RDRickster Posted January 20, 2003 Posted January 20, 2003 I'm looking for pilots in the Maryland area who would be interested in forming a Helicopter Flying Club or Partnership. Specifically, I'm considering incorporation as a flying club or as a joint venture with responsible individuals. Would like to base at GAI or FDK, but open to alternatives in the Baltimore-Washington Metro area. Goal is to own and operate R-22 Beta II AND R-44 Raven II to start. Please e-mail Richard.Reynolds@CertifiedInstructors.com or post your reply here if you are interested. I would also appreciate advice from helicopter flying clubs in other states. The goal is to provide joint ownership without the headaches and tremendous expense of individual ownership. This is an ideal option, if your primary career is not in aviation and you really love to fly helicopters, as I do. In general, I propose that we, the future members, model this "Helicopter Flying Club" after some of the fixed-wing activities that are successful in this area. To that end, by-laws will probably specify monthly "club fees" that would cover administration and overhead (aircraft payments, hanger/airport fees, accounting fees, etc). Thereafter, the costs for maintenance, fuel, inspections, parts, and the like would be prorated, by aircraft type, on an hourly basis. The end result is a very inexpensive way to own and operate your own aircraft (compared to traditional ownership). The purpose of posting this message is to find out if there is enough serious interest in a Helicopter Flying Club. It would depend on what the membership decides, concerning by-laws and mission statements. However, I'm hoping to create a low-cost alternative for recreational helicopter flying through joint ownership in the club. Joint ownership in several WELLl-EQUIPED aircraft will be a major benefit over individual ownership. The club will hopefully start with 1-2 aircraft and grow from there, giving members a guaranteed minimum number of hours they could fly each month. Thank you for your posts. Any additional advice is greatly appreciated; however, participation would be better. At a minimum, I'd like to start a discussion group. Please send an e-mail to Richard.Reynolds@CertifiedInstructors.com or continue to add your strings here at VerticalReference.com Quote
RDRickster Posted February 15, 2003 Author Posted February 15, 2003 I have a few pilots in the Baltimore-Washington area that are interested in a Flying Club. Does anybody have experience with fractional helicopter ownership? Quote
Gunner Posted February 24, 2003 Posted February 24, 2003 Hi-I currently am working on my fixed wing PPL out at KHEF (Manassas) but am planning on getting my rotary once the weather clears up... You still thinking about setting up a flying club with an R-22? Quote
RDRickster Posted February 26, 2003 Author Posted February 26, 2003 Yes, we are still moving forward with a Helicopter Flying Club in the area. Several pilots have contacted me with interest. We are researching tax issues associated with social clubs (http://www.irs.gov/charities/social/article/0,,id=96189,00.html) and plan to hold our first meeting within the coming weeks. Although we will start with R-22, most pilots would like to see the R-44. Stay tuned! Comments and suggestions are welcome. Quote
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