The Right Rental

That all checkouts could go as well as this one: The airplane is reasonably priced, and in fine shape, ready to go when you show up a little early. The instructor has no surprises for you—and that's OK, because you fly almost flawlessly. Oh, and the weather is beautiful CAVU.

Instead, you may find obstacles on your path to finding the right rental steed. Aircraft schedules that only a person with a Ph.D. in engineering could understand, potentially wallet-gouging prices for less-than-stunning equipment, and other hassles can turn what should be a straightforward business proposition into a struggle. But with a little research and some strategic questions, you can secure the best renting relationship.

Do your homework

Avoiding rental hassles is often as simple as knowing what you want out of the deal. The most important questions may be the ones you ask yourself: What aircraft am I likely to use most often? Realistically, how often do I fly? How important is the sophistication level of the avionics? Are good looks worth a higher rental price, or am I happy with a less-than-glamorous airplane as long as it's well maintained?

With the answers in mind, begin researching the available options in the area through the phone book, the Internet, friends, and even the Better Business Bureau (if you run into concerns about a company's track record). When you look into where to check out, you may find that you have several choices. After you decide on an airport, you need to determine which business to go to. Your first choice may be between an FBO, a flight school, or a flying club. Though the differences seem transparent in some cases, a flight school will usually be focused on helping you advance your skills, whereas an FBO normally offers a broader range of services, including maintenance, fuel, and possibly charter operations. A flying club generally requires you to pay dues every month in exchange for reduced hourly rental prices on one or more aircraft.

Some of the best places to refine your search include Web sites—information on them ranges from a full Q and A covering typical rental queries to the bare-bones site with simply the business's name and contact information. Certain sites also offer an online schedule that you can check without making a phone call, which is especially helpful if you're on the road a lot.

Another good resource is AOPA's Airport Directory, in print and online: You can look up flight schools, clubs, and FBOs at a particular airport quickly. With the directory, you may also check to see if the flight school or FBO participates in AOPA's 5-percent rebate program (available to members using an AOPA credit card).

Probably your most reliable sources are recommendations from local pilots and friends, though you want to keep in mind that personality conflicts arise from time to time that shouldn't steer you away from an otherwise reputable company. You may also want to peruse ads in the local phone book.

Make the call

Next you can call and ask a few strategic questions, based on your needs. One of the critical steps here is to talk to the right person. If your questions are cursory, such as rental prices and aircraft availability, the person answering the phone should be capable of answering you intelligently. In fact, a responsible aviation business, like any other, should train the person picking up the phone, be they a dedicated receptionist or an off-duty flight instructor, to give reliable customer service to potential new clients. However, you may need to ask for a manager, flight instructor, maintenance technician, or other specialist to address some of your more specific concerns.

A few questions you might consider asking: How long have you been in business in the area? How many aircraft do you have on your rental line? Where is your maintenance performed?

The fact that a business is new is not necessarily a bad sign—in fact, at some airports it may be welcome competition for a longstanding operator that has become entrenched and no longer serves its clients' needs adequately. However, if an FBO or flight school has been around for a while, you can look into its track record, and other pilots in your area will have experience to share about doing business with it.

A large fleet of aircraft appears on the surface to be a benefit, and it is—if the fleet is a well-managed one. Lots of airplanes means lots to choose from, and a better chance that one will be available when you want to rent, especially if you tend to fly during peak times. However, sometimes if a fleet grows too large for the personnel to keep track of, maintenance and an overall sense of what's available fall by the wayside. For example, a large flight school may have a number of aircraft it owns, as well as several on leaseback. A large fleet often implies many customers for you to compete with for rental time as well.

Let's say you're training for a checkride or planning a specific trip for which a certain airplane (and its equipment) is required. An FBO, school, or club that's on top of its fleet will know—to a certain extent—when aircraft are going in for routine maintenance. If it appears that a scheduled maintenance event, such as a 100-hour inspection, is going to happen during the time when you've reserved the airplane, the operator should be able to offer you some options, or at least let you know ahead of time if the airplane won't be available. It's pretty disappointing to show up at the FBO on the morning of your trip from Santa Fe, New Mexico, to Aspen, Colorado, and find out that the turbocharged Skylane you reserved is down, and they can only offer you a 160-horsepower Skyhawk instead. Disappointing for your two passengers, that is.

As for maintenance, there can be benefits to both in-house work and agreements in which another company on the field services the aircraft. In-house maintenance often means that airplanes are back on the line quickly. The operator also has direct control over the type and quality of maintenance that the aircraft receive. However, not all FBOs, clubs, and flight schools have the luxury of hiring their own mechanics. By farming out maintenance, the operator may be able to get higher-quality work accomplished, which is a good enough reason for most any renter pilot who likes to fly a well-maintained airplane.

So you want to check out?

There are a few more details to cover before you make an appointment. After you decide which aircraft you'd like to rent, you need to ask about the operator's requirements for that particular aircraft. With only a complex checkout, you may be able to rent the Cessna Cutlass they have on line, but you may need your instrument rating and more time in your books before the operator lets you take the Cessna 210 out on a cross-country flight. Also, be sure to ask if one checkout counts for more than one specific aircraft. Sometimes you can work out a deal, especially if you have a reasonable amount of time, where you can fly the most complex of a group of airplanes (such as a Cessna 206) and be checked out for the other versions (such as Cessna 182s, 172s, and 152s). This move gives you a lot of checkout bang for your buck.

Going back to required hours, most of the time this condition is dictated by the operator's insurance company, rather than by the operator itself. This concern rears its ugly head particularly when you want to check out in a multiengine aircraft. Because of the increased value of multiengine airplanes, and their overall greater complexity, you may find you need a considerable amount of multiengine time, including time in type, to rent a multiengine airplane—even after you've spent five hours checking out with the operator's instructor. For example, consider an FBO that has a Cessna 310 on its rental line. In order to get checked out in the 310, the insurance requires you to spend five hours of dual with the FBO's only multiengine-rated instructor. However, to take the airplane out on your own, you also need to show 500 hours total time, 50 hours of multiengine time, and 15 hours in Cessna 310s. If you don't come close to meeting these minimums, you may find it hard to afford the amount of dual you need to bridge the gap. Unfortunately, few operators can offer you terms much different from those listed above.

The great insurance question

Which takes us to another insurance consideration: What about insurance? Many operators encourage you to carry nonowner liability coverage, as their policies and rental agreements stipulate that you are responsible for the company's deductible in the event of an accident or damage-provoking incident (see " Pilot Counsel: Renter Pilot Liability," October 1996 Pilot, and " Pilot Counsel: Aircraft Inspection and the Renter Pilot," September 2000 Pilot). Read the fine print: Some FBOs have seen their rates increase sharply in the past year, and many have been forced to go with higher deductibles or, in rare cases, to self-insure to stay in business. While deductibles used to hover in the $1,000 range, for various reasons—not the least of which is the scarcity of commercial aviation insurance nationwide—some operators now have deductibles of $2,000 or more. You should have a plan for covering that deductible either personally or through your own private policy.

Stacking the deck

You may want to check out at a couple of different locations to increase your chances of getting aircraft at particular times. However, if you check out at too many, you may find it difficult to keep current—most places require you to fly every 90 (or even 60) days or so in their aircraft in order to stay "current" in their records. Staying current in various aircraft types can be a handful as well. If you don't plan on flying that much, it can be difficult to juggle and avoid having to do another series of takeoffs and landings with an instructor.

Checking out at different locations offers you an opportunity to ascertain which operator will best fit your needs as well. You may find you like one place better after renting at several companies. Since you're the customer, you need to be satisfied—but try to offer concrete suggestions instead of unconstructive gripes. You can compare facilities, upkeep of aircraft, personnel and their availability, and overall customer service to find your best match.

If you're renting at a different location—say you want to take some friends up while you're on vacation—or if you need to have an aircraft for a particular date, you need to make arrangements well in advance. Sometimes you have to be persistent in order to arrange a checkout if you're an out-of-town pilot who isn't viewed as a regular customer (see " To New, Blue Skies," December 2000 Pilot).

The checkout

Your best bet is to arrive prepared—most places want you to fill out some kind of checkout sheet, and a lot of times this can be accomplished before you get to the airport. Or, you can have the operator fax the checkout sheet to you, so that even if you don't have the pilot operating handbook (POH) handy to crunch the numbers, you can be familiar with the questions and brush up on anything that's not fresh.

Your checkout may depend on a number of things: the CFI giving the checkout, your past experience, and how you do on the flight itself. Most checkouts consist of a preflight discussion, possibly concerning the day's weather or the local area and ramp procedures; several maneuvers, including steep turns, slow flight, stalls, and takeoffs and landings; and the traditional signing of forms, such as a rental agreement.

Rental agreements have specific clauses germane to the airport, aircraft, and operator, but most follow a similar vein. You agree to certain rules listed on the sheet, and you sign a statement saying you understand the rules. If you are in an accident or incident while violating the stipulations in the rental agreement, you may find yourself without the protection of the operator's insurance coverage. So, it pays to read the fine print before you sign, and make sure you keep a copy of the rental agreement.

During the flight itself, your performance of the maneuvers may affect the length of the checkout. Though CFIs typically have a standard tick sheet that they need to accomplish—determined by the FBO or their own experience—you can bet that if you don't perform one maneuver correctly, you'll get another chance to do it right. You may get several. But if you consistently mess up maneuvers, you will lengthen your checkout. So, it helps to be sharp. However, this is an hour of dual like any other—if there's something you want to cover, most CFIs are amenable to working with you on a problem spot.

One common area that flight instructors find they need to address with renter pilots is avionics. Since the variety and complexity of avionics have exploded over the past several years, you may find yourself renting an airplane which contains radios in the stack that are unfamiliar. Even if you've used, say, a Garmin 430 GPS unit, the Bendix/King KLN 89 GPS in the airplane you're currently renting may require some effort to fully utilize.

Rarely do checkouts last more than one flight, unless the aircraft has specific insurance requirements (such as five hours' time in type) that you don't meet otherwise, or if the airplane is new or unique. For example, Dakota Ridge Aviation, at the Boulder (Colorado) Municipal Airport recently put a Cirrus SR20 on its line, and prospective rental pilots can expect a three- to five-hour checkout, which normally translates into a couple of flights.

One of the gang

At best, renting from an operator can turn into a long, happy friendship, where someone else takes care of the ownership and you just show up and fly when you want. Establishing this kind of relationship takes time and effort on your part—but it's worth it when you pull a preheated, clean airplane out of the hangar for a clear winter morning flight, and leave someone else to fuel and park it when your flying's done.

Links to additional information about aircraft rental may be found on AOPA Online ( www.aopa.org pilot/links/2001/links0102.shtml). E-mail the author at [email protected].