The Flighttime Flying Club The Flighttime Flying Club secretary Mark Keegan pulls their Cessna 172 from its hanger at the Wiscasset Airport. Eleven members of the organization own the plane and the club is open to new pilots and anyone wishing to become a pilot. (Photo Charlotte Boynton)

Among the flying enthusiasts who belong is Mark Keegan of Boothbay Harbor.

In 1996 a group of six people, led by Wiscasset pilot Sean Rafter, purchased a Cessna 172 Skyhawk and formed the club. Others who joined were Richard Elliott, Steve Nichols, John Reinhardt, Alex Poloakoff and Jack Swanton.

The group has grown to nearly a dozen members, most of whom have since gotten their pilot licenses. They fly all over the eastern half of the country and Canada. Due to insurance restrictions, the club's membership is limited to 15.

"It's a great way for a person to get a pilot's license for half the cost," Keegan said referring to the $100 per hour cost for lessons, compared to taking lessons in your own plane.

Membership in the club requires a $4,000 investment in the plane, and a $50 per hour rental fee when members use the plane, which covers the cost of fuel and maintenance. "It is very expensive for one person to own an airplane," Keegan said. "This is why the club works so well for us."

For example, airplane motors must be replaced with rebuilt motors every 2,000 running hours, usually every eight years, at a cost of $20,000 each time. According to Keegan, part of the cost of running the plane is put in a trust account for motor replacement.

Members are allowed to sell their memberships to someone else if they decide they are no longer interested. The nonprofit club meets once a month, the first Friday, at 7 a.m. Officers are elected annually. The club is governed by a set of bylaws. Keegan says the Cessna 172 is kept in perfect running condition with the instruments properly calibrated, new tires, new lights and up to date equipment. The club recently installed a GPS (Global Positioning System) at a cost of $18,000, strobe lights on the wing tips, and new upholstery in the interior of the plane.

The cost of the plane and the hangar at the airport is valued at about $90,000, according to Keegan, who began flying in Dexter, where he was superintendent of schools for 16 years. At the time, his daughter went to Penn State.

"A 14-hour drive was about a four-hour trip by plane," he said. "I got to see her more often by flying down."

After moving to Boothbay Harbor in 1993 to become Superintendent of School District 49, a position he held until 2002, he joined the Wiscasset club. He now works for Tindal & Callahan Real Estate in Boothbay Harbor and is secretary of the flying club.

"Flying to a pilot is a step behind marriage and children," Keegan said with a chuckle.

Current members of the club include Richard DeVito, Roger Green, Alex Poloakoff, Kevin Race, Sean Rafter, John Salvin, Kevin Sprague, Jack Swanton, Stephen Ward and David Widmer.

Although having a pilot's license is not necessary to become a member, all the current members have their license. Anyone interested in becoming a member is asked to call the club president, Stephen Ward of Edgecomb, at 882-4005.