Some thoughts.

Henning

Taxi to Parking
Gone West
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iHenning
I had a rambling thought on the redboard that went like this:
What are the chances of hitching a ride GA from LA to Ft. Lauderdale? Looks like I'm gonna come home in a week or so. and it got me wondering if it was possible to hitch hike GA rides across the country. That got me thinking that if GA had a Co-Op ride share network, it would be a lot more useful. Here in Oz a PP is allowed to collect Pro Rata of the costs from anyone riding with them. I think in the states it could be worked out by commonality of purpose. There's a lot of planes flying around everyday with just one person in them going all sorts of places.

That got me really thinking, how difficult/expensive and more importantly, used, would a website be where people list thier intended flights or availability for flights. Stricktly a pilot network, "Here I am". Obviously you can't compete with the airlines. Can the FAA be cajouled in anyway of allowing this to happen? I think I could get something through. Personally, I'd rather hitch along for 2 days and 4-6 planes and be comfortable sometimes, just enjoy the view, and I remember giving line and counter kids last second rides home and stuff, usually nice to have some company.
 
Henning said:
I had a rambling thought on the redboard that went like this:


That got me really thinking, how difficult/expensive and more importantly, used, would a website be where people list thier intended flights or availability for flights. Stricktly a pilot network, "Here I am". Obviously you can't compete with the airlines. Can the FAA be cajouled in anyway of allowing this to happen? I think I could get something through. Personally, I'd rather hitch along for 2 days and 4-6 planes and be comfortable sometimes, just enjoy the view, and I remember giving line and counter kids last second rides home and stuff, usually nice to have some company.

The net would be a good place to start to find out for sure. The odds of going crosscountry USA on any kind of "schedule" will be unfavorable in that type of system. I think there is a site out there already to a similar cause that I just scanned last week but can't remember the name !
 
Henning said:
That got me really thinking, how difficult/expensive and more importantly, used, would a website be where people list thier intended flights or availability for flights. Stricktly a pilot network, "Here I am". Obviously you can't compete with the airlines. Can the FAA be cajouled in anyway of allowing this to happen? I think I could get something through. Personally, I'd rather hitch along for 2 days and 4-6 planes and be comfortable sometimes, just enjoy the view, and I remember giving line and counter kids last second rides home and stuff, usually nice to have some company.
You mean like this?

http://www.pilotsharetheride.com/

The guy that started it is a friend of Greg Brown's, the aviation author and columnist, who told me about it. He's a local AZ resident (both Greg and Baldy, who runs the site).
 
Henning said:
IThat got me really thinking, how difficult/expensive and more importantly, used, would a website be where people list thier intended flights or availability for flights. Stricktly a pilot network, "Here I am".
Unless there is a sea-change of thinking at the FAA, I don't think the pilots could post intended flights on this board. That sounds like "holding out" to me. It is less of a problem if the passengers "hold out" - the burden is then on the pilot to prove he was going anyway.

I hope to be proved wrong on this but I think the FAA will find many ways to kill the idea. Back when I was in the service I flew coast to coast several times on military standby. More or less the same idea - you never know your schedule until you board the plane. Not a bad way to go if you don't care about getting there at a certain time!

-Skip
 
When this topic came up on the AOPA forums, I notified Baldy of Pilot Share the Ride about the same concern that someone else brought up. He sent me an e-mail back saying he had run everything through AOPA for advice and clarification and came back with a thumbs up.

I realize that it hardly clears the way but someone looked at it.
 
Skip Miller said:
Unless there is a sea-change of thinking at the FAA, I don't think the pilots could post intended flights on this board. That sounds like "holding out" to me. It is less of a problem if the passengers "hold out" - the burden is then on the pilot to prove he was going anyway.
-Skip


Doesn't sound like "holding out" to me.
I and many others across the USA have juggled schedules and post-poned &/or bumped forward proposed pleasure flights so that all of the expense sharing flight participants could make the flight. There's nothing against that in the regs is there ?
 
Dave Krall CFII said:
Doesn't sound like "holding out" to me.
I and many others across the USA have juggled schedules and post-poned &/or bumped forward proposed pleasure flights so that all of the expense sharing flight participants could make the flight. There's nothing against that in the regs is there ?
I think posting a note on a public web page saying "I am willing to fly you to Fort Lauderdale in the first two weeks of February" is holding out.

-Skip
 
Skip Miller said:
I think posting a note on a public web page saying "I am willing to fly you to Fort Lauderdale in the first two weeks of February" is holding out.

-Skip

In the above statement, is the pilot doing it for free or what ? Seems like too little info to be of real use in just that one sentence.

If it were me, I'd certainly go into the details of mutual sharing of expenses for sure as that is a key component to the success and legality of the whole program.
 
I sent the FAA a query on the "holding out" issue as regards that pilotsharetheride web site. The FAA Eastern Region Counsel said (I've got the letter here somewhere, but can't lay my hands on it at this instant) it is essentially legal as long as the pilot was going there at that time anyway. However, she also said that it would be very easy to run afoul of those rules if you aren't careful, i.e., you don't change destinations or dates to accommodate a passenger, or make a trip you would not otherwise have made. Caveat aviator. As for me, I don't go there.
 
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