Aircraft Rental in Montreal

[agraupe]

I'm a PPL with just over 100 hours, currently living in Calgary, but moving to Montreal in a few weeks. Obviously, I want to keep flying, and I haven't really been able to find much in the way of information about aircraft rentals in Montreal. So, I was hoping I could get a few questions answered:

1) Is flying out of St-Hubert a good idea? Right now, it's looking like the best option, because it's close to the city, and I don't have a car, among other things. I've also never flown out of a non-towered airport, except for the few cross-countries that I did during my PPL. I guess I'd feel more comfortable flying out of a towered airport, but it probably shouldn't be the major factor in deciding where to fly out of. I'm probably a bit rusty on uncontrolled airport procedures, in particular the ground procedures, but I can learn/re-learn.

2) Most of the information I've found so far seems to relate to flight schools. Although I want to continue my training, I don't want to do so right away. Do any of these flight schools offer aircraft rental without training, like the Calgary Flying Club, for instance?

3) How big a deal is it that I can't speak French? I'm going to try and learn, but at least at the beginning, will I have any problem if I can only speak English?

Thanks for any advice.[/b]

[rotateandfly]

Hey agraupe

1) If you don't have a car and live downtown, St-Hubert may not be the best option, as it is easier to get to Dorval. There is a flight school there called Dorval Aviation, check out their website. I highly recommend them. As far as I know, St-Hubert has issued a landing fee, the same goes for Dorval but Dorval Aviation is not subject to landing fees as it is the only school at the field.
2) There may be a flying club at St-Hubert i dont know
3) Nope, it isn't necessary to know french to fly around Montreal. ATC is English as well as french. no problem there.

[Lommer]

Most of the schools at St-Hubert will rent you a plane after a checkride with them. St. Hubert is the GA airport of choice for most Montreal pilots and companies, as it's towered and has nice big runways. The only downside is they charge a landing fee for every trip you make (i.e. they won't ding you for every circuit, but if you make two separate flights in one day they'll charge you twice). It's not enormous, but it adds up fast and I really hated paying it.

Dorval/Trudeau has some GA, but there's a few other little airports around Montreal. Check out Mascouche (CSK3), Les Cedres (CSS3), and St. Jean (CYJN). You'll have to drive a little ways, but its not too bad unless it's rush hour. There's a number of very small strips like the one at Beloil, but I doubt you'll find a company that rents aircraft there.

As for the French thing, at controlled airports it really isn't a problem at all, you talk to the controller in English and they'll give you all your traffic, clearances, and instructions in English. At uncontrolled airports its a bit dicey, but given how many English terms are used by the French pilots, even someone with marginal French skills can usually figure out what's going on. Just keep an extra sharp eye out!

P.S. Asides from the French thing, flying out of an uncontrolled airport is really quite straightforward. After doing all my training out of a towered airport I can remember the apprehension about directing yourself, but you'll get very comfortable with having no tower in a short time. Once you've been flying at tiny uncontrolled airports for a while, look up a busier airport in the CFS and you'll wonder how you ever learned anything there what with all the extra procedures.

[Hedley]

flying out of an uncontrolled airport is really quite straightforward

No sh1t. Flying x/c I choose uncontrolled vs controlled every time if I have the option. Faster, simpler, easier and the fuel is almost always cheaper at the smaller airport. As long as it's got 4000 feet of pavement and an FBO I'm happy.

[THEICEMAN]

hEY......i CAN HELP YOU WITH THIS!! Pm me if you need info!

My suggestion is to go to Mascouche! Preferrably Cargair aviation school @ mascouche!

Trudeau & "Dorval Avaition" cyul (controlled): Way too expensive 140$ an hour! Cheaper to land c-172 @ Jfk then Cyul (25USd/35cdn$). + lot's of heavy traffic all over! In rush time you could be stuck doin 360 over the city or landing behind heavies! Scary....always forced to come in high cuz of that!

St-Hubert cyhu (Controlled): 10$ Landing fee / 25$ multi landing fee...ouch!!! & u have to pay for that! Not included with aircraft rental! Cargair is based here also! They offer the best prices tough! But I suggest going to Cargair in Mascouche...

Mascouche csk3 (Uncontrolled) Fun airport! Best prices! But it can be very busy! Cargair offers best rental price on the field (C-150 for 105$ , C-172 for 115$ & Piper aztec 288$...:block me availabel!") NO landing fee! Very busy airport @ times....(should be a controll zone), but will not happen due to lack of $$$.
BUT ONE PROBLEM!! Most people speak french on the MF frequency.... I speak bott, but have gotten crap from other pilots speakin English! No matter, you can speak Anglais all u want!
A little further away then St-Hubert, but you save cuz no landing fee!

Cedres Well...too far! Though it is nice & quiet over there! I heard the runway is not in tip top shape!

Hope that helps...if you need more info...pm me!

[Louis]

1) Is flying out of St-Hubert a good idea? Right now, it's looking like the best option, because it's close to the city, and I don't have a car, among other things.

Hello Agraupe,

Given you don't have a car, St-Hubert is pretty much your only option, transportation wise, a city bus (RTL #28 ) reaches the airport and there's a commuter train station nearby as well.

There are four schools (CPAQ, Cargair, Air Richelieu and St-Hubert Flying School) you could rent from, plus one (if not two) flying clubs as well where you could purchase block time. Take the time to shop around and see which one you like best.

For the record another airport that is within reasonable distance from Montreal that people here haven't mentioned yet is St-Jean. Towered, relatively quiet (although the balloon fest is on from August 11 to the 19th) with one school on-site (CPAQ, I work there).

Goodbye,

Louis

P.S. THEICEMAN, you might as well have thrown in this smily at the beginning of your message along with "piiick meeeee!"

[Cool Rythms!]

Agraupe, I would highly recommend St. Hubert. I know that airport very well. I did my initial training there nearly 21 years ago and I also taught there as an instructor for 5 years. It's actually very easy to get to by public transport. Take the metro to Longueil, then there is a bus which will take you right onto the airport. I don't know the bus number, but you can always ask at the metro station. I had to do that once or twice, and it only took me about 45 minutes or so. As far as aircraft rentals go, there is the Montreal Flying Club, which is now run by Air Richelieu. If you need a check before renting, ask for Roger Menard, he's a great old guy, been around for centuries it seems. If you haven't done much flying out of a controlled airport, then St. Hubert is perfect and there are a bunch of uncontrolled aerodromes within good flying distance as well. If you want more info, send me a PM and I'll be glad to help you out.

Cheers

[agraupe]

Wow, thanks for all the help. I'm leaning toward St. Hubert, because it seems to be the easiest to get to, given my circumstances. All the information has been really helpful!

[THEICEMAN]

I hear it is very $$$ @ Air richelieu....400$ an hour for a twin??? Ouchh!!!

St-Jean is very nice, but way too far! Rumour is, they want to close it???[/quote]

[THEICEMAN]

Warning! 10$ landing fee each time! So don't expect it to be cheap.....

Personally, I am joining the whole "Boycott" thing for CYHU....

[agraupe]

The $10 fee doesn't seem that extreme, considering that (I've read) they only apply it once per flight, so it's not like it applies to touch and gos. Flying into a towered airport with lots of services is a convenience, not unlike flying a more expensive plane is a similar convenience. I'm willing to pay for the convenience of flying into a towered airport. $10/landing, at least in my opinion, isn't unreasonable, considering that one likely saves flight time as a result of not having to do an uncontrolled-aerodrome procedure with every approach.

Put it this way: considering I don't have a car, the extra cost of getting to a further-away airport is likely to be $10 or higher anyway.

[Masta-Fred]

Riviere-Rouge Airport also known as La Macaza in the Laurentians! Beautiful flying decent rental prices and just 15 mins from Tremblant, that's where it's at!

[AdamB]

hEY......i CAN HELP YOU WITH THIS!! Pm me if you need info!

My suggestion is to go to Mascouche! Preferrably Cargair aviation school @ mascouche!

OK. WOW. Way to objective there buddy. Do you get paid to advertise for them? Granted, its a cheap place to rent planes. And i wouldnt know enough to tell you if its a good flight school or not. Lets assume, for the sake of icemans argument, that cargair aviation school is the BEST in canada.

You say what you're looking for is a place to build x-country hours. Youre from the prairies, so i assume your french isnt great. Mascouche airfield, although it is, i am sure, a very good place to learn, is not the right place to learn how to speak a new language. It is at times, and ill agree with iceman here, VERY busy. In fact, its busier than many small towered airports. i.e st jean. And, unlike at a controlled airport, you cant expect everything to be said in your language.

If you wont have a car, then youre left to choose from Dorval Aviation or St-Hubert; cant think of any other school public transport reaches. And if youll be doing x/c's, then youll only be landing there once every few hours , so a landing fee shouldnt be too much of a hassle.

Cedres Well...too far! Though it is nice & quiet over there! I heard the runway is not in tip top shape!

Far? from where? You're speaking as if Montreal was 1 km wide. Granted, if you live in mtl east, youre in for a hell of a drive. From the west island, however, getting there is quick and easy, as its right off a major highway. And you hear right, the runway isn't in ''tip top shape''. But last time i checked the renter isnt the one paying for maintenance, and for the sake of convienience, i think he'd be able to get over those 30 bumpy seconds spent on it.

Point is, check out these flight schools, see which one best suits your needs, and don't believe any biased b.s. you hear. Its your money, spend it wherever youre comfortable spending it.

Adam B.

That being said, iceman did mention all of the major airports in the montreal are, that should give you a good start. Good Luck!!! - and welcome to the big city

[THEICEMAN]

Hi, agraupe

If you don't mind paying 10$ to land, then go ahead with it! Public transport is great! I guess it's probably your best option, since you have no car. Personally, I would not pay a dime to land a single piston engine aicraft! Control zone or not... Multi....maybe???
But go for it, & all the best! Sorry forgot you didn't have car too.

Not trying to do promo. Just sharing the best possible information I can. Just trying to help a fellow pilot. From what I've seen & have been told, Cargair does have the prices on the field...
But go shopping first, I can be wrong..

"OK. WOW. Way to objective there buddy. Do you get paid to advertise for them?

I work by commission...Avcanada just makes my job easier

that cargair aviation school is the BEST in canada.

Since when did I say that??

learn how to speak a new language

Hello, last time I checked..mascouche is in Canada. So you can speak English all you want.....I do.

I live in the center of Montreal, and yes Ceders is far. If you live in the west island, not so bad. Ho can you say it's not??
Imagine living downtown commuting to Cedres... + Traffic on the 20???
I did the drive every Monday & Wednesday for ground school. I hated the drive!

I like runways that are in great shape. Keep in mind, most rental aircraft are around 30 years old....sure they are well maintained, but I rather not hit potholes!
Just my 2cents

Bias B.S

How mature!

[dom692222]

well folks at saint hubert flying scool, located in st-hubert at 5680 route de l'aeroport charges 8.99$ period. not charged like the others with the time you fly.example you fly 1.3 you get charged landing fee of 10 times 1.3. the planes are cheap compared. check it out people.

[AdamB]

Dear Iceman,

Id love to tell you that you took EVERY SINGLE ONE of those quotes of mine OUT OF CONTEXT, but hell, you probably would misinterpret that too.

Quote:
Bias B.S


How mature!

I wasnt explicitly referring to what you said. That being said, im glad you recognised what i meant. I am also glad you proved how truly superior you are by attacking me online.

But then, if you think about it, what you wrote did look like something taken directly out of a cargair information pamphlet, and was, like it or not, biased.

I am also glad to tell you that your most recent information is, in fact, correct. Mascouche IS in Canada. So is Abitibi Temiscamingue. And yes, you can speak english on their freqs. Just dont expect everybody to understand you.

Adam B.

[THEICEMAN]

Interesting response.....sounds like somebody who admits defeat!

[AdamB]

Interesting response.....sounds like somebody who admits defeat!

I cant think of anything i can say that you'll understand ... Things like this makes me lose faith in humanity.

Adam B.

[THEICEMAN]

Man...I completly understand you!!!!

I'm tryin to prove a different point....but anyways...forget it!
your the same who couldn't even interept what i was sayin in the first place!

[Cool Rythms!]

Well, as you can see Agraupe, you've received lots of input from a variety of sources. It's up to you now my friend.

Take care and happy flying!