An acquaintance who hangars next to me just acquired a lovely CitationJet. When I expressed my envy and admiration, he asked if I might be interested in dry leasing some hours.

The concept is appealing, but I don't even know what I don't know about an aircraft dry lease.

I'd welcome a few thought-starters from you smart BT'ers, please and thank you.

NBAA has resources at https://www.nbaa.org/admin/options/leasing/

Mark H. and Dave S. have worked their way through getting rated and dry leasing a Citation.

If you want to get type rated and insurable to fly the plane alone then the dry lease is only part of what you need to figure out.

Also consider dry leasing and hiring your own captain. You can be FO

Not as much fun. Get the type rating - it will be one of the best things you do for your skillset as a pilot.

Not as much fun. Get the type rating - it will be one of the best things you do for your skillset as a pilot.

Allen, thanks for your reply and for the NBAA reference, which is excellent.

One of the tidbits at that link says "Under a dry lease, the aircraft owner provides only the aircraft and no crew. If at least one crew member is provided in the lease arrangement, this becomes a wet lease as defined in the FARs."

If I hire the pilot who flies for the owner --- and is already typed and insured --- and pay the pilot separately as an independent contractor, I wonder if that tips a dry lease into a wet lease.

As long as the owner allows you to make your own crew hiring decisions you can do whatever you want. You just need to be the one managing and paying crew directly.

Thanks for the intel, Charles.

-Ted

It is all in how the dry lease and insurance is worded over acceptable pilots.

Note that a dry lease establishes a separate operator in the eyes of the FAA. That means you need to get your own RVSM LOA, MEL, and any other LOA's necessary in the name of the dry lease.

You need to demonstrate that you are operating the aircraft independently of the owner/operator and not with his pilot and his FAA LOAs.

...and not with his pilot...[/quote]

Sounds like this may foil the possibility of paying his pilot as an independent contractor.

Correct me if I'm wrong Allen, but I think what he is saying is that you can't just take his whole operator package and use it. You have to have all your own paperwork.

But I don't think using the same pilot is a problem per se.

...and not with his pilot...

Got it. Thanks gents.

As I understand it, if you go through the process with the FAA to get the RVSM, MEL etc. for the dry lessee and they have the opportunity to look at the paperwork, they are not likely to give you problems under a charter angle.

The lease has to be written in a way that gives the lessee full operational control and allows any qualified pilot to fly the plane. It can't be tailored to only allow the lessors pilot to fly. There has to be a separate piloting agreement with the pilot(s) and you can't 'just because its convenient' route the piloting payments through the lessors corporation. So you have to be set up to send the pilot 1099s at the end of the year.