Exclusive Availability©
Gary Palmer Oct 24 2021

Don’t you hate it when you get all prepared to fly, arrive at the airport, and the plane you planned to use is still out, down for repair from a hard landing, preempted because a student is taking a check ride, or unavailable for any other reason? This is a common scenario with a rental. If you are in a club, it is less likely but still possible The risk of your flight being preempted drops significantly when you own your own aircraft (if you can afford it) or the aircraft is shared between a few partners who track the maintenance and health of the plane.

When you have four defined partners you know the other pilots. You work together to make scheduling work. If a check ride is planned, it is communicated in advance and not at the last moment. When the plane is taken on a trip, it gets posted on a calendar so everyone knows the time and duration.

With four partners each can have a dedicated “week” each month. This does not exclude use by other partners on off weeks, it just means the partner owning that week has priority. On your week of the month you have as much access as you want. On the other weeks you have access based on availability.

Another benefit is since you are flying the same aircraft consistently, your skills will increase as you learn and get familiar with the systems. Additionally, as a partnership you may all decide to upgrade avionics in order to get something better or more to the partner needs. No need to beg a school or ask the club to vote.

With a partnership, you can fly when the desire is there and the skies beckon, not because you booked the plane a week in advance!