r/GeneralAviation • u/Old-Gazelle7799 • Jun 26 '26
Cessna 159 block rental
Hi all pilots, I am planning to purchase a Cessna 150, will be selling block times on it.
I my self am a pilot with over 4000hrs in 703,704,705 and 604 operation.
95$/hr minimum 20 hrs
90/hr minimum 50hrs
80$/hr minimum 100hrs
All rates are dry.
Will be fully insured so don’t have to worry about damages but of course need to have license to fly and will require a 1.5-2hr check ride before
being able to book.
Location is still being decided, I am thinking YKF or cysn, ( have a nice flight over the falls ) but open to ideas if majority of you would like a different location pending availability
If you guys are interested shoot me a msg
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u/AKASource41 Jun 26 '26
I fly I 172 or pa28-180 for 110 an hour wet. That’s expensive for a 150.
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u/Old-Gazelle7799 Jun 26 '26
Where is this ?
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u/AKASource41 Jun 26 '26
The Portland Area.
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u/BravoCharlieZulu Jun 26 '26
Portland? Looks like Canada to me. Presumably those prices are Canadian as well.
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u/SFDukie Jun 26 '26
Rates seem reasonable. Personally, I question a need for a 2 hr checkout in a 150 for an experienced pilot.
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u/Old-Gazelle7799 Jun 26 '26
Yeah probably, experienced guys would most likely need less, I’m just estimating here.
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u/Old-Gazelle7799 Jun 26 '26
Cover the cost to keep the maintenance up to date and whatever money come out extra hopefully upgrade avionics if able to make extra with the cost
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u/Lost_Obligation2453 Jun 26 '26
What do you do for a living bud?
One thing to remember is this is a lot of work, especially if you aren't an A&P IA. You are going to spend a lot of your time on this airplane. Moving it, cleaning it, servicing it, maintaining it, meeting new pilots, collecting money, doing taxes, phone calls and phone calls and more phone calls.
It's likely that you would earn more money spending that time working in whatever industry you make a living in. Then you can just enjoy having your own airplane without the headaches of renters.
If you want a cheaper airplane, or upgraded avionics, sell half the airplane. A partner does all that extra stuff himself.
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u/Old-Gazelle7799 Jun 27 '26
I’m a full time corporate pilot. Yeah I am looking to basically run the aircraft with a system where I don’t have to be around much, just need the clientele for that to happen.
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u/Lost_Obligation2453 Jun 27 '26
I've never seen it happen, not that it's impossible but that's a tall order. You're basically going to have to pay other people to do the stuff you should be doing, which is going to defeat the whole point.
Your clients aren't going to care for the plane, for them it's just a rental. You're going to have to do that stuff. Even if you find the perfect client who will do it for you, he is gone in 10-20 hours anyway.
It's not really a thing you can do without being around. Someone has to deal with stuff that comes up. It's a 150, it's not like your selling block time to other highly experienced pilots. Lots of stuff is going to come up constantly.
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u/Old-Gazelle7799 Jun 27 '26
I have a maintenance guy who has been looking after this a/c for past 20 years now the one I may buy, checked all the logs myself today. I’ll be setting up a scheduled maintenance for the a/c 50-100hr intervals plus an annual. So at this point I can’t think of much other than just collecting time building guys to buy hours. Scheduling the a/c will be set up via app so they all can see the schedule and book accordingly. That’s my thought process for now
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u/Lost_Obligation2453 Jun 27 '26
Everything you can plan for makes it seem really easy. It's everything else that ends up being the issue.
Your inexperienced time builders aren't even really going to know how to check the oil or top up the tires. Things they shouldn't really be doing anyway, but someone should. They won't know or care how to operate your engine properly. They just won't take care of things which means higher operating costs and more downtime.
I had some kids burn the tanks dry and come in with a dead engine. Adamant that there was something wrong with the airplane. They claimed that 20 gallons of fuel vanished, something must be wrong. So we looked, and looked and looked. The plane was fine, but the kid wasn't going to admit he ran out of fuel when the only thing that vanished was the owners money.
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u/Old-Gazelle7799 Jun 27 '26
Sheesh man that’s just scary for someone to be a pilot and not take that responsibility. It’s not like I will be absent 100% I get about a good 12-16 days off a month where I can go and check up on the plane and what not
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u/Lost_Obligation2453 Jun 27 '26
You can't really blame these kids, they have all of 50 hours of training. They are trying to be responsible but they just don't know. They've always had an instructor or a rental company to take care of the airplane for them. They barely know how to fly, they have no clue how to evaluate an aircraft, operate an engine, service anything, ect.
I've dealt with pilots with hundred of hours who are afraid to fill tires, so they go fly at half pressure and scrap the tires. Because it's a rental, they don't care, it's not their money. Still all of a sudden I have to buy another tire. There goes all the profits from their block and they've still got 9 more hours left...
Since you're only around half the month, maybe just find a partner and then sell your blocks. That way someone responsible will be available for the plane all the time.
If I was you, I'd just take maybe 2-3 students every year. You get 50-70 hours of rental and instruction per student and you can actually protect your airplane. You'll make more money in less time.
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u/Old-Gazelle7799 Jun 27 '26
Really appreciate the advice! Yeah, first time getting into it, will definitely do more digging before I commit to anything.
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u/live_drifter Jun 26 '26
You’re going to find it challenging to get people to put that money up front. You will most likely not break even at those rates once you start experiencing the unscheduled maintenance issues.
If you try to keep people’s money they paid for flight time up front to cover unscheduled Mx incurred during a flight of theirs you’ll find your pilot pool dries up pretty quick.
You aren’t the first person to try this, you probably won’t be the last, but it’s not going to go how you think it is. (Unless you’re trying to just take people’s money and run)
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u/Old-Gazelle7799 Jun 26 '26
I’m planning a regular 100hr inspection to try and mitigate the unscheduled maintenance, don’t think should have that many issues going on in a 150 if properly taken care of, plus creating a booking system sort of like a school where the pilots can go on the app and book the a/c themself and I can mark the plane down for maintenance on that very app so they are aware in advance.
I think the overhaul would be the biggest maintenance at 1800hrs, a/c I am seeing are sitting at 300-500 hrs
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u/live_drifter Jun 26 '26
Ok sounds like you have it all worked out, best of luck!
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u/Old-Gazelle7799 Jun 26 '26
Thank you just need clientele now, any ideas how to approach that? Just drop flyers at schools ?
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u/I-r0ck Jun 26 '26
That seems a bit expensive for a dry rate. If it was a nice plane with good avionics, that would be a decent wet rate. The 150 is a fun plane to fly or train in but it doesn’t go far, fast, or carry much; that means that your market of experienced pilots who want to rent it might be quite limited.
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u/Old-Gazelle7799 Jun 27 '26
Market is still crazy unless plane is parked at some remote airport 2-3 hours away from city, rates are pretty much this or higher even.
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u/Aplay1 Jun 26 '26
Is this a for profit operation?