Aircraft Owner Program
Your aircraft, flown well. Managed end-to-end.
A4Aviation's Owner Program places your aircraft into our flying club under a structured dry lease, then manages every aspect of operation, maintenance, scheduling, and insurance on your behalf. Your airplane earns its keep. You keep flying it when you want to.
Rather talk first? Get in touch.
Why this exists
For aircraft owners
Most light aircraft owners fly 30 to 80 hours a year and absorb 100% of the fixed cost — hangar, insurance, annual, database subscriptions, engine reserves — for an asset that sits idle most of the time. A traditional leaseback hands the airplane to a flight school and hopes for the best. Our program is different: structured club use, vetted pilots, owner-priority scheduling, and a single point of contact for everything.
For the A4Aviation club
More tail numbers. More availability. More variety. Without raising membership prices.
How it works
Three steps. The middle one is where we earn our keep.
1. Place
You sign a dry lease and management agreement. We inspect the aircraft, photograph it, list it in our scheduling system, and complete CFI checkouts in the specific tail.
2. Manage
We handle scheduling, member-pilot vetting, fuel, cleaning, squawks, maintenance, insurance, and records. You approve major decisions. We handle everything else.
3. Distribute
Each month you receive a clear statement: hours flown, revenue earned, expenses paid, reserves accrued, and your net distribution.
Two program tiers
Choose the level of service that fits how involved you want to be.
Managed
StandardFor owners who want active oversight without daily involvement.
- Aircraft placed in club rotation
- Wet-rate pricing set jointly with you
- Maintenance up to $2,500 per event authorized by A4
- Annual inspection scheduled and managed by A4
- 8 personal-use days per month with priority booking
- Monthly financial statement
- Quarterly review call
Fee
15% of gross revenue + $350/month base
Managed Plus
ConciergeFor owners who want zero day-to-day involvement and predictable economics.
- Everything in Managed, plus:
- A4 absorbs minor maintenance up to $500 per event
- Monthly cabin detail
- Engine and prop reserve account managed by A4
- Revenue floor guarantee
- Unlimited personal use with 48-hour booking lockout
- Quarterly in-person review
Fee
22% of gross revenue + $650/month base
What's included
Aircraft we accept
We're selective. The fit has to work for the airplane, the owner, and our members.
Must have
- LSA, Part 23, or Experimental-LSA in airworthy condition
- Four seats or fewer, 200 horsepower or less, fixed tricycle gear
- Current annual with no open airworthiness directives
- Engine within 75% of TBO, or fresh overhaul or factory reman
- ADS-B Out compliant
- Hull insured value between $75,000 and $250,000
Strongly preferred
- Glass panel or partial glass (Garmin G3X, Dynon SkyView, G500, G1000)
- Two-axis autopilot or better
- IFR-capable
- Common type with our existing fleet — Jabiru, Pipistrel, Tecnam, Cessna 152/172, Piper Cherokee/Warrior, RV-12, Sling 2
Under consideration — pending market validation
We may accept select modern, well-equipped aircraft beyond our current LSA focus — Cirrus SR-series, late-model Diamond, modern glass-panel Bonanzas, and similar higher-end singles — as member demand and insurance economics support them. Talk to us early if you own one; we're actively gauging interest.
Not a fit
Old iron — 1960s/1970s Cessna 150s, 152s, and similar tired trainers — is not a fit for this program, regardless of recent paint or panel work. Also excluded: tailwheel, retractable gear, turbocharged or high-performance singles above 200 HP, open ADs, deferred maintenance, or undocumented damage history.
A pre-acceptance inspection by an A4-approved A&P is required. Owner pays for the inspection ($600 to $1,200 typical). The fee is credited back if the aircraft is accepted and onboarded.
Economics at a glance
Management fee
Managed
15% of gross revenue
Managed Plus
22% of gross revenue
Monthly base fee
Managed
$350
Managed Plus
$650
Maintenance authority
Managed
Up to $2,500 per event
Managed Plus
Up to $2,500 per event
A4-absorbed minor maintenance
Managed
—
Managed Plus
Up to $500 per event
Revenue floor guarantee
Managed
—
Managed Plus
Yes
Personal-use days
Managed
8/mo, priority booking
Managed Plus
Unlimited, 48-hr lockout
Cabin detail
Managed
Standard cleaning
Managed Plus
Monthly detail
Owner review
Managed
Quarterly call
Managed Plus
Quarterly in-person
Fuel, hangar, insurance, and direct maintenance reserves are owner expenses in both tiers, paid from gross revenue before distribution. The base fee is a floor — when revenue percentage exceeds it, the percentage governs.
Onboarding timeline
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Day 0
You submit aircraft details. We return a per-aircraft economic projection within 5 business days.
-
Day 5–10
Pre-acceptance call to review the aircraft, your goals, and the projection. Letter of intent if both sides want to proceed.
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Day 10–25
Pre-acceptance inspection by an A4-approved A&P. Logs, ADs, engine, airframe, avionics, paint, and interior reviewed. Report shared with you.
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Day 25–35
Documents signed: management agreement, dry lease, limited power of attorney, insurance binder, hangar plan.
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Day 35–45
Aircraft repositioned, photographed, listed. CFI checkouts in the specific tail. Member announcement.
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Day 45+
Live. First member booking. Weekly status updates for the first 90 days, then standard monthly reporting.
Insurance & legal structure
The program uses a dry lease as the regulatory wrapper and a separate management and marketing agreement as the operational layer. You retain title, registration, and operational control of the aircraft. We act as your agent for the day-to-day work.
Insurance. Your hull and commercial-use liability policy is primary, with A4Aviation LLC named as additional insured and a breach-of-warranty endorsement on hull. Minimum limits are $1,000,000 smooth liability or $1,000,000/$100,000 split, with hull at agreed value. Member-pilots carry their own non-owned aircraft policies that backstop your deductible.
Brokerage. We work with Schrager Hampson Aviation Insurance and can place your owner policy alongside our fleet policy for unified claims handling. You're free to use your own broker.
This structure keeps the program clearly outside Part 135 and protects both parties. Final terms are documented in the management agreement and reviewed by aviation counsel before any aircraft is onboarded.
Frequently asked questions
Request a projection
Tell us about your aircraft. We'll return a per-aircraft economic projection — projected monthly revenue, expenses, and net distribution at both tier levels — within 5 business days.