT][FONT='Calibri','sans-serif'][/FONT]
[FONT='Calibri','sans-serif']He's not inviting someone to share a flight he's going to make - he's not a rated pilot so can't carry passengers, and he's made it clear that he essentially want's drop off / pick up service. I think the motivator here is that he's not allowed to keep the airplane solo overnight until he's rated, and he probably also doesn't want to pay the minimums (which would be higher than the 8 hours for two there-and-backs).[/FONT]
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[FONT='Calibri','sans-serif']Now, if he OWNED the airplane in question, any current commercial pilot could be hired to fly him out and pick him up, and he could handle the controls as much as the pilot allowed (he couldn't log it, though as he's not yet rated). But this is a rental airplane. Possibly he could be the operator (airplane dispatched to him) on the trip out, but not sure that the club would dispatch in his name for the pick up, given he's not there.[/FONT]
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[FONT='Calibri','sans-serif']I think he could hire a club CFI to give him a lesson on the way out, and then return, and then go pick him up and give him a lesson on the way back, but it still "smells" a little to me - the purpose for the flights is clearly to get this guy to and from his destination.[/FONT]
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[FONT='Calibri','sans-serif']One may to make it more kosher would be for him to say something like:[/FONT]
[FONT='Calibri','sans-serif'][/FONT]
[FONT='Calibri','sans-serif']If anyone is going to YYY on the 26th, and/or coming back from YYY on the 31st, I would be willing to share expenses.[/FONT]
[FONT='Calibri','sans-serif'][/FONT]
[FONT='Calibri','sans-serif']Anyway, I figured this might fuel some debate about sharing costs and commonality of purpose and such.[/FONT]
I plan to fly to YYY from our home base on 10/26 departing 10 AM using N123XY. The flight time is slightly over 2 hours. I need someone to accompany me to YYY and fly the plane back solo to home base. I am a student pilot who has passed the written test and all required flight times, waiting to schedule the check ride.
I also need someone to fly N23XY to YYY from our home base solo on 10/31 arriving at YYY around 1 PM so that we can fly back to JYO together.
[FONT='Calibri','sans-serif']Please let me know if any of you are interested and whether you are willing to share some of the cost.[/FONT]
[FONT='Calibri','sans-serif'][/FONT]
[FONT='Calibri','sans-serif']I grok a lot of wrongness in this request, which makes me think that this student doesn't understand the FAR very well. [/FONT][FONT='Calibri','sans-serif'][/FONT]
[FONT='Calibri','sans-serif']He's not inviting someone to share a flight he's going to make - he's not a rated pilot so can't carry passengers, and he's made it clear that he essentially want's drop off / pick up service. I think the motivator here is that he's not allowed to keep the airplane solo overnight until he's rated, and he probably also doesn't want to pay the minimums (which would be higher than the 8 hours for two there-and-backs).[/FONT]
[FONT='Calibri','sans-serif'][/FONT]
[FONT='Calibri','sans-serif']Now, if he OWNED the airplane in question, any current commercial pilot could be hired to fly him out and pick him up, and he could handle the controls as much as the pilot allowed (he couldn't log it, though as he's not yet rated). But this is a rental airplane. Possibly he could be the operator (airplane dispatched to him) on the trip out, but not sure that the club would dispatch in his name for the pick up, given he's not there.[/FONT]
[FONT='Calibri','sans-serif'][/FONT]
[FONT='Calibri','sans-serif']I think he could hire a club CFI to give him a lesson on the way out, and then return, and then go pick him up and give him a lesson on the way back, but it still "smells" a little to me - the purpose for the flights is clearly to get this guy to and from his destination.[/FONT]
[FONT='Calibri','sans-serif'][/FONT]
[FONT='Calibri','sans-serif']One may to make it more kosher would be for him to say something like:[/FONT]
[FONT='Calibri','sans-serif'][/FONT]
[FONT='Calibri','sans-serif']If anyone is going to YYY on the 26th, and/or coming back from YYY on the 31st, I would be willing to share expenses.[/FONT]
[FONT='Calibri','sans-serif'][/FONT]
[FONT='Calibri','sans-serif']Anyway, I figured this might fuel some debate about sharing costs and commonality of purpose and such.[/FONT]