Priced out of flying! You never know when your last flight,...will be your last flight :(

[r22butters]

June 4th,...yep, that was it, the last time I got to fly just for fun. I still kinda remember it, a nice fogless night, sliver of an orange moon behind the city. If I had only known it was my last flight I'd of stayed up a bit longer

 

Anyway about a month or so later (just as I was perusing the forecasts for a good night to go up again) the school I had been renting from for the past eight years abruptly closed its doors.

 

,...and that was that

 

There's only one school left in the area with a 22 and well, long story short, they'll only rent to me if I get my own renter's insurance. Just got the quote from AOPA and now my one hour a month in the 22 will be for the price of a 44!

 

So that's it, can't afford to fly anymore

 

Sixteen and a half years of flying, where all I had to do was send a text, "Can I get a 22 tonight?",..."keys in the box, have a good flight" Guess I had a good run.

 

There's an off shore flow right now, that's the best time for a doors off night ride around one of the most beautiful cities in the world,...oh well.

[Discap]

Kind of surprising that you didn’t have to have insurance before. Flight school here tells you that they provide insurance. Yeah it’s provided for them in case you screwup and ball it up. Unfortunately you are not covered so the insurance company comes after you. I could not get them to admit this until I insisted I see their policy.

[Narwhal]

Sad to hear that, Butters. I too walked into heli training with dreams of rental possibilities, only to realize it was a delusion after careful examination of rules, policies, and insurance. I'm now just doing helicoper flying to collect a rating with the realization that any sort of helicopter flying for personal enjoyment is pure fantasy unless I win the lottery, even with a decent major airline fixed-wing income. I've decided to just have a great time with the training then hang it up.

 

Watching this video kind of drove home the point for me:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3VFReZ0jEM

 

Even fixed wing rentals are getting harder to do, requiring quarterly recurrent checkrides with instructors for a simple C-172, etc. I only have to take 2 checkrides per year at work.....

[MLH]

The FAA does not mandate insurance - yet. With both of the 44's I owned I insured for liability only, no hull $2600/yr vs. $26,000/yr.. Buy an nearly timed out 22 at a good price and do the same. Better yet buy a 70's vintage Enstom F28 with the TT strap mod already done and escape the yoke of the Robbie 12yr. overhaul. If you fly enough hours the cost to own may be less than renting with renters insurance.

[Wally]

You got off easy, Butters. The pearl of wisdom in the industry is that "Every pilot will climb into the cockpit one last time. But not every pilot will know it."

 

Gosh dern, I miss flying. Oh, to be 42 again!

Edited September 13, 2019 by Wally

[helonorth]

Get an airplane add-on and you can fly twice as much as you used to for the same money.

[Tom22]

Hi Butters,

 

What does that flight school require for liability limits and hull property damage? Unfortunately, there is only one market for helicopter non-owner’s insurance and that market is Starr Companies. I’m an aviation insurance agent so if you have any questions about aviation insurance maybe I can help.

[TDM]

Ugh. I know this pain. I didn't quite get priced out, but between school, getting married, and then starting a job that typically works about 60 hours a week, I got timed out of flying, and haven't been able to get in any sort of flying machine for over a year.

 

To make it worse, my apartment and job is on one of the approach paths for a local class D airport, so I constantly see airplanes and helicopters flying over my head.

[Hand_Grenade_Pilot]

June 4th,...yep, that was it, the last time I got to fly just for fun. I still kinda remember it, a nice fogless night, sliver of an orange moon behind the city. If I had only known it was my last flight I'd of stayed up a bit longer

 

Anyway about a month or so later (just as I was perusing the forecasts for a good night to go up again) the school I had been renting from for the past eight years abruptly closed its doors.

 

,...and that was that

 

There's only one school left in the area with a 22 and well, long story short, they'll only rent to me if I get my own renter's insurance. Just got the quote from AOPA and now my one hour a month in the 22 will be for the price of a 44!

 

So that's it, can't afford to fly anymore

 

Sixteen and a half years of flying, where all I had to do was send a text, "Can I get a 22 tonight?",..."keys in the box, have a good flight" Guess I had a good run.

 

There's an off shore flow right now, that's the best time for a doors off night ride around one of the most beautiful cities in the world,...oh well.

Its a total crap shoot, and working over-time at your current job might make more sense than this, but what if you approached the remaining local flight school about working as a part-time ground instructor? They might be able to roll you into their employee insurance. I know that you have no desire to flight instruct (nor would hour hungry CFIs want to give up any potential flight time), but they may have a need for someone to give ground lessons. It doesnt take any flight time away from their current CFIs and could allow you to get a better rental deal. And getting your ground instructor cert shouldnt be too time consuming or expensive.

[RockinRob]

What state do you live in butters? Sounds Coastal?

[r22butters]

What state do you live in butters? Sounds Coastal?

Well, I'll give you a hint,...

 

Its overcrowded, overpriced, overregulated,...and apparently only the lower half ever gets the mcrib.