Air Life Line

[Dot_AK]

last time this was discussed, I believe the answer was: technically, yes - however, check the insurance regs.

also, can you schedule the time in? Will you have enough notice, or can you garuntee a plane will be available? And do you have the money - you won't get reimbursed, though you may be able to count plane and fuel as donation toward charity for tax purposes.

 

[tarp]

They are real sticklers on the insurance.

Make sure the FBO will provide you/them with the Declarations page of the insurance policy. They will not just accept a binder number and name - they have to verify the coverage on the plane in use.

It's kind of funny because you get a "hold harmless" waiver signed by the patient when you transport them, but the folks in California want their paperwork before you fly.

Nice people doing good work - it's worth the paperwork jungle to be associated with them.

 

[mike1mc]

Great organization and great people. I recently joind after hearing of them through the people and AngelFlight (www.angelflightne.org), another similiar organization.

You won't get "reimburesed", but it is all tax deductible. You can rent an aircraft, but check with the company's insurance. Most have something in the contract that won't allow you to do the flights. You will have enough time to book an airplane, as most missions are booked a month in advance. Some are short notice, but mostly those are transplants, etc. You fly as little or as much as you'd like and you'll meet some great people along the way.

I don't have access to a plane, but offer myself as a copilot for anyone who needs someone to ride along with or to help with a flight in IMC. Good Luck with it and I hope you get as much out of it as I do!

 

[boeingav8r]

I know this is kinda getting off the subject, but I haven't rented an aircraft in 6-7 years. I'm sort of out of touch with the going rates. FlyChicaga, you have got to be kidding!!! $98 per hour just for a 172? I can remember when I was renting, I got a nice 172 in Texas for only $42 an hour. Heck, if pilots are paying that kind of money to rent a 172, I need to buy one and rent it out to people. Operating costs haven't changed much since I rented a 172 for $42/hr......I don't think the higher fuel prices warrant a jump from $42 to $98 an hour. There's got to be a pretty good profit margin, even after you put a little $$ away for maintenance, pay the insurance, and hanger space and misc expenses.

 

[skyking1976]

I think that $98/hour would be for a brand new decked-out 172. I rented one in MKE for $95/hour and it had HSI, autopilot, moving map GPS, etc.

Skyking

 

[boeingav8r]

It is just so dang expensive to fly! I need to buy a plane and rent it out to recoup the costs!

That seems like the best way to do it to me.

maybe go into partners with somebody and split the cost 50/50

I knew a guy who was not only a pilot, but a mechanic as well. He'd do all the work on his plane. The only $$ he was out was for parts, only if the plane needed anything. His mother owned a hanger, so he kept the plane parked in there for free. They had an old fuel truck and purchased bulk fuel (cheaper). Of course he charged premium rental rates for his aircraft. He soon paid the aircraft off and everything he made was profit (except for insurance and very low operating costs)

 

[midlifeflyer]

You've gotten some pretty good answers, but I'll throw my 2¢ in.

For general information, there are two fairly similar organizations, AirLifeLine and Angel Flight. Both work nationally, but the internal structure is a bit different. You'll tend to find that although both exist throughout the country, one or the other tends to predominate in different geographic areas.

You'll find a central listing of all of the various organizations at the Air Care Alliance home page, www.aircareall.org.

I use rental aircraft to fly Angel Flight missions. Two concerns with doing that.

First, insurance. These organizations want you to have insurance (obviously). That means either you carry non-owned aircraft insurance yourself or the FBO is one of those that carries insurance that covers the pilot (not merely covers the FBO for what the pilot does). Angel Flight West, for example, will want the coverage verified as part of the pilot orientation process.

Second is the reason that I don't fly as many as I would like. Rental aircraft have maintenance issues all the time. Missions are usually scheduled long enough in advance that reservation is not a problem, but those last-minute maintenance issues can be a problem. Twice in a row, an airplane that I scheduled for an Angel Flight went down for maintenance at the last minute. Fortunately, both times there was an acceptable replacement available.

But it =is= an exceptionally worthwhile thing to do. I have a story on my web site about an Angel Flight mission. It's at http://www.midlifeflight.com/devyn.htm