I have owned a share in that particular aircraft. Just reading your post disturbingly familiar so searched for details. It has been an interesting syndicate indeed.
Characters aside, there were two issues with this syndicate which are must be common to many syndicates:
- one or two historical members who believe and act as if it is “their” aircraft, defeating the collaborative nature of a syndicate.
- wide distribution of means: some in the group fly on a shoestring, some want to invest. Funnily enough I too was trying to get an engine monitor installed may be 15 years ago.
Character wise I will not comment. But the fact of the matter is that shares for sale come few and far apart. If in addition to finding the right aircraft at the right airport, one requires a friendly, reasonable bunch of pilots – forget it. Except in extreme scenarios, I would say accept what you’re getting, be flexible and thick skinned – at least up until the point where safety is involved.
That aircraft served its purpose and I enjoyed owning the share for a few years. I made one friend in the group (who had his share bought back!) and whilst I had no interest in socially engaging with the rest of the group, they let me enjoy my flying and I (mostly) let them enjoy their approach to shared ownership.
Maoraigh wrote:
For many light aircraft, the cost of civil law enforcement makes the law irrelevant, due to their value.
That’s not the point is it? The point is to have a healthy group where people enjoy their shared property. Obviously there are many wrong ways of doing it, which don’t work, and there are right ways of doing it that do work. Judging by Peter’s observations, none of them works in the UK, so obviously they are all doing it wrong. In other cases the group has over time grown into rather odd arrangements for all sorts of different reasons. This is probably OK for the existing owners, but hopeless for new owners to enter into, and at the same time have an enjoyable experience. A dysfunctional family is still a family.
Judging by Peter’s observations, none of them works in the UK,
Nonsense; I never wrote that.
One way (of a few) that a group can work well, is when 1 member is appointed to be ‘in charge’ who also is happy and capable to undertake all paperwork, organising and accounting.
This member needs to be very capable but very ‘balanced’ and diplomatic. Obviously it helps that this is fully accepted by the other members.
It worked very well in two groups that I was involved with but that was a long time ago.
As mentioned above, aligning aircraft, share availability, location, and price, is a lottery.
GA_Pete wrote:
This member needs to be very capable but very ‘balanced’ and diplomatic. Obviously it helps that this is fully accepted by the other members.
Not a group nor syndicate, but a hanger where there were several planes. We all paid our monthly fees.We had all been there for a number of years.
The arrival of a ‘’training captain’’ with a well known airline, with his private aeroplane, he became the self proclaimed hanger manager. Some of the residents ‘’looked up to him’’ in a pretty bizarre way.
I came in one day to a post-it note on my cowling. Your engine is dripping too much oil. FIX IT! It was Gypsy Major 8..
Someone had moved my aircraft, and left the drip pan.It was the beginning of the end in diplomatic relations.
Unfortunately someone will eventually ruin the party. It is life.
Pompous twat. I would have ignored him.
Peter wrote:
Pompous twat. I would have ignored him.
Yes obviously I did but it eventually cost me my hangar space!!!! The majority thought it was all for a good cause.
There were many stories, but not for a forum. All types.
Peter wrote:
Nonsense; I never wrote that.
I didn’t say you wrote that.
LeSving wrote:
Peter wrote:
Nonsense; I never wrote that.
I didn’t say you wrote that.
Voila……Point proven 
People of all types.
Exactly; syndicates work or not the same way everywhere, because it is the people who make them work or not.
For as long as I’ve been in this game, smart people have said the members are more important to get right than the plane. Well, obviously the plane needs to do the job you want, too.
The only difference is that almost nobody in mainland Europe is happy to write stuff critical of their own country on an international forum. Brits are happy to slag themselves off but not many others will do it
