Operating Procedures — North Jersey Flying Club, Inc.
Adopted and amended by the Board under Bylaws §12.2. These procedures govern day-to-day flying and are binding on all members. Where these procedures and the Bylaws conflict, the Bylaws control. Pilot minimums and other insurer-driven items are set in the Club’s Checkout and Minimums Schedule, which the Board maintains with the Club’s insurer. Financial items — rates, billing, delinquency, and taxes — follow the Bylaws and the billing rules in §8, with any further detail set by the Board as the club forms.
1. Who may fly
1.1 Only a member in good standing who has completed the Club checkout, meets all insurance requirements, and is current and proficient (§3A) may act as pilot in command (PIC), and only in an aircraft for which they are checked out and qualified (§2).
1.2 A member is in good standing when current on all amounts owed and not under suspension. Nonpayment and its consequences are governed by Bylaws §11.3 and the billing rules in §8.
1.3 Only members (and approved instructors (§9) and mechanics) may operate Club aircraft. Club aircraft are for members’ personal use and enjoyment only — no charter, air-taxi, rental, or carriage of persons or property for hire.
2. Pilot requirements
2.1 Certificate and ratings. A PIC must hold at least an FAA Private Pilot Certificate (the Club does not admit or check out student pilots) plus the ratings and endorsements appropriate to the aircraft and flight — for example, an instrument rating for IFR and a high-performance or complex endorsement where the aircraft requires it.
2.2 Medical. A current FAA medical or BasicMed, as required for the operation.
2.3 Flight review. A current flight review (FAR 61.56). Insurance is not valid if the aircraft is flown without one.
2.4 Minimum experience and aircraft-specific requirements. Minimum total time, time in type, recent experience, and any higher requirements for specific aircraft (such as a high-performance aircraft) are set in the Checkout and Minimums Schedule to match the Club’s insurance. That schedule also states whether the Club’s policy is named-pilot or open-pilot; under a named-pilot policy, a new member may not fly until added to the policy.
2.5 Records. The Club keeps record of each member’s certificate, medical, flight review, and currency, and notifies members of upcoming lapses. Remaining legal and current is ultimately the member’s responsibility.
3. Checkout and recurrency
3.1 Initial checkout. Before flying as PIC, a new member completes a checkout with a Club-approved CFI covering aircraft systems and limitations, Club rules and procedures, ground handling and fueling, normal/abnormal/emergency procedures, and appropriate flight maneuvers, to the standard the insurer requires. The Club then enters the member into the scheduling system.
3.2 Per-aircraft checkout. A separate checkout is required for each make and model in the fleet.
3.3 Staying current and proficient. The Club will require members to stay current and proficient in accord with whatever our insurance policy requires. This may be a specific number of hours flown every so many months (see §3A), or an annual recurrent checkout. The details will not be known until we have an actual insurance policy, but we will keep the requirement modest so it will not be a burden on anyone — especially if you are flying somewhat regularly.
3.4 High-performance, complex, and IFR. Some additional dual and experience will apply before solo or IFR privileges in a given aircraft, as the aircraft and insurer warrant. The Club keeps this proportionate — enough to fly the airplane well and stay insurable, no more.
3A. Currency and proficiency
3A.1 Proficiency, not just legal currency. Safety is the Club’s first priority, and staying proficient is the best way we look out for one another and keep the Club both insurable and affordable. So beyond being FAA-current, members are expected to stay genuinely proficient in the aircraft they fly. As a placeholder until the Club’s insurance sets the real figure, we anticipate something modest — on the order of a couple of hours of PIC time in Club aircraft within the preceding few months — to keep scheduling privileges. The Club may set a somewhat higher expectation for more capable aircraft or for IFR-in-IMC flying, consistent with the insurer. The confirmed numbers, kept intentionally light, are published in the Checkout and Minimums Schedule once the policy is in force.
3A.2 Getting back to proficiency. If a member slips below the proficiency expectation, a short proficiency flight with a Club-approved CFI (plus any recurrent items the Club asks for) restores scheduling privileges once completed and logged. The aim is a friendly tune-up, not a hurdle.
3A.3 Keeping track. The Club tracks members’ recent activity and gives a friendly heads-up to anyone approaching a lapse. Staying current and proficient is ultimately each member’s responsibility.
4. Scheduling and reservations
4.1 System. Reservations are made through the Club’s online scheduling system, which is equally accessible to all members. No member receives scheduling preference.
4.2 Reserve what you need. Book only the time you will use. A no-show reservation expires 30 minutes after its start, and the aircraft becomes available.
4.3 Reservation points. Each member has four reservation points. A reservation up to 4 hours uses 1 point; a reservation longer than 4 hours and up to 12 days uses 2 points; a same-day reservation uses no points. When a reservation is completed or cancelled, its points return to the member. There is no limit on how far in advance you may book. The Board may adjust these limits as the fleet grows.
4.4 Longer trips. Members may take Club aircraft on multi-day and cross-country trips, and the Club charges no daily minimum — you pay only for the tach time flown. Coordinate longer trips through the scheduling system so others can plan.
4.5 Cancellations. Cancel as early as possible so others can use the aircraft — and so your reservation points are freed up sooner.
4.6 Fair use. The Board may limit a member who monopolizes an aircraft, to preserve fair access for all.
5. Dispatch, preflight, and return
5.1 Airworthiness is the PIC’s responsibility. Before every flight the PIC must determine the aircraft is airworthy — reviewing squawks, required inspections, and documents, and performing a thorough preflight. If in doubt, do not fly; ground it (§7).
5.2 Dispatch and check-in. Record out and in times in both tach (for billing) and Hobbs (for utilization tracking) as the scheduling system requires.
5.3 Documents. Confirm the required aircraft documents and current inspections are aboard before flight.
5.4 Return condition. Return the aircraft clean, secured (tied down or hangared), fueled per §6, with times recorded and any squawk reported. Leave it as you would want to find it.
6. Fuel
6.1 At base. Return with fuel at the level the Board sets for each aircraft (the Board will set this policy later — for example, tanks at the tabs, or full).
6.2 Away from base. When a member buys fuel away from base, the Club reimburses that fuel up to the price at home base for the month of the flight. The Club will use one of two methods, to be decided as the club forms: (1) the Club supplies a fuel credit card for members to use, or (2) the member pays out of pocket and submits receipts. Either way, the reimbursement or credit is capped at the home-base fuel price for that month, so members are not charged twice for fuel already included in the wet rate. Any cost above that base price is the member’s responsibility — and, if the fuel card is used, is added to the member’s bill.
6.3 Fuel type. Use only the correct approved fuel and grade for the aircraft. Report any misfueling immediately and ground the aircraft.
7. Squawks, maintenance, and grounding
7.1 Report squawks immediately in the scheduling/maintenance system, and notify the Maintenance Officer of anything affecting airworthiness.
7.2 Grounding. Any member who believes an aircraft is unairworthy shall immediately ground it — mark it grounded in the system and placard it if a placard is provided — and notify the Maintenance Officer or Board and affected members. Only the Maintenance Officer or Board returns an aircraft to service.
7.3 No unauthorized maintenance. Maintenance and repairs must be pre-approved by the Maintenance Officer or Board. A qualified member may perform only owner-permitted preventive maintenance (FAR Part 43, Appendix A), properly logged and pre-approved.
7.4 Unreported damage. Damage discovered and not previously reported is presumed caused by the last user. Report any incident, hard landing, or abnormal event promptly, whether or not there is visible damage.
8. Billing and payment
8.1 Billing cycle. The Club calculates bills by the 5th of each month. Each bill includes that month’s dues and the charges for flights flown the previous month. For example, the bill issued on or before July 5 covers July dues and the flying you did in June.
8.2 What you pay for. Dues are billed every month whether or not you fly. Aircraft time is billed by wet tach time, which already includes fuel (§6).
8.3 Paying your bill. Payment is due in full by the 20th of the month. The Club expects electronic payment (bank transfer or similar; exact details will be settled as the club forms) to keep the workload light for the Treasurer, who is a fellow member and a volunteer.
8.4 Late payment. If your payment is not received on time, the delinquency process and penalties in Bylaws §11.3 apply — up to suspension of scheduling and flying privileges for nonpayment.
9. Flight instruction
9.1 Members may receive flight instruction in Club aircraft from any CFI of their choosing, whether or not that CFI is a Club member.
9.2 If you choose a CFI who is not a Club member, that CFI must be covered by the Club’s insurance policy. A list of insurance-covered CFIs is maintained in the reservation scheduling system (§4). If you would like to fly with a CFI who is not yet on that list, they will need to complete a Club checkout to satisfy insurance requirements (see the Checkout and Minimums Schedule) before being added; contact the Club president or treasurer to arrange it.
9.3 Payment for instruction is a direct matter between you and your CFI. The Club is not involved in that arrangement.
10. Guests and passengers
10.1 Members may carry guests and passengers consistent with FAA regulations and the Club’s insurance. No guest may act as PIC. Cost-sharing with passengers must follow FAA rules (pro-rata share, no holding out), and no flight may be conducted for hire or compensation.
11. Incidents and accidents
11.1 Report immediately. Any accident, incident, or damage must be reported immediately to the Board (and the Safety Officer, if one is appointed) and handled per FAA and NTSB requirements.
11.2 Financial responsibility and hearing. Financial responsibility for damage, and the member’s right to a hearing before any lasting assessment, are governed by Bylaws §9.4: the Board designates a reviewer to establish the facts, the member is offered a hearing, and a member responsible through negligence or a rule violation bears the insurance deductible and the resulting premium increase.
11.3 Cooperation. Members must cooperate with the Club, its insurer, and the authorities in any investigation.
12. Airport good-neighbor rules
12.1 Neither the Club nor any member shall advertise or hold the Club out as an FBO, flight school, or maintenance facility, or compete with on-field businesses. Members shall comply with all airport rules and FAA Order 5190.6B and foster good relationships with airport management, the FBO/flight school, and neighbors.
13. Checkout and Minimums Schedule
13.1 Purpose and status. This schedule gathers the pilot experience minimums, checkout standards, and currency expectations the Club applies. Because they are driven by the Club’s insurance policy, and the Club does not yet have a policy in force, the specific figures below are placeholders — good-faith estimates of what a typical flying-club policy asks for. The Board will confirm them with the Club’s insurer before flying begins, and will keep them modest so that a member who flies with any regularity meets them comfortably. The aim is simple: satisfy the insurer and keep everyone safe, without making membership a burden.
13.2 Certificate, ratings, and medical. At least an FAA Private Pilot Certificate, a current medical or BasicMed, and a current flight review, as described in §2. Ratings and endorsements must match the aircraft and the flight — for example, an instrument rating for IFR, and a high-performance or complex endorsement where an aircraft requires it.
13.3 Experience minimums (placeholder). Typical policies ask for a minimum total time and a minimum time in type, with higher figures for more capable aircraft. Placeholder figures — to be confirmed with the insurer — are on the order of 100 hours total time, with additional dual and time in type for higher-performance aircraft. The confirmed figures will be published here once the policy is bound.
13.4 Checkout. A checkout with a Club-approved CFI in each make and model, covering aircraft systems and limitations, Club procedures, and normal, abnormal, and emergency operations, to the standard the insurer requires (§3).
13.5 Currency and proficiency (placeholder). A recent-experience expectation so members stay proficient, not just legally current — for example, a modest number of hours or a proficiency flight within a rolling period, and/or an annual recurrent checkout (§3A). The exact form and numbers are set to match the insurer and kept intentionally light.
13.6 Named-pilot vs. open-pilot. The schedule also states whether the Club’s policy is named-pilot or open-pilot. Under a named-pilot policy, a new member may not fly until the insurer adds them to the policy.
14. Amendments
14.1 The Board may amend these Operating Procedures by majority vote, consistent with the Bylaws (§12.2), with notice to members. Substantial changes to pilot minimums are made in coordination with the Club’s insurer.