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How OpenAirplane aims to make it easy to rent and fly a plane

Submitted
Pilots Rod Rakic and Adam Fast wanted to fly more, but they could never find an easy way to access a machine to fly. So in 2011 they created OpenAirplane — an online portal linking licensed pilots to places with planes to rent. (bluesky.chicagotribune.com) More...

Ethan Pressl
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immermannjoseph
Joseph Immermann 2
I don't even care about logging hours - I love to fly and I want more experience. I was thinking about trying to develop an app linking up guys like me who do not have a ride who would love to navigate/copilot for experineced pilots who could use the help or who like to mentor.
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BaronG58
BaronG58 1
Yeah....that would be a great app. Aviation equivalent to Zipcar or Uber. Where you located? If in DFW area you could occupy my right seat on occasion, providing your not a mass murder or anything like that. :)
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kcollignon
Kevin Collignon 1
Not to mention... the rental schools jack their prices up to accomodate for the fee taken by OpenAirplane. Not sure how raising prices makes renting planes easier...
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rodrakic
Rod Rakic 5
Kevin, not all Operators bump up their wet rates when they list on OpenAirplane.

It's free to join and and free to list with us. (We keep 7% of the bill to keep the lights on.) We hope avoiding the half a day of hassle and hundreds of dollars of cost by skipping the local checkout is a pretty good deal.
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izanti
izanti 1
Regardless of an upcharge or not I will definitely be renting more simply because I have the option almost anywhere I go now. Keep up the good work guys.
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neillaferty
Neil Laferty 1
Great concept, Rod, and I wish you success. By the way, I got my private at the flight school mentioned in the article and I have flown N87JA many times!
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WithnailANDi
WithnailANDi 1
Not sure I agree with the goal of making it easier to rent a plane, for so many reasons. All of them safety related.
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izanti
izanti 4
Not quite sure why you say that. Are you a pilot? I am and the ability for a universal checkout around the country seems like a great idea. No different then renting a car when I'm in a different state.
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WithnailANDi
WithnailANDi 0
Whether I am a pilot or not has absolutely nothing to do with the validity of my opinion. When you own something, you take better care of it. When someone is going to commit a crime, they are more likely to rent a vehicle than use their own. I just think it's safer for private flyers to own their own plane. Seems more likely that they would have spent the necessary time and effort to train properly when they're laying out the cash for the bird. Although I love flying, the idea of the skies being full of planes isn't ideal, either for other pilots in the air, or for those on the ground. The exclusivity of it makes it special - and, in my opinion, safer.
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kcollignon
Kevin Collignon 1
I disagree. I've seen many people that own their own airplane get relaxed, skip pre-flights, try to do their own maintenance, etc that ends up getting them in trouble. While rental planes are beat up quicker, they go through 100 hour inspections and constant pre-flights and checks with flight instructors.
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WithnailANDi
WithnailANDi 1
It's kind of funny... the doubts I expressed were about the pilots, not the planes, yet you came back saying the pilots who owned their own planes were dodgy, and the planes that are being rented are kept up beautifully.

I don't think that the rental planes would be any less air-worthy. My doubts lay with people who rent things, both the renters and the rentees. And with creating availability of large blocks of metal with wings attached to people who may or may not be able to handle them. Companies that make money by renting out planes are not going to make money if they turn down customers.


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rodrakic
Rod Rakic 2
Pilots who participate in a annual standardization / evaluation program like what OpenAirplane requires typically have 60% fewer accidents. We believe general aviation can be both safer and more useful.
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Dedonut
Donna Turcot 2
I agree because we still have people out there who want to learn to take off but don't care if they know how to land!!
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THRUSTT
THRUSTT 3
Learning to land is overrated, gravity always works...
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immermannjoseph
Joseph Immermann 1
This app may help me fly more often. If you want to talk safety - it is unsafe to fly infrequently. I just lost my ride - the FBO I rented from does not rent anymore. I am happy to jump through whatever safety hoops OpenAir deems necessary to get my behind back in the air.
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immermannjoseph
Joseph Immermann 1
I don't even care about logging the hours - I just love to fly and would like more experience. I was thinking about developing an app that would link up guys like me who don't have a ride and would like to navigate/copilot with pilots who would like some help in the cockpit and/or like to mentor. When I fly cross-country I am often alone - I don't like navigating and flying PIC - it is less safe and it gives me less time to enjoy the ride. I love to navigate - I would be all too happy to copilot with someone I could learn from.
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BaronG58
BaronG58 1
I like this. Hope it becomes the Hertz of aviation.
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pfp217
pfp217 2
actually at one point in the late 50s , Hertz was the Hertz of aviation...

http://www.newyorker.com/archive/1958/07/26/1958_07_26_017_TNY_CARDS_000258625
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vincentvan
vincentvan 1
Nice concept...they're even planes available in "the valley" not too far from Anchorage..you might try and see if you can entice one of the FBO's at Merrill Field near downtown Anchorage...
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WithnailANDi
WithnailANDi 1
Here's just ONE example (of many) why I feel the way I do...

http://www.flyingmag.com/technique/accidents/nashville-cessna-172-crash-pilot-was-legally-drunk


And here's a quote from the NTSB Review of Civil Aviation Accidents 2010 (the most recent I could find):

"The majority of general aviation accidents in 2010 involved personal flying in fixed-wing airplanes, which accounted for 64 percent (912) of the accidents, followed by flight instruction in fixed-wing airplanes, which accounted for 10 percent (140) of the accidents. Aerial application, business, and public aircraft operations followed next in accident frequency in 2010. Fixed-wing airplanes accounted for 87 percent (1,242) of all general aviation accidents, helicopters accounted for 8 percent (120), and all other aircraft accounted for the remaining 5 percent (71)."

How many stories posted on this website involve private planes hitting houses, businesses, landing on highways? Lots. Renting planes will just increase these statistics. No thanks.
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