An Eclectic Mind

Looking for CFIs interested in building flight time.

One of the drawbacks of being based in Wickenburg is the fact that most of my flying business doesn’t originate here. In fact, a good bit of it originates at locations at least an hour away.

The problem with this is that not everyone is willing to pay the cost for me to fly from Wickenburg to the job location and back. And I simply cannot reposition the aircraft to a job site for free — especially for short jobs.

Low-Time CFIs Wanted

That’s where certificated pilots — preferably CFIs — can help. There are quite a few of them out there who have their ratings but don’t have enough time to do anything with them. They’re interested in building time, but they have limited budgets.

So the idea is this: when I have a flight that requires the aircraft to be repositioned more than an hour away, one of these pilots can fly with me, from the left (co-pilot) seat to build time and gain valuable cross-country experience. He’d contribute to the hourly cost of flying the helicopter, thus enabling me to pass these savings on to my client. And his cost would be considerably less than the hourly cost to rent a helicopter like mine from a flight school or other organization in the business of renting aircraft.

For me, having someone share ferry costs can mean the difference between getting a job and not getting a job. For example, I recently lost a job opportunity at Primm, NV because my client would have to pay the 3.4 hours (round trip) ferry cost. Although my per hour flight fee was cheaper than my competition, my competition was closer and didn’t have to charge for the ferry flight.

Future Flights Up for Grabs

I’m currently looking for pilots interested in sharing ferry costs on the following flight legs:

• Washington State to Las Vegas, NV or Wickenburg, AZ - August 2008 - approximately 9 to 11 hours; will require an overnight stay
• Wickenburg to Las Vegas, NV - August 2008 - approx. 2 hours
• Reno, NV to Wickenburg, AZ - August 2008 - approx. 5 hours
• Wickenburg to Mesquite, NV (round trip) - September 2008 - approx. 4 hours total; may require an overnight stay
• Wickenburg to Henderson, NV (round trip) - December 2008 - approx. 4 hours total; may require an overnight stay

Some of these flights are for photo jobs and may offer experience as an observer with dual controls out.

If pilots don’t pick up these flights, they’re likely to appear as Be Spontaneous! offers for non-pilots (see below).

Get On My List

Are you interested? If so, great! But are you qualified? Here’s a list of qualifications:

• Certified Flight Instructor for Helicopters
• At least 250 hours flight time in Robinson Helicopters
• R44 Endorsement
• Prior attendance at Robinson Factory Safety Course
• Weight less than 230 pounds. (Under 200 lbs. is preferred.)

If you meet all of these qualifications and are interested in building some time, I want to hear from you. Use the Contact Form to get in touch with me with your list of qualifications. You can also use the Comments link or form for this post to get in touch — just don’t put your contact info in the body of the form; doing so makes it public.

I will provide rate information to qualified pilots only, so please don’t use the comments for this post to ask about rates.

Not A Pilot? You Can Still Fly Cheap

Of course, since I’m a Part 135 operator, I can take regular passengers on these ferry flights — with the dual controls out, of course. That’s what some of the Be Spontaneous! offers on the Flying M Air Web site are all about. If I have to reposition the helicopter to anywhere more than 30 minutes away, I often offer cheap seats on the repositioning flights.

For example, if I have a tour out of Scottsdale, I might offer a $95/person round trip flight from Wickenburg to Scottsdale. Up to three people can make the flight with me before my scheduled tour and have breakfast or lunch at the airport restaurant while they’re waiting for me to finish up. Then we fly back together. My passengers get two cheap scenic flights totaling over an hour of flight time and I get part of my ferry costs covered.

Or perhaps I have a two-day photo job in Page, AZ. I might offer two seats for $350 each to Page one day with a return flight the next day. Passengers would be on their own to get hotel accommodations and fill the time there until the return flight. They’d get over 3-1/2 hours of scenic flight time for much less than I would normally charge for the flight ($1,732.50 for the flight at my current rate).

Similarly, if I have to go to Scottsdale or Deer Valley or Page for a client, I might offer other tours at a reduced rate there the same day, before or after my scheduled flight.

If you’re in the Wickenburg or Phoenix area and this sounds interesting to you, you can use the form here or on the Flying M Air Web site to sign up to receive Be Spontaneous! special offers by e-mail. Or you can just check in at Flying M Air periodically to see what’s available.

Keep in mind that these prices don’t even cover my costs, so please don’t expect me to offer or honor them at times other than when listed as an offer on the Web site.

And if you’re wondering why I call them “Be Spontaneous!” offers, it’s because they’re sometimes made available with as little as 2 days advance notice. You have to make a decision quickly to take advantage of them.

Part of Being a Small Business

All this is part of being a small business — finding ways to help cover costs and maximize revenues.

If you or someone you know can help, we can both benefit.