Shared Ownership

As many of you know my first involvement with helicopters was through shared ownership of G-LADZ, an Enstrom 480, based at Manchester Barton. I became heavily involved in the operation of the chopper although the predominance of the paperwork and administrative stuff was done by Steve H.

Heli groups are not easy to find and I was very, very lucky to find this one. In fact I wasn’t actually looking. I went to my Pal Norman Bailey at Manchester Helicopter Centre to re-validate my licence and I just happen to mention that maye next year I would look at buying a share of a machine if there were any about. He opened the door of his office and pointed at G-LADZ parked outside and replied that there was a 20% share available for sale in it.

I told Norman to tell the owner to get in touch when he next saw him as I might be interested in it. I received a phone call within the hour from the Chairman of the group and I was test flying it another hour later. within 72 hours I’d agreed to buy the share and I’d bought and paid for it within the month.

I was getting married the same month and my future wife just looked at me with bewilderment. I actually took my type rating test the day before my wedding!

Anyway we digress. I dived in at the deep end with absolutely no idea what to expect, I didn’t really meet the other owners and I didn’t really go into any of the detail. I can only say though that my time in the group was nothing short of perfect. This is not however the case with some shared ownership schemes and so I hope that my experience can act as a benchmark for others joining, or establishing, a group.

Aircraft Type and Condition

Research the machine type that you want so you know what it is capable of and whether it suits your flying requirements. Then look at the actual machine and give it a good walk around. If you want, get an independant engineer to check it out, but that will cost and to be honest is probably a waste of time. Very few engineers will give you a written report that they will guarantee because, aircraft, and helicopters in particular, have a habit of going tech and you’ll just have to accept that it happens.

Aircraft Value

Remember the sum of the parts is worth more than the whole. If you want the benefits that shared ownership brings then you are likely to pay the price at the off. If the machine has a street value of £250k then a 20% share may (or may not!) cost you £55k or £60k.

Aircraft Operating Costs.

Whatever it costs to own the aircraft, without it ever moving, should be shared in accordance with the distribution of the shareholding. No arguments!. Take into account the insurance, CofA, ARC, Hangarage, Annual Maintenance, etc etc. This should be paid monthly by standing order and you should have a rule that stipulates that if a member is in arrears by say 3 months then they are restricted from flying until their account is up to date.

Flying Rate

The flying rate should be calculated based on typical fuel costs, other consumables and a sensible contribution towards the maintenance. The more the accrual towards maintenance the less the cash calls will be (Cash Calls I hear you ask???……….read on………….

Cash Calls

Sh*t happens. If you get into aircraft ownership and think that you want have to stump up extra cash every year, you’re on planet cuckoo. Especially with a chopper!

Insurance

The insurance is likely to be calculated on the basis of the lowest time pilot so it’s always helpful if every one has the same level of experience, but that, in reality isn’t always going to be possible. How you chose to deal with this is something that I have mixed views on. On the one hand the lowest time pilot could be asked to make the individual , additional contribution, on the other hand it’s a shared machine and arguably the cost should be borne equally by all the members. On a separate, but similar theme, what you should have  is an agreement that the excess is paid by any member who has an incident resulting in a claim.

Usage

Helicopters like to be flown so I’m a firm believer in flying them. I personally don’t believe there should be any limits on how often someone flies as long as you are not monopolising a particular time (unless of course it’s a time that no-one cares about). For instance, it’s unlikely to be fair to book it for every Saturday morning or Bank Holiday. The only exception is if no-one else wants it, in which case, fill your boots! The main point here is that you need to have a system that is fair across the board.

Currency

Not the negotiable type, but the flying experience type. You should, as a group, insist that all members remain reasonably current on the machine. Perhaps in terms of a minimum amount of flying in a given period. The capital investment shareholders will have made is nowhere near as important as the investment individuals need to make to ensure that they are competent to fly. Remember, if it all goes pear shaped the Pilot in Command at the time may have blown their own investment, but they’ve also single handedly destroyed everyone else’s. On the worst side, they may end up injured or worse.

My final words on the matter are that group flying is a fantastic way of getting into helicopter ownership, just ensure that you have the minimum, but most effective, amount of rules (no-one likes red tape for red tape’s sake).

Have fun!!!