Originally Posted by
Rotor2prop
I have no direct experience with Aviator but I can answer a few questions. The prices on their website are the spilt cost. So you and your friend would both have to pay. I do not know how they do fuel purchases but I would assume that it has a cap on how much per gallon they will pay you back for. Air America has 3 BE-76 that they rent for $195 wet but to make theirs economical you would want to come back to DAB for fuel because their site says they only pay you back up to around $2.70 gallon. But if you stayed close its a good deal.
Air America is usually pretty firm with their prices but for 100 hrs, it doesn't hurt to ask. The real problem with Air America is the way they are set up, the strict rules they have, the instructions from the chief pilot & management to the staff at the front desk which include to have absolutely NO consideration for the customer's deadlines.
The attitude is YOU DON'T HAVE TO TAKE THE FLIGHT OF YOU DON'T LIKE IT. That attitude along with the rules is enforced to the MAX.
You get what you pay for & while $195 + TAX = $208 per hour (WET with no additional fuel surcharge) seems a great deal but one does end up paying more as you have to buy fuel outside & they only re-imburse $2.70 per gal, no matter what you paid for fuel. Buy 10 to 20 gallons of fuel & you will see the difference.
If you plan on flying with the range of BE76 & come back for re-fuelling & just fly to log hrs & if you don't care that you have to spend 30 mins on the ground just to takoff, you should be fine.
DAB is sort of the JFK for light single & twins, we used to be # 11 for departure some times.
Leaving or arriving after hours (READ LATE NIGHT/ EARLY MORNING) to beat the weather is another big hassle, a VERRY BIG hassle due to air America's rules... Sometimes they simply forget to leave a GOLF CART or the gate card, now you are stuck, can't walk or get out....
I have flown their BE76 & telling you from experience..
If it was for 10-20 hrs, one can just bite it, but 100 hrs is a lot of time to abide by those rules...
BTW never trust those fuel gages......
Take my experience FWIW...