Aircraft Crating

Smaller aircraft can be disassembled, put into a crate, and made ready to be transported as cargo in larger aircraft by yourself or by other FSE pilots. The disassembly and reassembly process costs money, takes time, and must take place at an FBO equipped with a maintenance facility. These costs DO NOT include any transportation costs to move the actual crate to the final destination - the aircraft owner must arrange transportation with other FSE players (to include amount and method of payment), or else plan on transporting the crate themselves.

NOTE: The aircraft crate WILL NOT be moved automatically to the destination by FSE. Actual FSE player(s) must move the crate onboard an aircraft that has enough payload capacity to fit the crate as cargo payload.

NOTE: All crated aircraft weigh exactly the empty weight of that aircraft. This weight is listed on the FSE Aircraft Models page

NOTE: Not all aircraft are eligible to be put into a crate. Aircraft that are NOT eligible for crating are indicated by a single asterisk in the table view of the FSE Aircraft Models page.

Before starting the crating process, you must decide both the origin airport of disassembly AND the destination airport of reassembly. You will enter into a contract with both FBO Maintenance Facilities before any work is started. Once you enter this contract, you cannot change your mind. Please be sure exactly WHERE you want the crate to be reassembled before starting the crating process. Once you pick a "final destination", that destination cannot be changed later.

Things to consider:

Do both airports match the capability of the transporting aircraft? It would make no sense to contract with an FBO on either end at a small dirt strip if you're planning on transporting the aircraft in a large jumbo jet.
Will the weight of your crate fit onboard the intended transporting aircraft?
You cannot crate an aircraft that you do not own outright. If you are leasing an aircraft, you must coordinate with the lessor to have the aircraft crated up.

Below is an outline of the entire crating process.

Crating an aircraft

Once you have your desired aircraft at an airport with an FBO maintenance facility, you will start the process on the "Aircraft" page for either your personal aircraft or your group's aircraft. This page contains a list of all aircraft you (or your group) own, with each aircraft having an "Action" menu. This drop-down menu has a selection option of "Ship". Selecting this option will bring you to the crating pages, which will guide you through the process.

Step 1

On the first page, you will see the initial terms and conditions of your crating contract. This will list your aircraft's weight, the mechanics' costs, and the estimated time that your disassembly and reassembly process will take.

Note: the estimated time is applied at both the origin and the destination - if the time is 48 hours, you will need to wait 48 hours for the crate to be ready and, once delivered, another 48 hours for the reassembly process.

Note: the "total cost" is only the combined mechanics' fees for both FBOs. This DOES NOT include any maintenance mark-up fees applied by the FBO. You have not yet selected your origin and destination FBOs, so the "total cost estimate" cannot yet factor that into account.

Once you've read the conditions, you need to enter a destination airport at the bottom of the page, and click next.

Step 2

On the next page, you will need to select the appropriate FBO at both the origin and the destination airports that you would like to contract for maintenance.

Note: Both FBOs must be "open" at the time you contract their services; however, if one closes before either the disassembly or reassembly process is complete, your contract will still be honored and services will be completed.

Step 3

This is the final step to confirm your actions. This page will display your ACTUAL TOTAL costs that will be paid to both FBOs (combined), including maintenance mark-up fees. You will also see your estimated disassembly and reassembly times again.

At this point, if you agree to the terms and conditions, you can click the CONFIRM button.

NOTE: Once you submit an aircraft for crating you will not be able to make any further changes (selling it, modifying rental prices, etc.) to that aircraft until it is delivered and is reassembled at your selected FBO, so be SURE before you click CONFIRM!!

At this point, your aircraft is rolled into the maintenance hangar and the disassembly process begins. You can see your aircraft's status on the aircraft page -- instead of a drop-down menu, you will see your aircraft's status (disassembly) and the remaining time until it is fully crated and ready for delivery.

Also at this point, you have made all appropriate payments to both the origin and destination FBOs.

Step 4

After the required waiting period for disassembly is complete, your aircraft will be rolled out of the hanger and turned back over to you for delivery.

Initially, the assignment is a publicly-available, $0 assignment. You can set the assignment fee in your GOODS > TRANSFER ASSIGNMENTS page, or you can collect it up into a group's assignment page.

At this point, it is up to you on how the plane will be transported - you can contract with another player or group, transport it yourself, or set a high payment amount and hope that someone comes along to take the job.

You can still not make any changes to the aircraft's properties (list it for sale, change the tail#, etc.). The "Status" on the Aircraft Page will say "Crated".

Step 5

Once the crate has been delivered to the correct airport, it is immediately rolled into the hanger for reassembly. The "Status" on the Aircraft Page will now indicate that it is being reassembled, and the time remaining will be displayed. At this point, you will see two additional entries in your payment log - 1) your escrow money will be returned to you from the FS Economy system, and 2) you will send that money to the destination FBO for reassembly fees.

Once the required time has elapsed, the aircraft will be rolled out of the hanger and become available for normal use at all previous settings (rental price, etc.).

FAQ

- Will the aircraft be moved automatically?

No, once the aircraft is disassembled and crated it becomes a cargo assignment just like all other assignments. As such the aircraft crate assignment must be transported as cargo to the destination airport just like all other cargo assignments. Aircraft crating will not magically teleport your aircraft to a new location. The aircraft will not be reassembled until the crate is delivered to the destination airport that was specified in the original contract.

- How much does the crate weigh?

The weight of the crate will be the zero-fuel empty weight of the aircraft, as specified on the FSE Aircaft Models page.

- Which aircraft can be crated?

The "intent", as always, with crating an aircraft is to provide you with the ability to get an aircraft somewhere that you normally wouldn't be able to fly it (J-3 Cub across the ocean). If a plane has the ability to get anywhere in the world under it's own power, it generally won't be allowed to be crated. This is not a hard and fast rule, it's an attempt to remain within the intent of this feature. At this time, the "allowed planes" are small and some medium aircraft (generally anything less than 5500Kg empty weight).

- How much does it cost to crate an aircraft?

Each aircraft will have a different price tag based on it's empty weight. You will pay a disassembly fee and a crating fee to the origin FBO, and you will pay a reassembly fee and a crate-disposal fee to the destination FBO. The disassembly and reassembly mechanics are contract mechanics that are not employed by the FBO, so these contracts will bill the FBO for their services and the FBO will pass that bill along to you. Individual FBOs set their own profit margins that are tacked on to the Mechanic's fees. A "rough guess" would be to calculate about $9/kg for small planes (less than 1500Kg empty) and $12/kg for medium planes (greater than 1500Kg empty). Additionally, you may contract other players to transport your crated aircraft - this may or may not have costs associated with it, depending upon with whom you contract; but certainly, the aircraft used to fly your crate will have potential rental and fuel costs. These rental, fuel and contract costs ARE NOT included in the price you pay for the crating/uncrating process.

- Which aircraft can carry a crated aircraft?

Any aircraft capable of carrying the weight of the crate can carry a crated aircraft. Don't forget to factor in the weight of required fuel and crew members.

- What if the player I contracted to transport my crate leaves FSE before the crate is delivered?

While your plane is in transit, you can see the assignment listed in your Transfer Assignments screen. At any point, you can "cancel" this assignment, and the crate will drop out of the contracted player's queue and onto the airport tarmac, wherever the crate happens to be located (unless it is airborne). At that time, you can contract another player, or find an airplane and transport it yourself.

- What if the FBO I contracted to reassemble my plane closes before my crate arrives?

Once you contract the destination FBO, you are guaranteed reassembly. You pay all fees up front, and so even if the FBO closes before your crated aircraft arrives, you will still get reassembly service performed.

- What happens if the crate is delivered to the wrong airport?

You will need to get it to the correct airport. Your options are to contract another player; have your previously-contracted player fix their mistake; or, fly it yourself.

- What if nobody wants to deliver my crate, and I change my mind before the plane leaves it's origin?

You're out of luck. You've already contracted the destination FBO, and you are under contract to deliver the crate to that FBO.

- What if I change my mind once the crate is enroute?

You're out of luck. You've already contracted the destination FBO, and you are under contract to deliver the crate to that FBO.

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