The Dayton Pilots’ Club is a registered non-profit organization in the state of Ohio. It operates just like any other pilots’ club in the nation.
Dues
The monthly dues (currently $155/month) is assessed based on fixed costs that we have to collect even if we don’t fly the airplane. It includes things like insurance, hangar rental and other expenses like telephone, website etc… The airplane’s annual inspection is also included in the dues, but maintenance, repairs and fuel costs are not.
Operating cost
The flying rate (currently $188/tach-hr) is assessed based on expenses related to flying the airplane. These are fuel, engine reserve, prop reserve, avionics reserve, as well as repairs & maintenance. The reserve is a fund that we set aside for known future expenses. For example, we know that we will have to replace the engine after 2000 hours, and its cost is known, so we include its prorated cost in the flying rate. Our current flying rate is based on the following assumptions:
- Fuel: $85/hr
- Repairs: $50/hr
- Avionics reserve: $8/hr
- Engine and prop reserve: $45/hr
We periodically revise these assumptions based on actual expenses. If we want to buy new avionics, for example, we will take a loan to pay for it, and then create a reserve fund prorated over a certain length of time to pay back the loan.