Page 13 - Volume 17 Number 5

nd OperationWhich is best, in order to limit personal liability and satisfy FAA rules and insurance requirements?would normally be deemed by the FAA to have operational control, and therefore responsible for hiring the pilots, performing maintenance, flight planning, etc., while the lesser shareowners would merely pay their allocated share of the costs of the ownership and operation of the aircraft.Lease documents concerning time sharing, interchange, and joint ownership agreements among related businesses must be filed with the FAA in advance of commencing flights, and should be carried aboard the aircraft.Other than these limited exceptions, if you plan to share or loan your aircraft and crew, you must decide to what extent, and with whom. If you wish to attempt to make a profit on its use by others, you must either obtain a commercial operator certificate from the FAA, or dry lease your aircraft to a Fixed Base Operator (FBO) or aircraft management company that has a Part 135 Certificate. This shifts the operational control to the FBO or management company, which would then be responsible for complying with the FARs on allcommercial flights for the general public or otherwise.Lease of Only the AircraftThese problems are avoided if you only lease the aircraft and not a crew. For large and turbine aircraft there must be a written dry lease agreement, filed in advance with the FAA and carried aboard the aircraft, specifying who has operational control of the aircraft for the flight. The difference between a wet lease, which is a commercial operation, and a dry lease is whether a crew is also provided. A dry lease is basically a lease of only the aircraft, whereby the lessee provides the crew, fuel, flight planning, etc. The lease must meet the FAR definition of a dry lease whereby operational control is shifted to the lessee, with the specific language required by FAR 91.23 included in the lease.Want to avoid all this? Of course you do. The simplest option is to never let anyone else use your aircraft, and to never let anyone contribute to the cost of a flight.MAY 2013TWIN & TURBINE • 11