Our club treasurer likes to say that good financial management is the most boring thing that can happen to a flying club. Nothing dramatic, nothing exciting — just reserves that stay funded, bills that get paid on time, and dues that don't need to go up.
We've had boring finances for six years. It has not been an accident.
The Engine Reserve Is Sacred
When we established the Lakeview Flyers in 2019, the very first thing we did — before we set dues, before we voted on hourly rates, before we did anything — was decide on our engine reserve per hour. We looked at TBO, we looked at current overhaul costs, we divided, and we added fifteen percent.
That reserve is not touchable for anything other than an engine overhaul or major unscheduled engine work. Not for avionics. Not for paint. Not for the time someone wanted to add a second aircraft. Sacred. Off limits. Non-negotiable.
This single decision has saved us more financial grief than anything else we've ever done.
The Year It Almost Fell Apart
2022. Avgas spiked. Our hourly rate formula had fuel baked in at a fixed number. When fuel went up forty cents a gallon practically overnight, we had a choice: raise the Hobbs rate or drain the operating reserve.
We raised the Hobbs rate by eight dollars. Three members complained loudly. One resigned.
But we didn't touch the engine reserve. And the following year, when fuel stabilized, we dropped the Hobbs rate back down. The three members who complained are still with us and haven't mentioned it since.
The lesson: variable costs get handled with variable rates. Fixed reserves don't flex.
3 Comments
This is exactly why I joined a club instead of renting. The numbers worked on paper but the community is what actually keeps me flying.
Shared this with our club WhatsApp. We've been arguing about dues structure for months. This is the clearest explanation I've seen.
Nine years in flying clubs. Can confirm: the engine reserve is sacred. We learned that the hard way before we learned it the right way.