NY Long Distance Rentals?
Posted by denshakari@reddit | flying | View on Reddit | 7 comments
Hey all. I'm private pilot from New York looking for some advice on renting. I got my PPL in 2022 and have been flying on and off for a few years, mostly using flying as a "party trick", taking friends and family on sightseeing flights around the NY/NJ/CT area. I trained on G1000 Skyhawks and have simply been renting from the same school I do my training at. I'm looking to turn this into an actual mode of transportation and am doing an instrument rating. I intend to buy my own plane, likely a turbo Mooney, but for practical reasons that might be a year or two away. I don't want to just stop flying for two years. My flight school has a distance requirement and specifies that all rentals are VMC only, so I will probably look elsewhere. How would I go about renting a plane for a long-distance trip? I need the ability to take the plane 500-800 miles away (to Chicago or Atlanta, for example) and have it sit there for several days. What do I look for? Any recommendations for places to rent from in the area surrounding NYC? I've explored flying clubs but I'd feel bad joining one if I'm not really invested in it for the long run. For reference, I'd be coming out of my IR with about 150hr total and about 80hr PIC.
ricktherick@reddit
I was a member of Westchester flying club for a couple years and there were a lot of benefits to that prior to buying my own plane. They had fairly extensive minimums and checkout requirements for each plane, which seemed annoying at first when I just wanted to hop in something faster or go farther, but I came to appreciate it. I ended up spending more time with a CFI than I otherwise would have, and it really expanded my flying education. Additionally, it gave me a few different types of planes to try before deciding on owning, and I was maintenance coordinator of one for about a year, which helped me understand what ownership entailed. Beyond that, I made a few good flying friends. Highly recommend a flying club that has a decent community and a few different types of planes before deciding on what to buy.
One of my good buddies from the club joined around the same time as me and bought his own plane about 6 months later. No hard feelings from anyone in the club about us leaving, and we're both still friends with some of the club members.
For reference, I joined the club January 2015 and bought my plane Nov 2016.
denshakari@reddit (OP)
Nice to hear WFC is a good option. I may go with them, they seem to suit my needs quite well. It's a little unfortunate that the Bonanzas require 250hrs because they'd be basically the perfect plane for what I'm trying to do. I'll gladly take an Arrow though, just wish both had an autopilot. Another option I've looked at and is currently my top choice is Paramus Flying Club. They have G1000 C172s and 182s, which would be an easy transition. I think given the comments here assuring me that there would be no hard feelings if I ended up leaving in a short-ish amount of time, it's gonna be either one of those. Definitely a club though.
jet-setting@reddit
Rentals that allow overnights will have daily minimums. Usually around 4-6 hours per day. So if you take the plane in the morning, fly 4 hours away and then return later the next day you will just pay the hobbs time if the minimum is 4 hours. If you flew only 30 mins away, then you would still pay for 4 hours.
If the plane is sitting for several days, you will be paying for each day even if the engine never turns on.
denshakari@reddit (OP)
This is a lot of the problem I've found. Places that do rentals want to keep the planes flying and close to home. Long Island Aviators, which everybody I know raves about, has a 325nm(?) limit.
ricktherick@reddit
I suppose it's possible, but I couldn't imagine any clubs around NY hangaring planes.
AlexJamesFitz@reddit
A club is what you want. It doesn't matter if you're not planning to stick around long-term, just make sure you can leave easily enough when you choose to do so.
rFlyingTower@reddit
This is a copy of the original post body for posterity:
Hey all. I'm private pilot from New York looking for some advice on renting. I got my PPL in 2022 and have been flying on and off for a few years, mostly using flying as a "party trick", taking friends and family on sightseeing flights around the NY/NJ/CT area. I trained on G1000 Skyhawks and have simply been renting from the same school I do my training at. I'm looking to turn this into an actual mode of transportation and am doing an instrument rating. I intend to buy my own plane, likely a turbo Mooney, but for practical reasons that might be a year or two away. I don't want to just stop flying for two years. My flight school has a distance requirement and specifies that all rentals are VMC only, so I will probably look elsewhere. How would I go about renting a plane for a long-distance trip? I need the ability to take the plane 500-800 miles away (to Chicago or Atlanta, for example) and have it sit there for several days. What do I look for? Any recommendations for places to rent from in the area surrounding NYC? I've explored flying clubs but I'd feel bad joining one if I'm not really invested in it for the long run. For reference, I'd be coming out of my IR with about 150hr total and about 80hr PIC.
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