I want a new club

On second thought, lets not.

To make better use of my flying I really need to integrate it into family life. To do that it really had to start working for the longer trips that I would like us to take.

Currently I have two sources for aircraft the Alameda Aero Club and Ahart Aviation.

The Alameda Aero Club is great classic all volunteer club. I had my 172 on leaseback and eventually sold it to the club. Unfortunately the club is not geographically friendly (and off my beaten path) and my current and future flying calls for something with more performance and/or room than a 172 can offer.

My other source, Ahart Aviation, is good for ad-hoc rentals. No monthly fee and a selection of late model aircraft, which is nice. Unfortunately, this being training oriented business; they expect high daily usage and impose a 3 hour a day minimum. This really limits the use to short overnights.

Much like what the Aviatrix did in her last job search I've decided to set a concrete goal with a timeline in my search for a new place to spend my flight dollars.

The more reality you can give something, the easier to recognize it when it shows up.

To start with, location, my beaten path takes me along the I-680 corridor in the East Bay. For that reason I'm going to limit my choices for a home base to KCCR and KLVK, with KLVK being preferred.

What club type? Any place where the goal is about cost sharing. If there is a profit making goal anywhere in there then extra money needs to come from someone. A partnership would be nice, but I don’t have the financial ability to do that at the moment. A smaller equity club would work.

Those daily minima? None would be the best, but an arrangement where I can take the plane for a week without breaking the bank.

What about the aircraft?

Well to keep the other half happy, it has to be comfortable to sit in, and not have an interior that resembles a 70’s Pinto. When it comes down to it, ugly airplanes and low pilot salaries exist for the same reason. Pilots will do just about anything to fly. Anyway, the non-pilots won’t.

Two doors is important for loading and unloading, especially with child car seats, which we need to contend with for a while longer. (Note to manufacturers, how about Latch for aircraft seats?)

It has to be able to get somewhere in a reasonable amount of time, and a headwind shouldn’t reduce it to less that freeway speed. My personal line of demarcation is currently 140-150 ktas.

Useful load has to be enough for two adults and two kids. But the most important factor is width of cabin. We need enough room in the back for an adult and a car seat.

There are some other details instrumentation (IFR ready and current in case I can manifest that instrument rating) and what not, but the most important factors are listed.

Where does this point to currently?

Well the late model 182t/s are a good choice, and what we’ll be taking to the grandparents house this weekend. It is a bit the station wagon of the sky.

The SR-22 has some nice things going for it, can’t beat the parachute for the non-pilot peace of mind. Unfortunately the insurance and high initial cost make these very pricy rentals.

I have a soft spot for the DA-40. It’s fun to fly and sightsee with. Space would be an issue with all the kid gear we have to haul.

So what’s the top choice? Well it’s the TB-20, it has very wide cabin, two doors, reasonably fast, and hauls a bunch. I did a demo flight a few years back and have wanted to fly one again.

So there it is, I’m giving myself until Aug 1st, let’s see what happens.