Pricing a charitable sightseeing flight

[Robert C.]

Hi Gang,

I'll be volunteering a sightseeing flight for a church fund raiser. Am thinking of about 1 hr, 2 people max per flight, within the regulatory limit of 25 miles of my home drome.

Anyone have any data/pricing on what would be a reasonable price to charge? (All money raised goes to the church ofc).

Cheers,

Robert

[kpaul]

18 minutes ago, Robert C. said:

Hi Gang,

I'll be volunteering a sightseeing flight for a church fund raiser. Am thinking of about 1 hr, 2 people max per flight, within the regulatory limit of 25 miles of my home drome.

Anyone have any data/pricing on what would be a reasonable price to charge? (All money raised goes to the church ofc).

Cheers,

Robert

I think you have to be careful.  Are you a commercial pilot?  Do you have commercial insurance on your Mooney?  While you may not directly being compensated, someone is, money is exchanging hands and your flight is being bought.

[Robert C.]

Kevin, I appreciate the concern.

Fortunately this is a well trodden path and CFR 91.146 is quite clear on the requirements, which I meet. AOPA also has a guide that expands a bit on the legaleze found in the CFR. (https://goo.gl/qxHu7x).

Robert

[ArtVandelay]

Fuel + $12-15/hr to cover wear and tear on the engine.



Tom

[midlifeflyer]

I'd double-check with an accountant who understands aircraft rental, but I'd personally feel comfortable with calculating what an hourly rental rate would be or what your hourly cost of operation is (fixed, variable, and reserve costs included), which should come out fairly close to each other.  

[KLRDMD]

1 hour ago, Robert C. said:

I'll be volunteering a sightseeing flight for a church fund raiser. Am thinking of about 1 hr, 2 people max per flight, within the regulatory limit of 25 miles of my home drome. Anyone have any data/pricing on what would be a reasonable price to charge? (All money raised goes to the church ofc).

Make it an auction.

[Robert C.]

31 minutes ago, KLRDMD said:

Make it an auction.

That is actually the plan. But I'd like to have a "minimum bid" that I can ask for, hence my curiosity about what sightseeing flights cost.

[Robert C.]

57 minutes ago, midlifeflyer said:

I'd double-check with an accountant who understands aircraft rental, but I'd personally feel comfortable with calculating what an hourly rental rate would be or what your hourly cost of operation is (fixed, variable, and reserve costs included), which should come out fairly close to each other.  

Sure, but my own expenses don't matter to me as all proceeds go to a good cause and I like to fly anyway

So I'm mostly curious what rates are for sightseeing flights so I ask a number that people will pay or exceed in an auction. 

[McMooney]

hmm, can flights like this be written off?

[RLCarter]

will it be a single fight or multiple flights?

[Robert C.]

1 hour ago, McMooney said:

hmm, can flights like this be written off?

Since it is for a charitable organization the "out of pocket" expenses (fuel, oil) are tax deductible (assuming you have enough deductions to exceed the standard deductible ofc)

[Robert C.]

8 minutes ago, RLCarter said:

will it be a single fight or multiple flights?

I'm planning on doing it for the 2 highest bids, so 2 flights as part of a single event.

[midlifeflyer]

11 minutes ago, Robert C. said:

I'm planning on doing it for the 2 highest bids, so 2 flights as part of a single event.

That's what I meant earlier - I'd feel comfortable starting by calculating what an hourly rental rate would be or what your hourly cost of operation is (fixed, variable, and reserve costs included), which should come out fairly close to each other.  Then I would discount it to encourage bidding. If the organization has done these types of auctions before, they may have some idea the relation between the value of a service and he way bids are set up. 

Yes, it's a Mooney Ovation, but I don't think the concept is much different than donating a house painting job.

If it helps any, I used to donate 1-hour flight lessons and valued it as about 60% my rental cost. That worked fine for a 172, but you might have to discount it further for an Ovation, depending on the charity's target market.

[RLCarter]

6 minutes ago, Robert C. said:

I'm planning on doing it for the 2 highest bids, so 2 flights as part of a single event.

So 2 seperate flights and they are bidding on a single flight for 2....... Most of the auctions I've been part of start out low to gain interest (momentum). Since you are donating plane and service your cost is the same regardless of what the final bids are. The starting price can always be lowered if no bids are placed, if it's a silent auction and the price is lowered be sure that it announced so those that pasted it up can reconsider 

[Aerodon]

I listed a sightseeing flight at a charity auction a long time ago.  No minimum, what difference does it make to you whether the charity gets a small or large amount?  The top  bids were all really good, so I told the organizers to accept the top three.  Everyone wins.

 

 

[skydvrboy]

I'd calculate some relatively ridiculous cost to rent the plane plus hire a commercial pilot to fly it and list that as the value.  Then start the bidding low, maybe even zero as Don suggested.

For example: One hour sightseeing flight for two. $500 value, no minimum bid!

[carusoam]

Our local flight school does 1/2 hour flights... for first timers... it covers all the bases and is over before anyone starts feeling ill...?

Hudson River Corridor?  Extra cool on a nice day. Super sight seeing opportunity.

Best regards,

-a-

 

[Robert C.]

Anthony,

I'd love to do the Hudson River Corridor with the winner, but it's more than the 25 sm distance limit (per the FAA) from KDXR

Also, I discovered that a local operation charges $225 for an hour's intro flight so I think I'll mention that in the write-up and start the auction/bidding at $100 and see how many people are interested.

Thanks everyone for your suggestions!

Robert

[Hank]

Wow!! $225 is steep. Where I learned in WV, the FBO gave 20-30 minute intro flights for $50 . . . . .

[kortopates]

Wow!! $225 is steep. Where I learned in WV, the FBO gave 20-30 minute intro flights for $50 . . . . .

That was subsidized as a marketing expense. You wouldn’t expect to pay that little for a true for profit sight seeing flight.


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[aviatoreb]

17 hours ago, Robert C. said:

Anthony,

I'd love to do the Hudson River Corridor with the winner, but it's more than the 25 sm distance limit (per the FAA) from KDXR

Also, I discovered that a local operation charges $225 for an hour's intro flight so I think I'll mention that in the write-up and start the auction/bidding at $100 and see how many people are interested.

Thanks everyone for your suggestions!

Robert

It would be legal to do the corridor perhaps if you launched the sight seeing flight from an airport much closer to the Statue of Liberty.

i did that flight once / it is such a very cool flight.

for anyone thinking of it there is a bit of local knowledge details one should know.  I pre briefed with a cig at hpn.