EAA Sport Aviation - February 2010

EXPERT PANEL
AN AIRCRAFT PARTNERSHIP LEADS
TO A PARTNERSHIP FOR LIFE

In 1998, Adam Smith, EAA 653205, bought a one-fifth share in a Piper L- 4 based in Scotland. “I had no money and couldn’t really afford it, but this was the crucial breakthrough that truly got me started in aviation.” The aircraft partnership also brought some romance, too. One of the other shareholders in the L- 4 was airline pilot Janet Davidson, EAA 653207, and their flying friendship blossomed into marriage. “The Cub definitely brought us together, hanging round the airport in the group that was attached to the aeroplane,” says Adam “This photo is from last Christmas when we went back to Scotland and flew G-BWEZ for the first time since we moved to Oshkosh in 2001.”

APA’S ONLINE SERVICE LEADS
TO LSA SUCCESS IN VIRGINIA

Bill Bocazny reports that the APA was the gel that brought his LSA partnership together. “I saw a mention of the startup of the APA in an aviation magazine in January 2009 and immediately registered and found my two future partners who were already APA members looking for a third partner. Initially, I had placed bulletin board ads with pictures of the airplane I was interested in at local airports, but got no responses.” Bill’s group took delivery of a new Tecnam P2002 Sierra special light-sport aircraft in June 2009. It is hangared at Warrenton-Fauquier Airport (HWY) in Warrenton, Virginia.

TWO BONANZAS COMBINE TO MAKE ONE
MALIBU AND TWO HAPPY PARTNERS

Frank Gibson, EAA 1010283 and Jeff Witwer, EAA 767232, met in 2001 when they were both commuting in their nearly identical A36 Bonanzas into San Carlos Airport, just south of San Francisco. A few years later they separately moved to Bend, Oregon, where again each spotted the other’s A36 at their new home base.

A strong friendship started to evolve, based on their mutual love of flying and common aircraft type. After a few months in Bend, they noticed that their flying missions had changed. Flights were longer, less frequent, and over less hospitable mountainous terrain, with the occasional threat of en route icing. Each could have upgraded his Bonanza with supplemental type certificated turbonormalizing and TKS de-icing systems. Alternatively they could switch to a different aircraft in which these features were included at the design stage. After a few evenings on the Internet looking at photos and going over numbers, they realized they if they shared a plane, they could upgrade to a turbocharged, known-ice Piper Malibu at a lower cost than upgrading their individual Bonanzas…and get additional benefits of pressurization and a newer airframe.

Considering a partnership was new territory for both of them, because for years they had both enjoyed having their own planes without having to worry about shared decisions. But other than one or two schedule conflicts, not significant over a period of almost four years, Frank and Jeff report no problems or disadvantages of the partnership.

RESOURCES

For links to online resources, including templates for establishing a co-ownership agreement, and articles on insurance considerations, visit www.SportAviation.org.