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pvalovich

Well Known Member
The local China Lake Weapons Museum is holding its annual fund raising auction in early June. I plan to offer a sight seeing flight through the Sierra Nevada Mountains and over Death Valley as one of the auction items - with clear explanation that my plane is an experimental homebuilt.

Then I got to thinkin".

I realize I can't receive personal compensation for flights. But what about the case where all the bid bucks goes to a non-profit registered charitable organization, not to me personally? Will the Feds be upset?
 
The advice I received...

The advice I received was that this was a no-no. In fact, I was told that I would have to have a Commercial rating to give this flight and be legal to the letter of the law. This was in a Cessna, so the Experimental part did not play a role.

However, what we ended up doing was packaging the flight with airline tickets and a stay (coincidentally, to San Francisco and to tour Napa by air, along with a hotel in Napa). Then the flight was not actually part of the package, and was a free ride that I gave to a friend with a common interest (the foundation we were giving the ride for).

I'm sure an FAA lawyer could cut through the charade and do some nasty things, but if you get creative about how you word it, I think you'll be fine.

In my case, the trip ended up being scheduled for the same week my daughter was born, so the flight ended up being cancelled.
 
Bummer

Thanks folks - one more example off where the devil is in the details.

The president of the museum foundation is a personal friend, so I'm going to fly him on the same route as a favor. It seemed logical that having aviation buffs bid on an additional ride was a great way to raise money for a worthy cause.
 
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