Step Up Aviation is proud to be the greenest aviation company it can be. All of our aircraft are certified carbon neutral through a carbon offsetting program. So when you fly our planes you are not contributing to global warming. We also recycle office waste as much as possible, even though there is no recycling program available at the airport. We believe it's our job to best support both aviation and the environment.

Step Up Aviation is an Aircraft Club, just like a boat club or Retail Purchasing Club. You are a member, you pay dues, and you get certain privileges for those dues. Members' dues help pay for a small part of the fixed costs of owning aircraft, and enable us to charge lower hourly rates. We have five levels of membership: Sport Member, Basic Member, Premium Member and Ultra-premium Member, to give everyone an option that best fits their flying needs.

Sport Members get the following benefits:

• You have access only to our Light Sport Aircraft.
• You receive our full-service aircraft access.
• You have access to the 24-7 online scheduling web page
• You may schedule planes up to one month in advance
• Basic loaner equipment (headsets, charts, plates) included
Basic members get the following benefits:
• This is our main plan. It is best for people who fly about 50-75 hours per year.
• You receive our full-service aircraft access.
• You have access to the 24-7 online scheduling web page
• You may schedule planes up to one month in advance
• Basic loaner equipment (headsets, charts, plates) included
• Premium members get the following additional benefits:
• This plan is best for people who fly about 75-125 hours per year, or want more scheduling priority.
• You have access to our premium aircraft
• Hourly fees are even lower
• Online scheduling of planes up to three months in advance

Ultra-premium members have the lowest fees and most benefits:

• This plan is for people who want near-sole access to a plane, and fly more than 125 hours per year.
• Hourly rates are the lowest
• Online scheduling of planes up to one year in advance
• All loaner equipment provided free, including premium equipment

An additional advantage of membership is the fact that membership fees are non-taxable, while hourly fees are subject to sales tax.

Yes, you do need to be a member. The minimum time of membership is one month -- we do not lock you in to a long-term commitment. You will also need a checkout, and to meet the minimum requirements for the plane you wish to fly. See "What are the benefits of membership?"

For a comparison table shows that shows estimated costs and other factors for various airplane ownership and rental alternatives, see our Pricing page.

If you have, or are considering buying an exceptional aircraft that may fit into our plans, please contact us. We would be glad to discuss leaseback opportunities with you. Some of the benefits of a leaseback are tax-deductions and free aircraft management as well as being paid when others use your aircraft.

The only investment opportunity we currently offer is by putting your exceptional aircraft on our flight line with our leaseback program.

We will be hiring part-time staff to do office tasks, take calls, answer questions and coordinate plane rentals. Interested parties should have good customer skills, be familiar or at least interested in aviation and be detail oriented. If you are interested in employment, please contact us.

Step Up Aviation does our best to provide exemplary customer service and to correct any issues or misunderstandings as quickly as possible. We pride ourselves in dealing honestly with everyone and going above and beyond what is expected of us. In order to be "accredited" with organizations like the BBB, companies actually pay a yearly fee. We would rather have a good reputation for our actions in dealing with people, rather than paying for it. We hope you agree.

View our membership fees on our Pricing page

Yes, our planes are rented "wet", which means fuel is included in the rental price. We also share the savings with you when you are able to purchase cheaper fuel at other airports. We credit you for the cost of the fuel, plus part of the difference from the price we pay at AUS.

Tach time is more reflective of actual wear and tear on the plane, since maintenance is done by tach time, and is a more fair system of charging than by hobbs time. Since you save money by flying the aircraft slower, members are encouraged be more gentle on the aircraft. When charged hobbs time, pilots tend to fly the aircraft full-throttle at all times, causing more wear, and more cost to everyone.

Sales tax on airplane rental fees are required by law. The exception is when a plane is flown for instruction. If you are flying with an instructor for FAA approved flight instruction toward a rating, your flight time will be non-taxable.

Getting checked out in one of our aircraft can cost anywhere between one flight hour, up to about 15 flight hours, plus instructor costs. To help defray the cost of checking out in a new aircraft, we will credit your account upon completion with half of the aircraft time required to checkout or fulfill make and model minimums. So if, for example an hour of time in type is required, you will pay for the hour of plane rental and instruction up front. Then the next time you fly, you can partially apply the credited amount toward your flight time with your payment. If you need to fly longer than the minimum required time to become comfortable enough in a plane, you may need to pay for the additional time. Primary training is considered checkout time by Step Up Aviation, so you will even get these credits while getting a pilot certificate.

When you are flying our planes, there are several of ways to save. First, since we rent most of our planes by tach time instead of hobbs time, if you fly slower then you wil generally pay less. So if you're just doing pattern work, building hours or just not in a hurry, you'll save money. Another way to save money is to help us save on gas prices. Any time you fuel at an airport with fuel that is cheaper than at AUS, we reimburse you for the fuel, plus part of the additional savings. Flights scheduled solely on weekdays are discounted. And lastly, remaining a member for more than 6 months makes you eligible for Preferred Member status, with further discounts.

View our prices on our Pricing page.

Hobbs time is simply a timer that runs while you are using the plane, usually while the engine is running. When you start up, the timer starts, and when you shut down, it stops. Many flight schools charge by the hobbs hour, probably because the per-hour price appears lower. But you are charged the same amount, whether you are flying at full speed, or just sitting with the engine idling, waiting for clearance. Tach time counts the revolutions of the engine and then scales this to a time figure. So if you are flying full throttle it runs close to real time, or higher depending on the plane, but at idle it may run at about 1/3 of that rate. So even though the price per hour may be listed higher, you pay less than that full amount most of the time. On an average flight, you will probably record only 80% as much tach time as hobbs time.

We are currently looking at offering a range of aircraft. We currently have a fleet of 4 planes, and will provide additional aircraft as our members desire. All will be provided in near-new condition. Aircraft we will consider for the future include more Light Sport Aircraft, a complex aircraft, a low-cost IFR trainer, a twin and eventually a Very Light Jet.

The minimum requirements for each plane will vary as set by insurance company minimums. These minimums will be published as each plane comes online.

A small percentage of total scheduled time will be required as a minimum for all flights. In general, this will be much less than the amount of time you would fly anyway. The basic minimums are 10% of scheduled weekday daylight time, 20% on weekends and none at night. (Minimums for Ultra-premium members lower) So for a typical 4-hour schedule on the weekend, the minimum would be a small .8 hours. For a 7-day trip, the minimum would be about 10-12 hours. Compare this to 3-4 hours/day that most flight schools charge (21-28 hours/7 days). Also, the rate charged for the non-flown hours is less than the full hourly rate. The reason there is a minimum is to maintain fairness, and to not allow a single person to hog the schedule. A cancellation fee will also be charged for flights cancelled without an approved reason, again to guard against abuse.

We have a list of approved flight instructors who can do both checkouts and further training. Primary (student-pilot) training is now offered in our Piper Archer and Tecnam Bravo. We have several instructors available for primary instruction in these aircraft. You can earn either a Sport Pilot or Private Pilot certificate in the LSA.

Since flight instructors must be approved by our insurance, anyone instructing in our planes will need to be on our list. We also offer membership priveleges to approved instructors. If your instructor is not on our list, have him or her contact us.

Yes we do. We aquired a brand new Tecnam Bravo LSA in early 2009. This is a very nice, but more affordable plane for general practice flying, and even cross-countries. You can earn either a Sport Pilot or Private Pilot certificate in this aircraft.

Just join and schedule the required time with one of our approved instructors. The minimum number of hours in make and model required will vary by aircraft.

We have an online scheduling system available 24 hours a day. Or you may schedule via phone if you prefer.

Pilots are required to meet all minimums required by the FAA and our insurance carriers. In addition, pilots are expected to fly at least once per 90 days to keep their membership current.

We guarantee that a plane will be ready when you schedule it. If it's not, we will give you a credit to your account. Because of this, pilots are expected to have planes back on time. If a plane is returned late, there will be an additional charge to the late pilot.

We maintain access to our planes by limiting membership, requiring on-time returns of planes, and keeping the planes highly maintained. Of course, no plan is perfect, so when a plane is not available on time, you will receive a credit for that flight.