Bosco that T Bone is stunning. What an interesting concept. How much is it to get to fly any of these things? I assume there are instructors available to sign you off on your chosen aircraft. A varied fleet of superb aeroplanes.
Beech Baby,
it’s pretty much like any other (European) flying club. You have to become an active member in order to fly their aircraft. According to the website, this costs 1500€ one-off (rather standard for German flying clubs) and 60€ per month. The hourly costs for the aircraft are not published on the website, but I am sure they will tell you if you ask. I am sure they have quite a few “foreign” members.
Their main base is Paderborn-Lippstadt airport (EDLP). In summer, the aircraft are obviously “on tour” a lot, earning some money.
If I were a member, I would be tempted to fly the Swift. Plus maybe the Cessna 195 and the Chipmunk. Well, maybe also the Twin Bonanza…:-)
By the way, there are a couple more of such clubs in Germany.
One is Flugwerk Mannheim at EDFM, but they only seem to have a Stampe and a Stearman as “interesting” aircraft (the latter for 300€/hour, quite reasonable in my book).
Another one is the Fliegendes Museum, in Grossenhain (EDAK), near Dresden. Their fleet and hourly prices (net if VAT) are here. As you can see, the T-6 for example is 600€/h, which also sounds very reasonable.
the white TOTAL Yak 18 T is private owned but there is some sponsoring from TOTAL for turning up at airshows. In fact , free Avgas for a certain flying hours per year. For capable interested pilots , the Yak is for sale around € 60 000, recent restauration.
Vic
boscomantico wrote:
this costs 1500€ one-off (rather standard for German flying clubs) and 60€ per month.
What’s the purpose of the €1500 one-off fee? I can’t imagine any costs associated with enrolling a new member coming anywhere close to that amount.
€60/month is €720/year. Is that a typical fee? It’s about 2-3 times what you would expect from a club in Sweden.
What’s the purpose of the €1500 one-off fee? I can’t imagine any costs associated with enrolling a new member coming anywhere close to that amount.
It’s more or less standard practice in Germany; sometimes, the entry fee is a bit lower.
The purpose is to create long-term adhesion and avoid people just joining for a year or so (maybe to do the 12 hours they need every second year) and then leave again.
To a certain degree I can understand it. German aeroclubs have certainly become much more modern over the last years, but in general, they still rely a lot on long term dedication of people, voluntary work and the community aspect of it.
On the other hand, I really hate these one-off fees, since I am exactly the kind of person that has been changing residence seven times over the last 15 years. It’s these one-offs fees which have kept me from joining one of the local aeroclubs here in Frankfurt so far. I have instead joined a “group”, and I also do some renting from a non-aeroclub type outfit.
Clubs still have to understand that the times when people spend their whole lives at one single place are mostly gone. This appplies particularly to younger people, those that aeroclubs supposedly are so much looking for. But part of the truth is: many clubs have enough members, and are really not too keen on that additional member which will fly a lot, but possibly will be gone a couple of years later.
Most British and French aeroclubs don’t have any entry fees at all.
60/month is €720/year. Is that a typical fee? It’s about 2-3 times what you would expect from a club in Sweden.
Yes, very typical. Some clubs are slightly less (down to 40 or 50 € a month), but most are around 60.
Vic,
I knew it wasn’t theirs. That’s why I wrote “used by TOTAL for marketing purposes”.
It’s a tough call. Sure, these aircraft are expensive to run and nobody would complain about some contribution by a big company against a few weekends of marketing use. On the other hand, I wouldn’t want my “baby” to be so aesthetically deformed. It looks really ugly. With vintage airplanes, I think it’s rather a matter of “if you can afford it (in a group, if you like) – fine, if not, then don’t”.
