About Us

The Santa Barbara Flying Club currently has two aircraft based at SBA: a Cessna 172 Skyhawk and a Grumman AA-5B Tiger.

Both planes are IFR certified. The Skyhawk has a GNS 430, and the Tiger has a GTN 650 touch screen (both are moving map combined GPS, ILS and COM1).

As a club we effectively rent these airplanes to ourselves for cost, so our members are guaranteed the best value for their money.

We use tach time billing. It's the most accurate way to account for expense and amounts to as much as a 30% discount, especially for students who typically have the power back much of the flight, doing maneuvers or "Touch and GOs".

Both planes have 4 place intercoms and can be scheduled on-line by our members for trips as long as 10 days with no minimum flight time requirement. That's perfect for cross country flights!

Better yet, as a member you receive your own set of keys to each airplane. This eliminates any last minute hassle from having to check in and out at a desk. It's as if you owned it, the airplane is waiting for you to arrive… 24/7.

Rates/Dues as of August 2016

Monthly Dues = $101/month

Flight time is billed according to Tach hour as follows:

C-172:  $115 / Tach hour

AA-5B:  $141 / Tach hour

Good news for the membership:

If you choose to self-serve fuel, in addition to being reimbursed for the fuel cost, you are credited for the difference between the full-serve and self-serve fuel rate (a difference of approximately $1.56/gallon at SBA at the time of this writing).  This yields effective rates approximately as follows:

C-172:  $102 / Tach hour

AA-5B:  $126 / Tach hour 

In addition, most FBOs offer aircraft billed according to Hobbs meter (and some also add a "fuel surcharge") which is less favorable.  For example, consider the cost of using an FBO-provided C-172 at a rate of $145/Hobbs hour, with that of using the SBFC C-172 with self-serve fuel.  The cost for the following two applications would be approximately as follows:

                                                                      SBFC      FBO

    Case 1:  45 minute for touch & go in pattern    $47     $109

    Case 2:  2 hour rental cross-country flight       $186    $290

Student Pilots are Welcome

A pilot’s license is not required to join the club.  Members who wish to improve their flying skills or earn a pilot certificate may individually contract with FAA-certified instructors for lessons.  The club is not a flight school/business; contracts/agreements between a member and an FAA-certified instructor are made independent of the club.  The only requirement is that the instructor must be approved by the club Board of Directors so as to assure that the aircraft are treated properly.  Experienced members are available to serve as mentors to student pilots.  Many of our current members learned to fly in the club and have continued to enjoy the club benefits. 

Want to find out more about the Club? Click here.