places to rent in Austin, TX?

[TXaviator]

anyone got good suggestions of somewhere to rent a 172 from in austin or the area?? (georgetown and san marcos are fine too)

i talked to Alliance a while back but it looks like they folded... website not up anymore and phone number is disconnected....

so far my best lead looks like Adventure Aviation up in georgetown (KGTU) .... a cessna 172 of some flavor for 89/hr wet...

anyone got the hookup?

[TXaviator]

oh, and i suppose it doesnt HAVE to be a 172, but i need something that will lift me and my 300lb buddy (yes, im aware its going to be a snug fit. we're cool with that tho)...

[LoadMasterC141]

If you pick Adventure, please please let me know how your experience went.

[TXaviator]

Originally Posted by LoadMasterC141

If you pick Adventure, please please let me know how your experience went.

will do. guy was real relaxed on the phone. ill let ya know if i end up heading there sometime this week... weather looks crap tommorrow and thursday, and my buddy has to work the weekend...soooo kinda dont know if im going to end up going flying at all... might have to have buddy call in to work sick so we can go have some fun!

[Alchemy]

I've had good experiences with Adventure. Friendly place and the price is right. I used to instruct in several of the aircraft now in their posession. Ask for Lewis on the checkout, he's a great guy, but I'm sure all their instructors are fine.

Wright Aviation also seems like a good place, but you're going to shell out some $$$ over there for their newer cessnas. Adventure has an R model 172 I think for a fairly decent price, a little over 100/hr I think.

[casey]

Originally Posted by TXaviator

i talked to Alliance a while back but it looks like they folded... website not up anymore and phone number is disconnected....

they werent paying thier leasebacks, afaik.

At AUS there is the University Flying Club, but they require dues to fly thier planes (50/semester i think, or at least it was in 2002). There is another guy on the field that has a plane or two for rent, but i cant remember his name and dont know what kind of plane(s).

[Minuteman]

Pilot's Choice is right next door to Adventure and Georgetown. I likes 'em

The website (http://www.pilotschoice.com) looks a little out of date. That Warrior 64J they talk about ... well ... it, uh ... had an incident (goon moved fuel selector to OFF abeam the numbers)

[casey]

Originally Posted by Minuteman

Pilot's Choice is right next door to Adventure and Georgetown. I likes 'em

The website (http://www.pilotschoice.com) looks a little out of date. That Warrior 64J they talk about ... well ... it, uh ... had an incident (goon moved fuel selector to OFF abeam the numbers)

shouldnt a private pilot be able to lose an engine abeam the numbers and land on the first third of the runway?

of course i suppose a private pilot could also be expected to return the fuel selector to a tank with fuel in it...

[Alchemy]

Originally Posted by casey

they werent paying thier leasebacks, afaik.

At AUS there is the University Flying Club, but they require dues to fly thier planes (50/semester i think, or at least it was in 2002). There is another guy on the field that has a plane or two for rent, but i cant remember his name and dont know what kind of plane(s).

I'm pretty sure Virgil Kennedy is still in business at AUS too, under the name Austin Academy of aviation. Like Wright, he's pretty proud of his planes....I think the going rate is something like $135/hr for a skyhawk SP......never tried pilot's choice so I can't comment, although at least they have some tomahawks if you want to save $$ and rent a two seater....other than UFC I don't even know of anyone around with a 150/152.

Other possible contacts at AUS for rentals include:

Dave Becker
Bruce Tamayo

If you ask around for these names at either FBO you may be able to find out some more info.......

[MidlifeFlyer]

Originally Posted by casey

shouldnt a private pilot be able to lose an engine abeam the numbers and land on the first third of the runway?

of course i suppose a private pilot could also be expected to return the fuel selector to a tank with fuel in it...

I'm not so sure that abeam the numbers is the best place to switch tanks to begin with.

[TXaviator]

update: rob at adventure was very happy to return my call late yesterday afternoon and i will be scheduling a checkout with them sometime this week.

[Minuteman]

Originally Posted by casey

shouldnt a private pilot be able to lose an engine abeam the numbers and land on the first third of the runway?

of course i suppose a private pilot could also be expected to return the fuel selector to a tank with fuel in it...

You are absolutely correct, and they were pretty religious at that school about flying a pattern where you stayed in a position to land if the engine failed as much as possible. That was one of my gripes with Adventure (several years ago); that their planes would often fly huge patterns and end up on a two or three mile final. Maybe he was following traffic (still shouldn't have been fiddling with the selector at that point).

[LoadMasterC141]

The instructor I had at Temple Aero was awesome about “Money-saving” things. I flew incredibly close patterns. Too bad he left. I would finish my PPL there.

I did not know about Pilots' choice. Looks like a good place, except one thing: They have not updated there website much, which suggests waning enthusiasm on the owners' part.

[casey]

Originally Posted by Alchemy

Other possible contacts at AUS for rentals include:

Bruce Tamayo

thats the name i was thinking of. someone else here on the board told me he does have a plane (or two?) that he's renting out.

the GA situation here is just sad compared to 3 or 4 years ago (austin proper, not the surrounding areas).

[mhcasey]

The rundown:

At Bergstrom:

1) Compass Flight (aka Bruce Tamayo) - 124/hr for an '03 C172SP 386-5528

2) UFC:

C-152A for 70/hr w/ Sparrowhawk conversion 125hp...not sure if I would risk
it w/ a 300 pounder though

C-172L? 85/hr

C-172R 90/hr

And there is a block rate depending on how much you put down...something to the tune of if you put down $400, George Farris (the guy who owns the planes) puts 425 in your account, 800 = 850, etc. Initial $100 to join club, then $50/semester I think. http://studentorgs.utexas.edu/flying/

3) Austin Academy of Aviation (Virgil Kennedy) - 135/hr for 172SP's, something like 20 bucks more for the glass cockpit, plus I think you sign over your soul when you start paying that much money to rent a 172.

At Lockhart:

1) Stenger Air, run by Joe and Louanne Stenger. Maybe the greatest Ma & Pa flight school ever. Last I checked it was 70/hr for a C150, 95ish/hr for a 172 or Warrior. I've got their card at home if anyone wants their number.

At San Marcos: A few schools I know nothing about.

At Georgetown:

1) Pilot's Choice - Mostly Pipers...cheap Tomahawks (70/hr?) and Warriors (90/hr?). They also have a 172RG for $115 I think. By the way, I read the incident report on that Warrior that went down a while ago...a CFI was actually the one that switched the tanks during a "GUMPS" check in the pattern. Apparently the fuel selector on the Piper's is in a ridiculously inconvenient location on those things and is not really visible to the pilot. If I'm not mistaken (I've never flown Pipers), you have to put the selector on left for takeoff/landing because of the way the fuel tanks feed. Anyway, someone else can look up the report if you want more info.

2) Adventure - run by some guy named Rob I think who looks a lot like Rico Suave. Apparently he's a good guy, but I've never flown with them. I've heard good things about the instructors, but bad things about the planes (just super old and worn out). Let us know if that's actually the case or not.

3) Wright - Way expensive, but I've never heard any other complaints.


There might be an outfit or two at Taylor if you're far enough northeast to not mind driving out there.

I've only flown with Compass, UFC, and Stenger. Compass probably has the best plane of the three (though it's not IFR), but Stenger seems to maintain his planes about 1000X better than anyone else. UFC is great all around, especially since you can strap on a parachute and do aerobatics in the 152-A.

I visited Georgetown a while back, but was terrified by Beth Jenkins and the notion of trying to enter the pattern at Georgetown safely.

Hope this helps. Can you guys tell I am at my parent's house for the holidays and thus have a lot of spare time?

[LoadMasterC141]

Why was G-Town so terrifying? The pattern is that busy or what? Why is Beth scary?

[TXaviator]

Originally Posted by LoadMasterC141

Why was G-Town so terrifying? The pattern is that busy or what? Why is Beth scary?

[TXaviator]

Originally Posted by LoadMasterC141

If you pick Adventure, please please let me know how your experience went.

great and very pleasant experience.

went up for the checkout with Luis. very laid back guy, we discussed my background while walking out to the aircraft and he was very "hands-off" during the checkout. allowed me to just go through my natural/learned flow/style, i asked questions about specifics of the aircraft (speeds, power settings, some of the avionics) and we were done with the checkout in .5

the office gal was very pleasant and relaxed, and the owner, Rob, was friendly and relaxed as well.

cant beat the price, and the aircraft, even though it was a '80, was just fine and mechanically sound. some significant shimmy in the nose gear but i have no idea whether that was the plane itself, or a typical cessna trait (was my first time flying a cessna product)

i would reccommend adventure and i will be renting from them whenever i am in the austin area.

also, the austin approach controllers were really great as well. very relaxed, competent handling the traffic, and accommodating for my requests.

had a great time today!

[LoadMasterC141]

Good deal. Let Rob Know he will have a 2/3 finished PPL student in Mid-March. I'll probably need about 20 hours to finish. Then I'll need another 20-25 to get the 85 needed for ATP. I'd like to go sooner, but this our busy time of year and I am travelling almost every otgher weekn until march.

[mhcasey]

What kind of planes are they renting and for how much at Adventure?

Coincidentally, I got an e-mail earlier today from a guy that is opening up his own "rental" company sometime soon with a few other guys. I guess it's still in the works because he had an online survey about plane preferences.
http://stepupaviation.biz

[TXaviator]

Originally Posted by mhcasey

What kind of planes are they renting and for how much at Adventure?

Coincidentally, I got an e-mail earlier today from a guy that is opening up his own "rental" company sometime soon with a few other guys. I guess it's still in the works because he had an online survey about plane preferences.
http://stepupaviation.biz

i believe 2 172s, a 152, and a diamond da42??

[mhcasey]

Update: I've been doing my commercial and CFI at Pilot's Choice in Georgetown for a few months now. Despite my initial fear, Beth has really turned out to by a great lady and great instructor, albeit every bit as weird as you might expect a woman running a flight school to be. Nonetheless, she is extremely experienced (20+ years running that school now, though I think it used to be in Temple?), very hard working (the last few weeks I think she's been pretty much 14/24 at least), and definitely competent. To be honest, some of the instructors I've seen go through have been pretty freakin dorky, but I think it's like that in most places. Beth does not hire bad instructors, though. About a month ago she lost 4 instructors to regionals and has been pretty desperate to hire since, but she has turned away several CFI's that were not up to her standards.

Overall, I've been extremely pleased with Beth and very impressed by the operation. She actually has full time mechanics! And a manager! And a dispatcher! Some of the planes are older, but the mx crew knows what they're doing. I believe they also perform annual inspections for each 100 hr. I know for a fact Beth does not "let things slide." A few months back she ordered several new engines that I don't think were actually due, and I've seen her order several pricey parts that were not absolutely necessary.

The fleet has been changing quite a bit since I showwed up, but right now it's roughly:

5 Tomahawks
2 Warriors
2 Archers (Beth has been talking about going with 3 of one or the other)
1 Eclipse
2 Duchesses
2 172 RG's
1 Bonanza

I would definitely say Pilot's Choice is the most professional school I've gone through in the area, and the prices are fairly reasonable (relatively anyway). It's also 141 and VA certified.

I'll finally be making my first flight out of KGTU this week (commercial/CFI ground school is a long, grueling process, but I've finally finished). I'll let you guys know if the pattern is as nasty as everyone says.

As usual, PM me if you're thinking about training in the area or want to hit up 6th street.