Checking out and returning aircraft

The platform handles aircraft checkout in two contexts:

1. Lesson-attached checkout — the plane is reserved as part of your scheduled lesson.
2. Walk-up checkout — no lesson; you're renting the plane for a solo flight, a check-ride prep, or any reason your school allows.

Lesson-attached checkout

If your scheduled lesson has an aircraft assigned, open the appointment and tap Check out. You'll see:

• Aircraft details (registration, nickname, hourly rate)
• Current Hobbs and Tach times (the last recorded values from the maintenance log)
• A confirmation step that the aircraft is airworthy

Tap Check out to create a reservation. The aircraft is now flagged as out, and other CFIs/students trying to book it see it as unavailable.

Walk-up checkout

Schedule → Check out aircraft (or from mobile, the home screen's "Check out aircraft" tile). The picker lists every airworthy plane in your school's fleet, with greyed-out rows for planes that are:

• Already checked out (shows the holder's name)
• In maintenance status

Pick a plane, confirm the rate and meters, and the reservation is created.

Returning the aircraft

When you bring the plane back, open the reservation (from your home screen or the aircraft's profile) and tap Return aircraft. You'll be asked for:

• Hobbs time at return
• Tach time at return
• Fuel state (if your school tracks it)
• Any squawks — issues to flag for the maintenance team

Submitting closes the reservation and auto-drafts a logbook entry with the time fields pre-filled from the meter delta. You review the draft, fill in landings, remarks, and other fields, then submit for instructor approval as usual.

Billing

The reservation's billed amount is calculated as (return_hobbs - checkout_hobbs) × hourly_rate. The exact charge is finalized when you submit the return — the system shows you the breakdown before you confirm.

For rental aircraft on a wet hourly rate, fuel is included. For dry rates, fuel is billed separately based on what you record at return (or how your school configures fuel tracking).

Forgetting to return

If you forget to formally return the plane, the reservation stays open and the next person can't check it out. School admins can manually close an open reservation from the aircraft's profile — you'll get a notification, and your logbook draft is still created so you can fill it in later.