Enter the Non-Owner Partner Exchange - the NOPE program.
The NOPE program provides all the niceties of owning an aircraft without your having to buy one. All it takes is a little sleuthing, some simple negotiation, and a handful of luck. Here's how it works, and it does work. What drives NOPE is a simple fact for all aircraft - they need to fly regularly.
There are many reasons why this is true, but let's focus on the big one. When an aircraft sits unused, gravity collects all the engine oil in the sump. This takes about a week, and the result is that the engine's innards aren't protected by a film of oil, which makes them vulnerable to corrosion and other problems.
Additional damage occurs when you start a long-dormant engine. Metal grinds against metal during the time it takes for oil to warm and the oil pump to circulate the lubricant and recoat the engine's innards with a protective, slippery film. This is why it's important to limit the rpm when you start a cold engine. This damage builds over time and shows its expensive head when the engine needs an overhaul well before it reaches its recommended TBO (time between overhauls).
For this reason, almost any airframe and powerplant (A) mechanic will tell you that airplanes need to be flown at least one hour per week. Not 52 hours per year - one hour each week.
Most aircraft owners know that they should exercise their airplanes often, but for one reason or another, a number of airplanes don't get it. Perhaps the pilot lost his medical. Hope springs eternal that he'll recapture this certificate, so he doesn't sell his plane. It is easy to understand the strong emotional attachment between pilot and plane. Some pilots, even when they can no longer legally fly as pilot in command, refuse to give up their aircraft.
There are a thousand other reasons why an airplane flies far too infrequently. Whatever the reason, this inactivity is hard on the aircraft. Here is where you, the NOPE pilot, come in. If you did nothing more than offer to buy your own gas and oil and put an inactive bird in the air once a week, the owner should happily agree just for the sake of the engine's health. But you have much more to offer the owner.
First, how do you find an inactive airplane to make the NOPE offer on? Start with the obvious. Wander around the local airports and look for airplanes that show signs of inactivity. Tall grass under the wings, semi-flat tires, and an accumulation of dirt and grime are dead giveaways. Write down the airplane's N-number so you can find the owner from the airport, or by using one of the searchable N-number databases that are on a number of aviation Web sites such as AvWeb (www.avweb.com) or the members-only section of AOPA Online (www.aopa.org).
Other sources of NOPE candidates are airport bulletin boards and FBOs. Ask around and look for airplanes for sale. The aircraft owners might be interested in a NOPE arrangement, so it never hurts to ask. Also, you can ask around maintenance shops to see if they know an owner who's "making payments" on their airplane's annual inspection bill. And maybe someone at the local pilots group could use some help with the cost of airplane ownership.
Finding the right plane may or may not happen the first weekend you go looking, but a little detective work goes a long way. It's been my experience that you will end up with a respectable list of leads to follow up on.
Once you've found your NOPE leads, you have to do just a touch of selling. When you contact the owner, do a little "warm-up." The owner won't listen to you if he doesn't like you. Go slow. Use the approach that you noticed their plane at the airport and wondered if they would be interested in sharing the costs and upkeep responsibilities. "Mr. Owner, we both know that planes need to be flown regularly to stay healthy."
Remember, you're hitting this person cold. Leave your phone number and ask him to get back to you after he has given the idea a little thought. Be sure to tell him that in the meantime, you're continuing your search. Close with, "Hope I hear from you, and good luck!"
Now, what can you offer besides contributing to the health and welfare of the engine simply by flying the plane regularly?
Sharing Expenses
Offer to split the costs in three areas:
Tiedown/hangar fees - split this expense as appropriate.
Insurance - Contact the owner's insurance agent. If the coverage is acceptable to you, and your experience is acceptable to the policy, then all you need to do is be named on the policy. You might offer only to pay any additional premium or split the cost evenly. If the policy requires more experience than you have - in a retractable-gear airplane, for example, you may have to fly some dual to get the required experience, and think about paying the higher premium.
Annual inspection - divide this cost into two parts. The first is the cost of the inspection plus the routine and anticipated preventive and minor maintenance (P/MM). You might offer to split the cost of P/MM evenly. The second part is the capital costs that spring up as the plane and parts wear out and need to be rebuilt or replaced. This you negotiate, beginning with no contribution and going up to an even split.
If the airplane flies 100 hours per year or less, you might offer to split non-capital expenses (such as insurance and tiedown/hangar) evenly because they are fixed regardless of the hours flown. But if you, as the NOPE pilot, fly the airplane significantly more than the owner, you can find a fair way to make adjustments.
Adjustments don't always mean money. Good, old sweat equity is a leading example. The list of things you can do that the owner may well not have the time or money to do will soon seem endless. You could start by curing the condition that attracted you to the airplane in the first place - giving the plane a wash and wax.
In addition, by working with the owner you can do a lot more. If you need a list, see Federal Aviation Regulation Part 43, Appendix A(c) "Preventive Maintenance." Here's an example. Check every light on the plane, then replace the inoperative bulbs. You can see how your enthusiasm directed to the aircraft's condition (airworthiness) quickly becomes so valuable to the owner.
You can carry this work a step further by assisting the A during the airplane's annual inspection. Your grunt work can reduce the annual's cost, and it gives the A someone who regularly flies the aircraft to answer any questions he may have. Assisting with an annual inspection also benefits the NOPE pilot, especially if he's never done it before. It gives you the chance to learn about an aircraft from the inside out. (For an idea of what you'll learn about, see FAR Part 43, Appendix D.)
It's clear that the NOPE program can benefit both the aircraft owner and the non-owner partner. The biggest benefit to the NOPE pilot is that you don't have to buy a share of the airplane.
Here's a look at how the numbers play out for me. I pay one-third, splitting expenses evenly with the two owners of the Cessna 172 I fly. Each year I pay $120 for the tiedown, $300 for insurance, $100 for the airplane's annual inspection, and $100 for miscellaneous expenses, for a total of $620.
The Cessna burns nine gallons per hour, so gas and oil cost me approximately $20 per hour. I used to rent a Cessna 172 for $70 per hour, so I save $50 an hour by being a NOPE pilot. If I divide my $620 annual fixed NOPE costs by the $50 per hour I save, I "break even" in about 12.5 hours. After that amount of flight time, I pay just $20 an hour to fly the Cessna.
To look at it another way, let's say I fly 30 hours a year. My per-hour cost for the year would be $600 (30 x $20), plus my fixed NOPE cost of $620, for a total of $1,220. If I divide the total by my flying time, it costs me $40 (and some change) an hour to fly, a $30 savings over renting. Even better is the fact that I'm flying "my" airplane.
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