Co-Owners Wanted - Earn your Sport Pilot's License
Overview... I am searching for three or four people in the Hillsborough, Burlington, Roxboro, Chapel Hill, Durham area to partner with me in owning a Quad City Challenger II or II Special. No pilot's license required to join the partnership, only an interest in flying. (However, you will need to already hold or earn at least a Sport Pilot license to fly it.) I prefer candidates who are not currently pilots although I will consider certified pilots and ultralight pilots wishing to transition their license to the Sport Pilot certificate. Primarily, however, as I am a Certified Flight Instructor, my focus is on locating co-owners who are not pilots who I can train toward their sport pilot certificate. Teaching flying and sharing the aviation experience with others is my hobby. The camaraderie and social/flight instruction aspect is my primary reason for finding co-owners.
The second reason for finding co-owners... Although it would be great to own an airplane by myself, I simply cannot imagine owning an airplane without partners as I do not foresee being able to use it enough myself to justify the expense. Having co-owners will allow the costs to be spread among a number of people plus, with partners, the airplane will receive more use and as we all know from our experience with cars, airplanes need to be used.
The airplane... The airplane to be co-owned is the Quad City Challenger II (or Challenger II Special which is slightly faster than the Challenger II. For the most part they are the same airplane). You can find a good deal of information on the manufacturer's web site at http://www.quadcitychallenger.com/ . There are many other web sites dedicated to this aircraft, as well. One of the best is the Canadian distributor for the airplane, National Ultralight, Inc. Their web address is http://www.challenger.ca/ . Shown on this page are a several photos borrowed from the National Ultralight, Inc. website. Click on any of the photos on this page to be taken directly to their site. By the way, I should mention that this aircraft is NOT an ultralight. The airplane is often used as an ultralight pilot trainer but it is NOT an ultralight. It does, however, make a perfect aircraft for the new Sport Pilot.
Reasons I choose the Challenger II...
What follows are what over 3,000 Challenger owners have found to be the "10 BEST REASONS FOR OWNING A CHALLENGER" (Taken from the National Ultralight, Inc. web site and adapted to our area of NC.)
1. Unmatched Versatility
This is not simply an airborne taxi to take you from runway A to runway B. The Challenger is equally at home on short grass strips as well as ice, snow and water. Switching between wheels, skis and straight or amphibious floats is easy and won't break the bank.
The Challenger's versatility even extends to soaring! Turn off the engine in flight and experience the joy of circling silently upwards in a thermal to cloud base. Unlike a glider, when you want to head for home, just start the engine and go.
2. Well Proven Design
Continuously refined over 15 years with more than 3,000 airplanes sold and hundreds of thousands of hours of flight, the Challenger is a truly proven design with an enviable safety record.
The light plane industry has produced a number of excellent designs over the years. All of the manufacturers rely on feedback and troubleshooting by the public to refine their designs. By remaining focused on a single design, rather than constantly introducing new models for marketing hype, the Challenger has been refined to a much greater degree of performance and reliability.
Challenger owners don't have to deal with the inevitable glitches that are inherent in totally new or short-lived designs.
3. Spectacular Performance
The Challenger's large wing and low empty weight combine to deliver exceptional payload and STOL performance (short takeoff and landing) on wheels, skis, floats and even amphibs.
The capability to handle a direct crosswind of 20 mph, 30 mph for the clipped wing models, easily equals or betters that of conventional airplanes.
As well, the Challenger has one of the widest speed envelopes of any recreational airplane. The 4 to 1 speed range from 24 to 96 mph, far exceeds the speed range of standard Cessnas and Pipers. This extraordinary envelope gives you the best of both worlds, a high end for cross country trips and a safe and forgiving low speed capability for that magic low and slow ultralight experience.
4. Unrestricted Visibility
Most conventional airplanes obstruct your view. The high, complex instrument panel blocks the view over the nose. Low wings block out the earth below while high wings block out the sky above. In a conventional high wing the pilot flies blind in the turns. The Challenger's tandem seating places the pilot ahead of the wing for magnificent helicopter style visibility in all directions - even in the turns.
5. Factory Built Airframe
The Challenger's airframe is built by the factory to ensure a professionally crafted, airworthy airplane built right without having to rely on your construction skills. It also ensures truly low assembly time for an easy and fun project you will complete with confidence. If you'd prefer to do nothing but fly, experienced builders are available to do it for you.
6. Established Customer Support
The Challenger has a solid, supportive manufacturer with a long track record. A Canada-wide dealer network provides regional sales, service and support. Aftermarket vendors offer a wide variety of Challenger-specific products and services. You can be confident that parts, advice and help are available now and will continue to be in the future.
7. Challenger Owners Association
The International Challenger Owners Association (ICOA), with 800 members worldwide, will put you in touch with other owners. Advice, help and flying friends are as close as the membership directory. Challenger News is full of technical tips and safety items as well as plenty of hangar flying stories. The Canadian Chapter has well over 400 members and holds highly popular fly-ins and other activities.
8. Low Cost To Own And Operate
A brand new, fully equipped Challenger costs about the same as a car, not a house like conventional airplanes. In fact, a Challenger complete with amphibious floats costs far less than the floats alone for a Cessna 185! At around $15 an hour the Challenger is extremely inexpensive to operate and maintenance costs are but a fraction of a general aviation aircraft.
9. Perfect for the Licensed Sport Pilot
The Challenger falls into the new Light Sport Aircraft category which can be flown by licensed Sport Pilots in as little as 20 hours and at minimal cost.
10. Use Twelve Months A Year
In the summer, the high power-to-weight ratio and low wing loading make the Challenger a marvelous choice for a floatplane. Aircraft with less than 300 hp are rarely seen operating on amphibious floats, yet the Challenger handles them with aplomb. Whether on land or water, the doors can be removed in a minute or two for an intimacy with the air like an open cockpit biplane.
In the winter when many planes hibernate, the Challenger is in its element. The skis let you land anywhere white - there's no need to search out a cleared runway. There's cabin heat to keep you warm and neither the engine nor reduction drive require preheating. The pusher prop and tricycle gear mean you'll never suffer prop strikes or nose overs. And with the big wing, light weight and high power you'll never get stuck.
Compare the return on investment with seasonal vehicles such as sports cars, watercraft and snowmobiles!
No license? No problem! And the Sport Pilot program makes earning your pilot's license down right "inexpensive". As I mentioned above, I am a Certified Flight Instructor of eight years with over 1200 hours of pilot instruction given . I have also set up and managed a flight school, (chief flight instructor, etc), managed the day to day operations of an airport, etc. The reason I tell you this is to, hopefully, lend credibility to this project. My primary flying focus is to teach three or four of my previously non-pilot co-owners toward their Sport Pilot license.
The Brand New Sport Pilot Program and License... If you are unfamiliar with the brand new Sport Pilot program and license you can find a vast amount of information about it at http://www.sportpilot.org/becoming/new_pilot.html. After you have read over that page click on their "Home" link and peruse the rest of the site. There, you will find even more information on the topic. A very important thing to bear in mind as you consider becoming a new Sport Pilot is how easy it is to become a licensed pilot under the new Sport Pilot program and how this new license reduces the amount of money and time needed to achieve your dream. It literally is "downright inexpensive" to earn your pilot's license now. In as little as twenty hours you could be licensed and flying your friends and family in your own airplane.
A great time builder... There may be some of you who plan to seek a career as professional pilots. I am unaware of any other less expensive way to earn your first pilot certificate and build time than in your own co-owned airplane such as the Quad City Challenger. Earn your license and build your flight time as much as you wish (again, while flying your friends and family, nonetheless), then sell your share of the aircraft. As these aircraft hold and even gain in value, you should be able to recoup your initial investment. Had I known this when I took up flying, this would definitely have been the route I would have chosen. If you are really eager to "fly for money", after you earn your Sport Pilot license and build the required few hours, you can earn your Sport Pilot Flight Instructor license with me in our airplane. You only need 150 hours total time with part of that being instruction training time to get your Sport Pilot Flight Instructor license. Then you can go to work as a Sport Pilot flight instructor yourself.
Fly your friends and family... With the Sport Pilot license you can fly your friends and family wherever you wish and in as little as 20 hours.
Where the airplane will be located... We will base the airplane in a location convenient to all co-owners. This may be at any airport in an area from Burlington to Chapel Hill to Durham to Roxboro, NC. I prefer basing in or near the Mebane area but again this will be determined by the location of all co-owners.
Purchase Price... The aircraft ownership will be divided into four or possibly five shares depending on the number of pilots the insurance company will allow. I am predicting that the ownership price per share will be in the $4,500 to $5,000 range depending on the total price of the aircraft we choose and the accessories on the particular aircraft including radio, etc. I expect the total price for the airplane to be in the $17,000 to $22,000 range, again, depending on whether we choose a Challenger II (a little slower but carries more weight and is good on floats) or a Challenger II Special ( which is a little faster and carries ever so slightly less weight). We will simply write our own individual checks to the aircraft factory or dealer from whom we purchase. We will not finance the aircraft in any way. (Feel free to use cash, check, credit card, personal loan or other means of payment to them, but again we will not finance the aircraft with any type of loan on the aircraft itself.) Again, to determine our price per share we will simply divide equally the total purchase price by the number of co-owners we accept (probably four or five) and the price per share should be in the $4,500 to $5,000 price range. If you so choose, you may purchase more than one share.
Timeline... My goal is to have three or four partners by the end of this month (November 2005). Only time will tell if this holds true but on the flip side, if there are several people interested, you don't want to miss out, so hurry and let me know of your interest and desire to join this co-ownership and to earn your license if you are not licensed already.
Not sure flying is for you? We can arrange a demo flight for you. Once you try it you will love it. The view from this aircraft is nothing less than amazing. Totally unobstructed just as if you were flying in a helicopter.
To contact me... You may contact me via email me at ch2group@yahoo.com or by telephone at (919) 636-1690. Please leave a voice mail if I am unable to answer and I will return your call. Email is most preferable. I am happy to answer any questions pertaining to this co-ownership group, this airplane and earning your Sport Pilot license. Serious inquiries only, though, please.
Thank you for your time and I look forward to hearing from you very soon!
Very sincerely,
Mark