Hi everybody,

I hope I am posting this in the right place, if not forgive me, but I'm looking at renting a plane for a few hours to take a friend down to Stephenville for some BBQ. Any recommendations on where to go? I am 5 min away from ADS, but Monarch seems to be a bit expensive. Anything cheaper close by? Well I hope somebody can help me out.

Thanking you in advance

I instructed at Skymates in Arlington (KGKY). Not sure about there prices now-a-days but you should be able to find some info at their website - Skymates

They did have a pretty good selection.....even a 172 with a/c !

Two dollars a minute for a 172. The last time I rented one a couple of years ago it was 75 an hour.

hooray for gas prices!!

I think anything at ADS is gonna be expensive. I checked out American Flyers over there a while ago and their prices are steep I would recommend FWS, you can get a 172 for 99/hr or an Archer for... 110/hr I think, but that's about an hour's drive from where your at. Or if you are really ambitious, a 152 for 68/hr

I got my training done there at American Flyers. Went to Stephenville a lot for that BBQ. All the places at ADS are gonna be expensive (190+). You might wanna try McKinney.


Damn I'm hungry now thinking about that..

That's about halfway to SEP from ADS!

you can also check out Lone Star Flyers. Lone Star Flyers ~ Flight Instruction and Pilot Services. There's also a flying club called RFC Dallas that owns 3 Bonanzas, a Cardinal RG and a Cherokee 180.

Personally, I rent from Monarch b/c there's always a plane available.

Spinks has a 172 for $100/hour. PM me if you want the info. Squawk, when did you instruct at Skymates? Must not have been recently or you wouldn't recommend anyone you like to go there.

I used to live, fly, and instruct in both the Dallas and Fort Worth area. I saw this note and couldn't resist throwing in a message. First....the Hard 8 has the BEST bbq, hands-down. I still miss flying down, getting a golf-cart and hanging out for the afternoon with students or friends. Its the type of thing that makes flying light aircraft worth the price.

Speaking of the price....Yes, Monarch charges slightly higher rates for their aircraft, but if you live only 5 minutes from ADS, does it make sense to drive all the way to GKY, TKI, or somewhere else? Between gas, wear on the car, the possibility of a wreck, etc...does it make sense to spend $10 to save $10? I only bring up this point because that's what I used to do, I would drive an extra 20 miles to rent an old beat-up plane so I could save a few extra bucks, but half the time the planes were broke when I got there due to poor MX. Monarch has good MX and lots of choices of plane, CFI's , etc. Just my two cents....but have fun at the Hard 8!