Local rental rate trends?

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HouTxPilot82

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HouTxPilot82
Curious what people are seeing in their own areas for aircraft rental rate trends. Over last 2/3 years ... have they been mostly flat? going up? I live in Sugar Land (Southwest Houston) and the closest/most reliable place for me (where I also did all of my PPL training) has been steadily climbing. I started and finished my PPL in 2014 (April to October). Towards the end of my training the fuel injected 172 SPs (with 180hp) I rented went for:

~$108/hr dry + ~$42/hr for fuel = total $150 or so wet. Most of my training was in this range, climbing up to around $155 at times.

Since then, the fuel portion has obviously gone down, and today's rates are: $124/hr dry for the exact same planes + ~$32/hr for fuel.

They have a 172N model (carb, 160hp) that has seen the dry rate go up from $84.50 in mid 2015 to $98 today. So the cheapest 172 I can rent here is now $130/hr...

These planes get flown a lot - it's hard to even find open spots when the weather is nice and I want to take one up.
 
With fuel prices decreasing, all the rentals should have decreased, but demand has increased.
 
HouTxPilot82 said:
Curious what people are seeing in their own areas for aircraft rental rate trends. Over last 2/3 years ... have they been mostly flat? going up? I live in Sugar Land (Southwest Houston) and the closest/most reliable place for me (where I also did all of my PPL training) has been steadily climbing. I started and finished my PPL in 2014 (April to October). Towards the end of my training the fuel injected 172 SPs (with 180hp) I rented went for:

~$108/hr dry + ~$42/hr for fuel = total $150 or so wet. Most of my training was in this range, climbing up to around $155 at times.

Since then, the fuel portion has obviously gone down, and today's rates are: $124/hr dry for the exact same planes + ~$32/hr for fuel.

They have a 172N model (carb, 160hp) that has seen the dry rate go up from $84.50 in mid 2015 to $98 today. So the cheapest 172 I can rent here is now $130/hr...

These planes get flown a lot - it's hard to even find open spots when the weather is nice and I want to take one up.
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I did my training in 2014 as well, at the time, $98 wet for the VFR cherokee, $113 for the IFR cherokee with a 430, IFR 172 (no GPS) $113 as well. This past year, they all went up $5 an hour.

Zeldman said:
All I remember was 22 years ago I used to rent a basic IFR 172 for $37.50 an hour wet.
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And today, that would be AWESOME!
 
Zeldman said:
All I remember was 22 years ago I used to rent a basic IFR 172 for $37.50 an hour wet.
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Boy that's dusting the cob webs off, I think it was between $35 to $40 for a 172 for me 22 years ago....:)
 
Our clubs hourly rates have only increased by $5.00/hr in the past 10 years.
 
AKBill said:
Boy that's dusting the cob webs off, I think it was between $35 to $40 for a 172 for me 22 years ago....:)
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I found an old price sheet a while back for a 150 that went for some tiny number that made me sad. LOL. And an old CAP rate sheet that was dry for proficiency flights that said something crazy like $35/hr for a T-41B.

100LL was just over a buck. Maybe a buck fiddy.
 
Think when I started at the aero club at Osan AB Korea in '74 a C150 was $10 and CFI was $5. You could buy a block of 10 hours and get it down to $9/hr.

Around here now a 152 is 115, 172 is 145, and they have a PA28-140 at 145. This is at the flight school nearby.
 
Flight School where I rent at currently Charges me..
$169/hr wet for
  • PA28R-200(Arrow II)
  • Mooney M20J
  • C-172S (G1000)
Gas at RDU is $7.00.:eek::eek2::mad2:

Thinking about a a flying club 35mins away from where I live, which has
3 172S non G1000 for $119/hr wet
2 M20J for $175/wet
1 M20S for $231/wet

decisions, decision....
 
Mooneys in a club, that'd be cool. What is the other costs of the club (initial buy in, monthly dues etc)?
 
mscard88 said:
Mooneys in a club, that'd be cool. What is the other costs of the club (initial buy in, monthly dues etc)?
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If I buy in to fly the mooneys, then my up from cost breaks down as..

Aircraft Deposit: $1200 [Gives me access to Mooneys, C-172SP, Warrios PA-28, and Cessna 152]
Application Fee: $ 200
First Month Due: $ 65

Total that all up will be $1465 and then $65/mnth afterwards.. In the grand scheme of things, really not bad.
 
frank.durham said:
If I buy in to fly the mooneys, then my up from cost breaks down as..

Aircraft Deposit: $1200 [Gives me access to Mooneys, C-172SP, Warrios PA-28, and Cessna 152]
Application Fee: $ 200
First Month Due: $ 65

Total that all up will be $1465 and then $65/mnth afterwards.. In the grand scheme of things, really not bad.
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Thanks frank. Yeah not bad at all and a good selection of planes to fly. The one I'm in process of joining has 2 Archer IIs, $1000 initial, $85 monthly dues, and $100/hr tach time. I figure if one can average 2-3 hours a month over a year say, then it's a little cheaper than rental rates around this area, and their planes are in a lot better condition than rental. Both planes have Garmin 430s so that will be something to learn for me as all I have experience with is FMS when I was at the airline. Wish they had a selection like that one though.
 
Thanks for the input everyone - in between my initial post and all the responses, the rental rate just went up another $2/hr for all the planes :D
 
mscard88 said:
Thanks frank. Yeah not bad at all and a good selection of planes to fly. The one I'm in process of joining has 2 Archer IIs, $1000 initial, $85 monthly dues, and $100/hr tach time. I figure if one can average 2-3 hours a month over a year say, then it's a little cheaper than rental rates around this area, and their planes are in a lot better condition than rental. Both planes have Garmin 430s so that will be something to learn for me as all I have experience with is FMS when I was at the airline. Wish they had a selection like that one though.
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Selection is good... I dont think I would want any part of the 150... I can see myself in the mooney's the most and the 172's as well... warrior's maybe...
The club planes above are definitely in better shape with a mix of 430, 530, 650 and 750... Stil contemplating... Going to knock to accelerated IR first. Then make decision..
 
HouTxPilot82 said:
Thanks for the input everyone - in between my initial post and all the responses, the rental rate just went up another $2/hr for all the planes :D
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Lucky. That's below the official rate of inflation for this year by half. :)
 
frank.durham said:
I hear you... Do you think it was fuel related?
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Not fuel related - this is an increase in just the dry portion of the rate - the fuel portion shows the same.

denverpilot said:
Lucky. That's below the official rate of inflation for this year by half. :)
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There does seem to be a new club that has opened up that is not 45 minutes away for a change. Of course there are monthly dues of $225 - considering it... I don't really fly as much as I need/want to, and perhaps committing to the spend would in some way encourage me to go up more often.
 
I can't really say how much it has changed. Considering I've only been flying for about a year. However, the club I rent from is $50 a month and $60/hr dry for a PA-180. The paint isn't that great, but $60/hr dry isn't bad IMO.
 
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