pireps, rentals and CFI's at KSGJ, KCRG, KHEG, K28J?

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Brad W

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Nov 19, 2019
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BLW2
any pireps from this area?
I'm toying with the idea of getting back in the game and flying some hours off with a CFI to knock of the rust.
With the price they charge for rentals now days I'd like to be efficient about finding a place to work with.
looking mostly for
  • decent planes, but reasonable prices, don't care abt cosmetics so much, mostly condition and operable equipment.... not looking for $400/hr top end stuff...
  • schools where I won't have too tough of a time getting on the schedule on a decent weather weekend to stay current

Several years ago I took my son and did a "discovery flight" just for fun down at KSGJ in a 172P (N99442, looks like they still have it, currently listed at $156/hr). It was an old tired dog of an airplane and I'm not paying premium money for something like that. The thing wouldn't taxi straight without dragging the brake on one side, and I had to physically get out of the aircraft in the runup are just to adjust the seat...it was so worn out it wouldn't adjust with my weight in in (then prob about 170-180#)!

later, I did fly a few hours out of KHEG. The first 172 was a F model (N7989U, currently on their site listed at $140/hr)) and pretty much a tired dog too, so for the next couple flights I switched to their 172N (N6341J, currently listed $165/hr) Better but still a disappointment for the price.

I have no idea if these schools have improved these planes or not...it was a few years ago. Guess I'm marching on the assumption they'll be about the same....
 
I've been renting from Acent Aviation at Herlong, but I've only flown the Skycatcher. I can't help as far as what condition the 172s are in currently, but the Skycatcher is in pretty good shape from what I can see. It's definitely not brand new or swanky, but it appears to be airworthy and safe, and I would feel comfortable venturing out to do some cross country work in it. They do require you to redo the checkout with one of their instructors if you haven't flown with them in the past 90 days, but the instructors I've worked with seem competent enough. I was able to get back up to speed and checked out in two hours of flying despite almost a year and a half elapsing since the last time I'd flown, and they don't seem to be interested in milking you for extra time during checkouts. The avionics all work, nothing leaks or is obviously broken, and renting from them is generally a pleasant experience.

Scheduling has been relatively easy, though I have had a few weekends where they don't have the Skycatcher available. I'm not sure about the 172s, but I've had pretty good look with weekend scheduling even on Thursday and Friday afternoons with the Skycatcher. As long as you don't mind flying mid to late afternoon (usually around 3 or 4pm). I would suggest calling to schedule, especially if you're going to need a CFI.

Overall, renting from Acent has been a pretty decent experience. If you have any specific questions about Acent, ask away, and I'll try to answer them. I do think they've done some updates from a few years ago, as the pictures on the website showed a non-functioning part of the avionic suite in the Skycatcher, but that had been fixed by the time I drove down to fly the first time, but again, I haven't looked at the 172s.
 
Keep in mind the rental prices are wet and aircraft rental rates today reflect higher fuel costs from last summer.
 
KSGJ is home of two flight schools besides Patty Wagstaff‘s aerobatic enterprise , FACT and Florida Flyers. Florida Flyers has the fancier airplanes, but earned a reputation of questionable maintenance and very questionable business ethics by the owner, who changes his last name every few years. It looks like you are familiar with FACT. If you do not like them for whatever reason, Sunrise @ KVQQ might be a local option. If your focus is on very well-equipped PA28 (2020 Archer G1000NXi) or good equipped 172, consider Sterling Flight @ KCRG. Best option for you due to the large fleet and instructors available might be FIT @ KMLB
 
thanks. It's no that I don't like FACT necessarily, just that one experience with a single aircraft several years ago. Maybe that was a temporary condition with that aircraft..... but since they didn't take taht thing of the line and charged me as much as they did for a flight in it, tells me that they are probably not maintaining things as well as I might like....
I saw that there is actually a third option at SGJ....but that's $450 per hour rental for Cirrus's.... huh? Not really on my radar!

I rented form Sterling a few times many years ago before my long rusty pilot spell. Looking at their web site I was sort of under the impression that they were trying to cater now days to something like a part 141 pilot mill student... and not a casual pleasure rental. Do you have recent experience with them? Yes big fleet might mean a bit easier to find an available aircraft...unless they require a separate checkout in each aircraft like some schools see to do now days.... back when I was active it seemed everyone would count a 172 checkout for any of their 172's for example...

I see a few other schools up at CRG too I'm wondering about.

HEG is already further than I really want to drive, so VQQ has not been on my radar.... but I suppose it's only about 10 more minutes....thanks for the point out. I have not looked into things over there at all!
 
Brad.. If you’re looking to get back into the game and plan on doing it regularly I’d look into the Northeast Florida Aero Club in St Augustine… They have a Cherokee 180, Cessna 172, and Cessna 182.. all have decent avionics and haven’t been beat up by student pilots. It helps that you have to have your PPL to join the club… They have instructors too so you could knock out the BFR/Checkout together. All of their aircraft are hangared too which is nice and you can’t beat the rates and availability compared to the flight schools. Here’s the link for more info.

http://neflac.com/
 
Thank Chuckthetruck. I actually had several conversations with those guys when they had just first started up and they only had the cherokee. Back when they only had maybe 3 or 4 members total....I was excited because in all my years of flying and moving around I'd always had an eye open for a club to join but there were never any that made sense. Also that would be the most ideal airport for me to operate out of.....Anyway, I ultimately decided against. I checked out neflac's web site a little while back and see that they have added the additional aircraft...but the problem (potential or perceived maybe) that caused me to not join initially still seems to be valid....too many members per plane. It seems very unlikely I'd be able to fly when I want to, since I'm still not retired and mainly only free on some weekends...Especially fair weather weekends and short trips, relatively last minute scheduling. I don't know...I just had the sense it was operating sort of like a "for profit" operation and not a shared aircraft partnership. Anyway, I'm glad it seems to be working out for them

Side note...one thing that has puzzled me about them....how does a startup club get a plane and a hangar at an airport that has a years-long hangar waiting list...and then in a span of just a couple more years add two more planes with two more hangars? I'm sure there's an above board legit explanation, but on the surface that hangar situation at SGJ smells fishy to me....
 
Brad W said:
how does a startup club get a plane and a hangar at an airport that has a years-long hangar waiting list...and then in a span of just a couple more years add two more planes with two more hangars?
Click to expand...


Possible explanation:

A person who already owns a plane and has a hangar might join, looking to sell a share of his plane to the club and reduce his expenses. Similarly, a club might start with a few plane owners who band together and seek additional people.
 
Yeah, I think in this case its probably your first scenario...just a guess though
 
I was a former a member before I decided to buy my own airplane. I never did find availability limited… that could be different now. There was some rule in the system where you could only have three active reservations and one active RON reservation so I believe that cut down on someone just reserving planes on a whim. It seemed like a lot of members at the time just didn’t fly which made it all the better for me. Granted this was over a year ago so things could change but for me it was the best value for rental at the time.

Don’t get me started on SGJ and their hangar policies/list… been on the list for several years now with no end in sight. I live next to the airport but have to drive an hour away to my hangar.
 
yeah, I joined the airport association for a few years trying to be an airport bum and just stay connected.... decent club I suppose but always had conflicts and rarely made the meetings. Anyway, the feeling I got being around, and from some of the conversations I had with the airport admin, was basically that it's just about the most inaccessible GA airport I've had dealings with. I was trying to figure out option if I were to decide to buy something...even an outdoor tiedown.... tiedown was possible for a big price through the FBO, but otherwise...not even a place on the field to be an airport bum and watch takeoffs and landings. It's a shame, seems like they have a fair bit of room to build more hangars scattered around... and if they weren't so focused on catering to non-existent airline service, there would be a literal TON of ramp space and areas for more hangars. Oh well.
Where did you find a hangar?
 
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