New Guy With Big Dreams

A

Arrowkart14

Filing Flight Plan
Joined
Dec 16, 2014
Messages
1
Location
Southern Oregon
Display Name
Andrew Swanson
Hello all, any input would be great. I am wanting to get my license soon and have always dreamed of one day owning my own plane. With owning my own plane I want it to become my business. I want to be able to fly in and out of airports big and small and provide small freight and passenger services. Is this realistic or not? Thank you. Anyone who currently does this if there is anyone, please give me a run down of how it all works and what the pros and cons are.
 
1. Start by getting your PPL

Honestly, the rest of your questions are to be asked after that.
Step 1 is paramount and takes time.

Focus on that.

Looking at the big picture at this point is going to be way too daunting and really moot until you have the PPL

What questions do you have about getting the initial cert?
 
One step at a time.

You just ran a 880 when you should be training for a 220 sprint.
 
1st step: start a gofundme.com account and request help from fellow aviators!

2nd step: merry Christmas
 
I got my private in 28 days. Others have done it in less time. So he should wait on a business plan until month 2?

Take heart, Andrew Swanson. There are folks here who have the advice you seek. Off the top I would say get to know the folks at your regional FSDO.
 
What you're describing fits part 135 air taxi. Get your private, get some time, get your instrument, get your commercial, buy a plane, develop an operations manual and maintenance manual, submit your 135 plan to the FAA for review and revisions, buy a plane, get it all maintained, submit it for approval on your 135 certificate, then you can start to think about legally operating for hire and finding paying clients who'll give you a revenue stream to start paying back your investment. You may find it easier to buy a 135 certificate and airplane from somebody who already jumped through the hoops. I have a friend with a single pilot 135 cert for sale. I think he'd let it go for $35K without a plane. $185K with a very nice Skywagon that's already on the certificate. If nothing else you can run those costs, add hangar, fuel, maintenance reserves, insurance, pilot compensation, and profit requirements and try to determine your business volume that'll be required to keep you afloat. I know a few guys that make a go of it. They have retirement benefits from previous careers so they aren't driven by making money as much as not losing any. And that's what new guys will have to compete against. Most successful air taxi operators came up as pilots for the company and bought out an owner who wanted to move on. They knew the business, the equipment, the pilots, and the clientele. That's probably the best way to get where you want to go.

Here's some light reading about 135 requirements. http://www.faa.gov/licenses_certificates/airline_certification/media/n135toc.pdf
 
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SmashTime said:
1st step: start a gofundme.com account and request help from fellow aviators!

2nd step: merry Christmas
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Oh c'mon.
This was funny given recent POA history.

Of course it is bad advice but it is in jest.
 
Arrowkart14 said:
Hello all, any input would be great. I am wanting to get my license soon and have always dreamed of one day owning my own plane. With owning my own plane I want it to become my business. I want to be able to fly in and out of airports big and small and provide small freight and passenger services. Is this realistic or not? Thank you. Anyone who currently does this if there is anyone, please give me a run down of how it all works and what the pros and cons are.
Click to expand...

Possible? Yes, you are on a long road that won't come to fruition for 10 years of determination and fund raising unless you happen to be starting with a spare $10MM, then it's pretty easy.
 
Your question is somewhat like a grade schooler who wants to be a doctor asking what's all involved in setting up a medical practice. You lack the context to understand all of what's involved in operating such a business even if someone tries to explain it in detail. Bottom line is what others said: focus on getting the PPL, and during that process you'll pick up a lot of the background to understand the issues involved.
 
Your biggest enemy will be the insurance - even if you get a 135 certificate, there aren't many insurance companies that are going to write a policy with a 250hr commercial pilot as the chief pilot...even if VFR only

Do more research, figure out what expenses actually go into one of these operations, is there even a market where you want to be (you can look online for all the 135 operators, their equipment and their cost - can you compete?).

As far as freight, any airplane that you probably have in mind isn't going to carry enough to likely pay for the fuel for the airplane or a FedEx or UPS subsidiary would be bidding on the contract and put it in a Caravan
 
Ron Levy said:
Your question is somewhat like a grade schooler who wants to be a doctor asking what's all involved in setting up a medical practice. You lack the context to understand all of what's involved in operating such a business even if someone tries to explain it in detail. Bottom line is what others said: focus on getting the PPL, and during that process you'll pick up a lot of the background to understand the issues involved.
Click to expand...

Yes, and to continue with that analogy, so far folks here have basically said, "Go get your undergraduate degree, and then we'll talk about the rest."

We're basically telling him to go spend $5K+ and who knows how much time to get a certificate that, once he understands the level of effort and regulatory constraints associated with what he wants to do, he might decide isn't for him.

Better advice might be to find someone knowledgeable in the regs...like a CFI who's been around the block a few times...pay 'em for a couple hours of their time, and sketch out on a piece of paper the various certifications and ratings required (and approximate costs to reach them, including flying time), and a short discussion about regulations with a few pointers on which sections of the FAR to go study to better understand that.

If he's serious, he'll dig in and digest all that stuff, and/or may quickly decide that this is a not-starter, and can save the effort/money required to get a PPL.

If that doesn't scare him off, then maybe he can take the next step and find somebody to talk about the business case.

(And if *that* doesn't scare him off, then hopefully close friends and family can have an intervention with him.)

I don't think he needs to get a PPL before he can understand the mountain he's about to climb.
 
Jim_R said:
Yes, and to continue with that analogy, so far folks here have basically said, "Go get your undergraduate degree, and then we'll talk about the rest."

We're basically telling him to go spend $5K+ and who knows how much time to get a certificate that, once he understands the level of effort and regulatory constraints associated with what he wants to do, he might decide isn't for him.

Better advice might be to find someone knowledgeable in the regs...like a CFI who's been around the block a few times...pay 'em for a couple hours of their time, and sketch out on a piece of paper the various certifications and ratings required (and approximate costs to reach them, including flying time), and a short discussion about regulations with a few pointers on which sections of the FAR to go study to better understand that.

If he's serious, he'll dig in and digest all that stuff, and/or may quickly decide that this is a not-starter, and can save the effort/money required to get a PPL.

If that doesn't scare him off, then maybe he can take the next step and find somebody to talk about the business case.

(And if *that* doesn't scare him off, then hopefully close friends and family can have an intervention with him.)

I don't think he needs to get a PPL before he can understand the mountain he's about to climb.
Click to expand...

All good advice.

Another option is to find a small aviation business owner and ask if he, or she, will be a mentor. Be that persons assistant and learn the business side of an aviation operation.

Or buy a C-206, get a single pilot part 135 certificate then move to McCarthy, Alaska and fly supplies for the bush loonies families.
 
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