Aircraft

The club currently has 5 aircraft available for use by club members (aircraft booking system info). Hourly rates include fuel and are based on tach time, described below. The club’s 172s have tuned exhaust systems, allowing the engines to develop full rated power more easily. All 5 aircraft have four-place intercoms.

N66050a
1980 Cessna 172N Superhawk N6605D
$135.00 Wet, Tach 180hp, IFR, dual VOR, ADF, Engine Analyzer, VFR GPS
Details

N739ULa
1978 Cessna 172N Skyhawk N739UL
$135.00 Wet, Tach 160hp, tuned exhaust, IFR, dual VOR, GNS 430W
Details

photo-32_PIPERa
1982 Piper Cherokee Warrior II N8312H P28A
P28A $140.00 Wet, Tach 180hp, engine analyzer, IFR, dual VOR, GPS (Garmin 530), DME 1/2, autopilot.
Details

734BN

1977 Cessna 172N Skyhawk N734BN
$145.00 Wet, Tach 180hp, IFR, GTN750, GNC255, STEC Autopilot
Details

N747JS
1968 Piper Arrow 1 N747JS
$150.00 Wet, Tach 180hp, IFR, Garmin 430W, STEC30 Autopilot, Zaon Traffic ADF, Engine Analyzer
Details

There is a $5.00/hour discount for those paying by cash or check.

Some basic info and rules of thumb for calculating rates:

Fuel costs roughly $6.00/ga., and a typical 4-seat trainer uses 8+ gallons/hr. For a plane flown dry, add another $50/hr for fuel to your cost. Our planes, however, are flown wet: the fuel is included in the hourly rate.

Hourly time is measured either by a Hobbs meter (a timer which starts when the engine does, runs at a steady rate, and stops when the engine shuts down) or by a tach meter (“tach time”). The tach meter runs at a rate slower than clock time when the engine is at less than cruise RPM (e.g. in descent, taxiing), meaning less time on the meter and less cost to you. Our planes use tach meters.

Hobbs time = Tach time x 1.3 Tach time = Hobbs time x 0.77

For example, a 1 (tach) hour flight in one of our 172Ns would cost $125 — fuel included. A flight of equal duration in a dry 172 @ $80/hr (Hobbs) would cost 80 * 1.2 + 36 = $132, including fuel.

Some other reasons we use a tach rate:

      – No rush on the ground while idling
      – Better fuel economy when not flying at max speed
      – Less wear and tear when not flying at max speed
      – Accounting accuracy/fairness – 100-hour maintenance, TBOs, etc. are all tach

Reasons to use wet instead of dry:

      – Fairness – “the last guy didn’t fill it up all the way”
      – We don’t require a fill up after shorter flights so you don’t have to fill up after every flight”