I know there have been many posts here on co-ownership, syndicates, clubs, etc., and I’ve read many of them. Most of them are focused on the relative merits of the various options rather than the mechanics of any specific choice. I’m specifically interested in the logistics and any practical advice on forming and operating a two-person partnership, and specifically in the Netherlands if it matters.
I would like to keep things as simple as possible, preferring not to form a BV or anything with a lot of administrative overhead. If I can just add the person to the title, that would be perfect, as it would be a 50/50 partnership. I have looked at the AOPA site on this, and there’s some good information about the content of the agreement and things to consider, but the structural advice is specific to US legal structures.
Details:
- TB-10 currently registered in Romania
- Might change to PH registry when ARC expires at the end of the year
- I am a relatively experienced, night IR pilot interested in touring Europe
- He is a recent PPL, day VFR pilot looking to also fulfil the “touring Europe” dream
Questions:
- Can I just add someone to the registration, or is there another legal structure that I’d need to approximate the “joint tenancy / tenants in common” concept?
- Outside of the advice found here, what are some things to consider for how to operate the partnership?
- How do people divide duties?
- General thoughts on how to screen/evaluate a potential partner?
Thanks in advance!
Just add them to the registration and have a partnership agreement, make sure you clarify “the exit option for you or him” and that both of you can afford an aeroplane on your own financially but getting into partnership allows to get a nice setup (fully upgraded, more horse power or good hangar spot) and use some of the fixed cost rebates to fly more (budgets remains the same, you have to price & budget 50h for each pilot)
Just my two cents: as longue as your insurance is happy a recent PPL with enough cash, motivation and load of currency hours tend to be far better than very experienced partners (beware of instructors 
) who do not fly much on their own/budget and are mostly looking for seats in Parliments or House of Commons
dutch_flyer wrote:
Can I just add someone to the registration
I’ve seen that done on EU registers, although not specifically on the Romanian or PH register. I expect you can.
Ibra wrote:
Just my two cents: as longue as your insurance is happy a recent PPL with enough cash, motivation and load of currency hours tend to be far better than very experienced partners
Interesting point I had not considered. Surprisingly, the increase in insurance cost is negligible. I’ve noticed the European aircraft insurance rates seem much less impacted by type of aircraft and experience level than in the US. One could argue that in the US there are two pilot licensing authorities, the FAA and the insurance companies!
lionel wrote:
I’ve seen that done on EU registers, although not specifically on the Romanian or PH register. I expect you can.
I am waiting on an answer now, but also expect this is not an issue.
G-ATVX has 2 owners according to UK CAA. (Ginfo). One is low hours. I am 2,000+ hours and current. Insurance requires 100 hours minimum.
How multi ownership is handled is probably country specific.
One needs to be clear as to the objective.
Most “groups” exist to make ownership more affordable. Most of them are limited companies, for liability limitation reasons, specific to the UK Civil Aviation Act.
A few exist to keep the (expensive) plane flying more. These tend to be around planes like a TBM.
The biggest issue is the people. A search on e.g. syndicates digs up lots of threads. The majority of syndicates have various problems. Most people who join a syndicate are doing it because the share price is all they have in the bank, and that’s not a good way to go forward in flying. Some do it because they need somebody else to do the work of running the whole thing.
Might be a dummy question, but if there are two names on the registration, what is the legal implication of this? E.g.:
- Does that automatically establish something like a joint liability?
- Can anybody of these two act towards the CAA individually or does every CAA relevant communication need to be signed by both?
- If the first one: Can one of the registered names have the other one deleted? What happens if he tries?
- Does the CAA have top arbitrate between the two owners if they do not agree on something?
At least to my current knowledge in Germany registration is just an administrative process that is important for the airworthiness of an aircraft but does not constitute ownership or give the registered owner any special right. (in contrast to e.g. real estate where the entry into the title register actually constitutes ownership).
Therefore for all practical uses of a partnership I would have thought that it is largely irrelevant who’s name is in the register.
Yes my understanding CAA requires all owners to be named on the registration either by their names or share holders in some company name, the fact that you have your name on the register is pretty much irrelevant for ownership or legal implications, what defines the legal ownership is the partnership agreement, just like anything in life it’s a piece of paper signed by the two parties who have the keys of the aircraft under some terms, you can go as much details there but if it’s a long one maybe it’s worth forking 4000£ to get two solicitors to write the draft…
If ownership is via limited company share holders with aircraft being the asset, it’s corporate law of the country
Malibuflyer wrote:
At least to my current knowledge in Germany registration is just an administrative process that is important for the airworthiness of an aircraft but does not constitute ownership or give the registered owner any special right. (in contrast to e.g. real estate where the entry into the title register actually constitutes ownership).
Really? I’m surprised. My understanding (but then IANAL – I Am Not A Lawyer) is that, in Luxembourg/France/Belgium, it is exactly like real estate, cars and some kinds of companies (not all kinds of companies), namely:
E.g., if A is in the register as owner, sold the aircraft to B, but it was not registered in the register:
Malibuflyer wrote:
Does that automatically establish something like a joint liability?
My guess is joint and several, for whatever the owner is liable for. However, pay attention that there is the registered owner, and the registered operator. The latter has most of the liabilities, at least in “first line”; there may be a second-line recourse against the owner.
Malibuflyer wrote:
If the first one: Can one of the registered names have the other one deleted? What happens if he tries?
In Luxembourg, definitely not (unless by forgery and stuff like that). Deleting the other one is a change of ownership, e.g. a sale, which needs a bill of sale, signed by the seller.
Malibuflyer wrote:
Does the CAA have top arbitrate between the two owners if they do not agree on something?
No. The CAA will apply decisions of the courts. Courts arbitrate.
Malibuflyer wrote:
If the first one: Can one of the registered names have the other one deleted? What happens if he tries?
On this point specifically, response from the Romanian CAA (my A/C is Romanian registered) is that we have to produce a sales agreement to transfer some percentage to the new owner. This would seem to indicate that one owner cannot act unilaterally.
