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Re: flight school annual report

Posted: Fri Jan 01, 2016 2:22 pm
by drseti
Helen wrote:About how many mx hours are you seeing per flight hour required? And what age is the airframe you are basing that on?
Here's a worst-case answer, Helen, involving a 5 year old aircraft that I purchased at a very favorable price, knowing it was coming due for some very time-consuming maintenance (including a Rotax 5 year rubber replacement, new brakes, tires, landing gear work, etc.) In a five month period, that plane flew a mere 89.2 hours, during which it underwent considerable downtime totaling 107.5 person-hours of maintenance. That plane brought in $10,204 in revenue, but consumed $9,138 in expenses. Believe me, that's no way to make a living!

Generally, I expect to put in 15 to 20 hours of work per 100 hours flown. But then, as mechanics go, I'm slow!

Re: flight school annual report

Posted: Fri Jan 01, 2016 2:49 pm
by SportPilot
.......

Re: flight school annual report

Posted: Mon Jan 04, 2016 2:57 pm
by MrMorden
I generally assume I'm going to have an hour of maintenance for every 10 hours of flying. Sometimes I have gone 40+ hours with no squawks, but there have been other times where I have not been able to get 5 hours in between some small maintenance items required.

Re: flight school annual report

Posted: Fri Jan 05, 2018 12:29 pm
by drseti
For those who are interested, AvSport's 2017 Annual Report is available online at:
http://avsport.org/reports/report2017.pdf

Safe Skies,
Paul

Re: flight school annual report

Posted: Fri Jan 05, 2018 1:39 pm
by TimTaylor
Paul, I'm curious why you publish financials. Also, I don't see any salaries or wages in expenses. Are you doing this for free?

Re: flight school annual report

Posted: Fri Jan 05, 2018 1:45 pm
by comperini
TimTaylor wrote:Paul, I'm curious why you publish financials. Also, I don't see any salaries or wages in expenses. Are you doing this for free?
Advertising.

Re: flight school annual report

Posted: Fri Jan 05, 2018 2:02 pm
by drseti
TimTaylor wrote:Paul, I'm curious why you publish financials.
Mainly to let my customers and prospective customers see that I'm stable and solvent (and also to show that my prices are fair, and that I'm not greedy).
Also, I don't see any salaries or wages in expenses. Are you doing this for free?
Sort of. I am Chief Flight Instructor, Director of Maintenance, Janitor, and the guy who makes the coffee. In other words, the sole employee. I don't draw a salary, but accrue equity and tax benefits. Since I can live comfortably on my pension, Social Security, and investment income, I can afford to run a flight school! (If I had to support myself doing this, I'd have gone out of business by now.)

Re: flight school annual report

Posted: Fri Jan 05, 2018 2:14 pm
by TimTaylor
I guess the main financial gain is the depreciation you can take on the airplane and other assets against your ordinary income. And you get to fly for free, which is always a good thing. Well done, sir.

Re: flight school annual report

Posted: Fri Jan 05, 2018 3:09 pm
by drseti
TimTaylor wrote: Well done, sir.
Thank you, sir. You will note that my business model is in stark contrast with the standard industry model for flight schools: decide up front how much money you want to lose, and upon achieving that goal, quit.

Re: flight school annual report

Posted: Fri Jan 05, 2018 3:46 pm
by TimTaylor
But look at how much fun you're having.

Re: flight school annual report

Posted: Fri Jan 05, 2018 4:19 pm
by drseti
TimTaylor wrote:But look at how much fun you're having.
For sure!

Re: flight school annual report

Posted: Fri Jan 05, 2018 7:20 pm
by Warmi
drseti wrote:
TimTaylor wrote:Paul, I'm curious why you publish financials.
Mainly to let my customers and prospective customers see that I'm stable and solvent (and also to show that my prices are fair, and that I'm not greedy).
Also, I don't see any salaries or wages in expenses. Are you doing this for free?
Sort of. I am Chief Flight Instructor, Director of Maintenance, Janitor, and the guy who makes the coffee. In other words, the sole employee. I don't draw a salary, but accrue equity and tax benefits. Since I can live comfortably on my pension, Social Security, and investment income, I can afford to run a flight school! (If I had to support myself doing this, I'd have gone out of business by now.)
I wonder if this qualifies as https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Predatory_pricing :D
I guess the only way to compete is to start a school while living on even more comfortable pension and investment income ..

Re: flight school annual report

Posted: Fri Jan 05, 2018 8:03 pm
by TimTaylor
$120 per hour plus tax for plane and $40 per hour for instructor, in flight or ground school, sounds reasonable.

2018 flight school annual report

Posted: Mon Dec 31, 2018 8:41 pm
by drseti
Fellow Pilots,

I am pleased to wish you a joyous, prosperous, and flight-filled New Year. For your reading pleasure, I have just released AvSport's 2018 Annual Report. You may download it from:

http://avsport.org/reports/2018.pdf

I call your attention especially to the last sentence of Page 12!

Safe Skies,
Paul

Re: 2018 flight school annual report

Posted: Mon Dec 31, 2018 8:53 pm
by Sling 2 Pilot
drseti wrote:Fellow Pilots,

I am pleased to wish you a joyous, prosperous, and flight-filled New Year. For your reading pleasure, I have just released AvSport's 2018 Annual Report. You may download it from:

http://avsport.org/reports/2018.pdf

I call your attention especially to the last sentence of Page 12!

Safe Skies,
Paul
And a Healthy and Happy New Year to you and yours...