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All rates are "wet" (fuel and oil included) and charged by Hobbs time. Rates were last raised on
July 1, when 100LL at our field went up again. The treasurer sets them to cover fuel, the engine reserve,
maintenance and insurance, and nothing else. If you're curious how the numbers break down, Joan will show
you the spreadsheet. She'll show you whether you're curious or not.
Each airplane has its own checklist, its own Pilot's Operating Handbook, and its own personality.
Please read the handbook and the notes below before your checkout.
| 1976 Cessna 172M · $62/hr wet |
| Engine | Lycoming O-320, 150 hp |
| Usable fuel | 38 gallons |
| Plan on | about 105 knots, 8 gallons an hour |
| Equipment | One nav/com with VOR, a second com, Mode C transponder, intercom. VFR only. |
| Quirks | The trainer and the club's oldest airplane, with almost 7,000 hours on the airframe and a mid-time engine. The pilot's door has to be pulled shut hard; if it pops open in flight, it's noisy but harmless, so fly the airplane and close it on the ground. The left fuel gauge reads a little high. Dip the tanks on every preflight anyway (the dipstick is in the seat pocket). |
| 1979 Cessna 172N · $68/hr wet |
| Engine | Lycoming O-320, 160 hp |
| Usable fuel | 40 gallons |
| Plan on | about 110 knots, 8.5 gallons an hour |
| Equipment | Two nav/coms, glideslope, ADF, an IFR-approved GPS installed last winter, Mode C transponder, wing leveler, intercom. IFR certified and checked. |
| Quirks | Our instrument airplane and the most-flown of the three. The new GPS is a wonderful thing and a dangerous one: please don't fly an approach with it in real weather until you've had ground and flight instruction on it with Merlin. The number two com is scratchy on transmit; use number one for anything important. Lean the mixture on the ground; it fouls plugs if you don't. |
| 1980 Piper Archer II · $79/hr wet |
| Engine | Lycoming O-360, 180 hp |
| Usable fuel | 48 gallons |
| Plan on | about 120 knots, 10 gallons an hour |
| Equipment | Two nav/coms, glideslope, DME, Mode C transponder, two-axis autopilot, intercom. IFR certified. |
| Quirks | The traveling airplane: faster, roomier, and the one people fight over for the Tahoe trips. Low wing, so the fuel selector is LEFT, RIGHT or OFF, with no BOTH. Switch tanks every hour by the clock, and write the time down. Electric fuel pump ON for takeoff, landing and tank switches. There's one door, on the right, with a latch at the top as well as the handle; if the top latch isn't closed, the door will come open on climbout. Ask anyone who has done it. Several of us have. |
Some numbers worth knowing
None of our airplanes can fill every seat and every tank at once. With full fuel, a 172 can carry
three adults and a little baggage, not four; the Archer does a little better. Do the weight and
balance every time you carry more than one passenger. There are blank forms in every airplane, and Joan has
a spreadsheet that does it for you if you give her the weights. And remember the numbers above are book
numbers at sea level on a standard day. Your mileage will vary, and in the Sierra in July it will vary a lot.
See density altitude.
| Membership costs |
| Initiation fee (one time, to the engine reserve) | $500 |
| Monthly dues | $50 |
| Club instructor, flight or ground | $30/hr |
| Overnight minimum, weekday / weekend | 2 / 3 Hobbs hours per day |
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