I like to simulate stuff in FSX as much as realistically as I possibly can, without having to quit my day job..but how would a person go about opening there own little charter service? say in the PNW area?I'm just guessing here but:I go out and buy or finance an airplane... say a C185?then I would have to find an airport to base my operation out of ?then hang my shingle and advertise? or ??I know there is FAA and red tape a mile long but other then all of that... the above sounds way to simple..thanksBrian S

Here's a link to get you started:http://www.faa.gov/licenses_certificates/a...dia/n135toc.pdfscott s..

Starting up a charter service is a lot like the old question, "How do you get $1 million in aviation?"That's easy, start with $2 million! :(

Starting up a charter service is a lot like the old question, "How do you get $1 million in aviation?"That's easy, start with $2 million! :(

thats funny, I was going to say start with a billion and then open your own airline!

Most air charter services do not start up and then wait, or hope, that customers will roll in. Instead they will look for a gap in the market and attempt to fill it, and even then, other circumstances will probably dictate the possibilities for such a venture to become a viable concern.For example, look at perhaps the most well known of charter airlines that uses small aircraft - Kenmore Air. They started in 1946, which was right after the Second World War of course, a time when lots of people were interested in chilling out after the horrors of WW2 and the US economy was booming in the early fifties. Used surplus aircraft were plentiful and cheap, and many ex-military pilots were returning to the US with good flying experience gained from WW2 and the possibility of loans to get them on their feet also being a likely prospect. Kenmore started in a region where there was a plentiful supply of potential customers wanting to go on fishing trips, and they also got involved with tying their service in with tour operators, to make their services known. Airfields were no problem, because they used lakes and floatplanes, where a simple jetty, a shack and a rowing boat was about all that was required in order to create an 'airport'.The same thing happened after WW1, when old bombers and recon aircraft could be bought for next to nothing and converted into small passenger aircraft for very little. Mail contracts were plentiful for small operators, so there was no real need for start ups to hope that people would want to fly with them, since there was a guaranteed source of revenue already. Even Boeing got started by doing that sort of thing, with their B-40 mail/passenger plane, which they started their own airline with.After Vietnam, the same thing happened with many helicopter pilots, who would get contracts flying personnel out to oil rigs, or surveying oil pipelines in remote places, generally using the relatively cheap and plentiful Bell 47 Sioux helicopter, of which, over 5,000 were built. These rapidly becoming surplus after the Bell UH-1 Iroquois replaced the Bell 47 in the army's inventory.These days, you would need to find somewhere that had a similar sort of gap in the market. So, you might look for a place where a large company is doing survey work in a fairly untamed area, and rely on flying personnel and supplies into and out of such a location. Since Cessna aircraft such as the 152 and 172 that used to be fairly ubiquitous in training schools, are now being replaced by cheaper and lighter modern composite alternatives such as the Skycatcher and the Super Dimona, a used Cessna 172 would probably be a good choice. However, as soon as was practicable, if you were flying over remote terrain, you would want to get hold of a decent twin.So, that means, an IMC rating, a night rating, a twin rating, and probably a commercial license are in order.Al

A couple notes on Chock's comment.While Technically correct that a 172 can be had on the cheap side - It's on the slower side, and the twins are on $$ side. One of the Bigger Singles or in the case of bush something like a Skywagon would be optimal right?Since Brian is from the US - There's no such thing as a Night Rating (Every Pilot is good to fly day or night here).Lastly, my own 2 cents - when operating a commercial operation you need to define it under Private or Common Carriage (You don't get a choice - it has to be one or the other). You can look up the two terms and what defines them at the FAA through Google :). through deciphering common/private carriage and what "Part" you fall under - you get to find out how much paperwork you need to fill out (Which may be lots n lots!)Ryan.

Yup, true there is no night rating in the US, but the reality is that to realistically start up a charter, you might have to search around the world to find an opportunity that had not already been exploited, so it is something that might potentially crop up in considering every eventuality.For example, if you decided to start a charter up in Scotland flying to the islands around there (which is a feasible option), you would need to get a conversion of an FAA license (fairly common since many train in the US and then get a European conversion, as it is cheaper to do that) and of course a night rating after having done that, an IMC rating (since the weather is crappy up there) and then a commercial license rating so that you could charge for flights you make. Stay in the continental USA of course, and less of that stuff would crop up.Al

aye, :( .

Yup, true there is no night rating in the US, but the reality is that to realistically start up a charter, you might have to search around the world to find an opportunity that had not already been exploited, so it is something that might potentially crop up in considering every eventuality.For example, if you decided to start a charter up in Scotland flying to the islands around there (which is a feasible option), you would need to get a conversion of an FAA license (fairly common since many train in the US and then get a European conversion, as it is cheaper to do that) and of course a night rating after having done that, an IMC rating (since the weather is crappy up there) and then a commercial license rating so that you could charge for flights you make. Stay in the continental USA of course, and less of that stuff would crop up.Al

wow, thanks for those replies, they are very helpful.Not sure how to simply simulate all of that without getting to crazy. After that explanation FS Economy looks a lot more realistic than what I first thought. You could use FS Passengers and set the start up rating a lot lower at first say 25-25% instead of of in the 60's and 70's.

Yup, true there is no night rating in the US, but the reality is that to realistically start up a charter, you might have to search around the world to find an opportunity that had not already been exploited, so it is something that might potentially crop up in considering every eventuality.For example, if you decided to start a charter up in Scotland flying to the islands around there (which is a feasible option), you would need to get a conversion of an FAA license (fairly common since many train in the US and then get a European conversion, as it is cheaper to do that) and of course a night rating after having done that, an IMC rating (since the weather is crappy up there) and then a commercial license rating so that you could charge for flights you make. Stay in the continental USA of course, and less of that stuff would crop up.Al

We have a lot of charter / taxi / ambulance service here in Hawaii, but one thing that happened is that if you start getting too much business you get a target on your back. The 121 operators started complaining it wasn't fair having to compete against 135 and got them shut down. (The nice thing about the 135 is single pilot and chances are you can sit in the right seat as a pax.)The alternative is to try to snag an "essential air services" contract but I think that is cut-throat too.scott s..