Fast, Affordable Flying Partnership

Partnership Forming

Taking inspiration from a recent article in Flying magazine (https://www.flyingmag.com/cant-make-the-numbers-work-to-buy-an-aircraft-heres-some-help), we are looking to form a 4 person equity partnership in a fast aircraft (Mooney M20J, C210, etc) to be based in New Braunfels, TX at KBAZ. The goal is to make flying affordable for the members with a reasonable buy-in and low monthly and hourly costs. A secondary goal of this partnership is to provide equality of use of the aircraft. Read on below for further details.

The Cost

Owning an aircraft outright by a single pilot can be a very expensive proposition. In a 4 person partnership those costs are split 4 ways, making it more affordable for every partner.

The partnership does not currently own a plane, we will be looking to purchase the right one in the near future. The target price range is between $125-150,000 for an aircraft.

Buy-in - Each partner would put in 10% and together we would secure a loan for the remaining 60% of the cost. $12,500-15,000/partner + one fourth of the initial yearly insurance payment + 3 months of monthly payment in reserves. Total buy in approximately $13,500-16,000 depending on the cost of the aircraft we choose to purchase as a group.
Monthly/Annual Costs - Loan Payment, Insurance, Annual reserve, Hangar/Shed/Tie-Down split 4 ways, monthly. Approximately $350/mo.
Hourly Costs - Accounting for maintenance, engine reserve and building an upgrade account, hourly costs approximately $52 dry.

Example below is a M20J at a price of 125,000 w/500 SMOH. Fuel cost at $5.15/gallon (which seemed high a few weeks ago), puts wet around $111/hour. This is just an example, we can make other choices as a group that could change these numbers in either direction.

Below is just an example with some research, but more is needed to determine the accuracy of the numbers. Insurance may be way low, depending entirely on the experience makeup of the group as a whole and hull coverage value etc.