Club rates are based on the actual costs of owning and operating our aircraft. These rates are current as of June 1, 2024 and are reflective of current fuel prices.
Initial Costs
Membership Deposit: $1200 Refundable*
Application Fee: 1x $100 Non-refundable fee, covers dues for rest of first month
*Refund upon resignation on the club
Monthly Club Dues
Individuals: $180
Airplane Hourly Rates
2014 RV12 N702MD $123/hr hobbs
1979 172N N5993E $164/hr tach
1999 172S N992WW $164/hr tach
2000 182S N931SJ $212/hr tach
1981 182RG N405JH $212/hr tach
1979 182RG T N738PK $222/hr tach
Tach time vs Hobbs time: Most FBOs rent their aircraft to you based on “Hobbs” time. A Hobbs meter is a clock that runs in real time from the moment you start the engine until the moment you shut it down. TSS Flying Club however uses “Tach” time to determine the aircraft usage time for which you are billed. Tach time refers to the hour meter built in to the engine tachometer, and measures time in propotion to engine speed. When the engine is running at high rpm, tach and Hobbs time (and the time measured by a regular clock for that matter) are essentially equal. However every flight includes time where the engine is running at low RPMs. These times may include taxi, run-up, waiting for clearances, waiting in line for other aircraft, performing approaches and operating in the traffic pattern, etc. If you’re a student or taking instruction, you can add maneuver practice, landing practice, discussing that last landing with your instructor, etc. to that list of times where the engine is operating at lower RPM.
The bottom line is that when you’re paying based on tach time you’re likely to be paying for 10%-25% fewer flight hours than you would were you paying based on Hobbs time.
Why does TSS Flying Club bill you based on Tach time instead of Hobbs time? Because TSS Flying Club is a not-for-profit club. We charge our members only what it costs to operate the aircraft and the club. Since maintenance costs and fuel costs (which make up the majority of the aircraft usage costs) are based on tach time, we bill our members based on tach time.
Monthly and Hourly rates are adjusted periodically to reflect actual club costs.
Daily Minimum for full day reservations: If you take an aircraft for a full day, you are expected to put at least an hour on the tach. FBOs typically require many times this (one local FBO was recently requiring 1/3rd of daylight hours for full day trips), making a day-trip to the ocean far more expensive than it costs for TSS members to make the same trip. FBOs do this because their purpose is to make a profit, and making a profit requires that their aircraft are highly utilized most days for training. As profit isn’t a factor for TSS Flying Club, we are able to be much more lenient with daily minimums.
Maximum Aircraft Reservation Length: 10 days. Longer reservations may be authorized by the board (and have been.) We’ve had members take month-long trips to places as far as Alaska and Puerto Rico.
Insurance: Members are named insureds on the club insurance policy. That means that the insurance company can’t subrogate against you. Most FBO insurance policies cover only the FBO. If the FBO’s insurance company believes the renter pilot is responsible for an insured aircraft loss, the insurance company will reimburse the FBO, and then go after the renter pilot for the loss (a process called subrogation.). Member liability for minor incidents will be capped at $5,000, so many members choose to buy renters insurance for just that amount. Insurance covers US, Canada, and the Caribbean.
Fuel: The cost of fuel is included in the aircraft rate (i.e. wet rates.) Fuel purchases are reimbursed to the member at the member’s cost. This is unlike rental planes which may cap reimbursement at the cost of fuel at the home field.