xcop

Let him rent the A/C. Then have him pay you pilot services (a day rate 2-3 hundred). I was doing this for about 5 years 2 to 3 times a week.

I was once ramped by the feds. I was told "ya know a lot of people use pt91 flight instruction to get around part 135". My responce was yes I know but I think I can prove that I was not trying to "get around Pt 135".

He said how can you do that?. I said that the A/C that we were in (a Baron) was on a 135 cert and that I was current in the A/C on that cert. and that if I wanted to do the trip 135 all I would have to do is fill out a manifest and go. He said then why don't you do that?

My answer was because he wants to learn how to fly the A/C and if we were 135 I could not allow him to touch anything.

He said he would have to talk to "legal" and get back with me. That was 15+ years ago and still no word!

jonnyjetprop

There's two ways to answer the question.

If your client really want's to learn how to fly. Enroll in AOPA's legal program, because you'll need it. Have your client take and pass the written exam. Have him obtain a thrid class medical. It would be tough for the FAA to say that he's not serious if he does both. Have him talk to the owner of the flight school about insurance. I have found that all insurance issues can be resolved by money. Have your client pay for the required coverage. Think about doing some of the training in the C-182 (talk about insurance on this one too) and having him do his solo flights in the single first. Sell him on the idea of getting both the SEL and MEL tickets at the same time.

If your client really wants to just fly to and from meetings, then have him do it above board either in his own plane or under a FAR 135 charter basis. Your ticket is worth far more to you than one "whale" client. You will be turned into the FAA. There are too many people out there that would call it in.

Gajre539

Thank you all for your input. The aircraft (any of them) will be rented through the flight school by the student and I get paid by the flight school for flight instruction. I've been told that if I sit around at a FBO for 3 hours waiting for him, I get paid for "pilot services" at the same rate as flight instruction.

I agree with you 'jonnyjetprop', one client is not worth my pilot certificate.
I've told him about the medical, he should have it by his next flight and will tell him about the written exam too. I plan to have him solo on the single engine. He doesn't just want to fly to/from meetings, he wants to get his private pilot certificate but also wants to take advantage of having an airplane to save time. I have a syllabus that I carry with me on all flights to document what was done on the flight lesson and I also enter the date on which the flight was completed.

On another note, he threw up on his first flight in a C-172 a few days ago and says that he has motion sickness when he does not have any visual references, so I'll see how he flies under the hood on his next flight.

rickair7777

Sounds like legit flight instruction to me, but be careful. It has some characteristics of charter, and the FAA has sometimes tried to hold that the presence of flight instruction does not automatically get you off the hook if you are also conducting a charter-like flight. In their view the only clean way to do it is for XC flights to not have any purpose other than training...especially no business purpose. I would not let the details of this arrangement circulate around the field. Any 135 ticket holder would dime you out to the FSDO if he heard about this, rightly or wrongly, and then you would have to deal with that mess.