Who we are
AeroBuddy started with a fairly simple frustration.
I'm a private pilot and a member of an aircraft syndicate, and like many pilots I've spent far too much time dealing with spreadsheets, bookings, messages, costs and the general admin that comes with sharing an aircraft.
The problem wasn't that these things were particularly difficult. It was that there never seemed to be one place that brought everything together in a way that felt simple, modern and genuinely built for pilots.
Some of the software I came across felt dated. Some was unnecessarily complicated. And some of it looked like it had been designed by someone who had never actually had to manage a shared aircraft.
I thought we could do better.
So I built AeroBuddy.
AeroBuddy isn't a product designed from a list of features and a business plan.
It's being built from my own experience as a pilot and syndicate member, and from the frustrations I've experienced myself.
That matters to me.
I want AeroBuddy to be something that pilots actually enjoy using. Something that makes aircraft ownership and syndicate management easier, rather than creating another layer of administration to deal with.
Every part of AeroBuddy is driven by that idea.
Make it useful. Make it simple. Make it feel like it belongs in aviation.
One of the things that matters most to me about AeroBuddy is that I don't want it to become another aviation service that puts useful features behind increasingly expensive subscriptions.
My intention is for AeroBuddy to remain free to use, indefinitely.
I want pilots and flying groups to be able to use it regardless of the size of their operation or their budget.
There are costs involved in running and developing a service like this, of course. For as long as I can, I'll aim to cover those costs myself.
But if AeroBuddy becomes something you find genuinely useful and you'd like to contribute towards keeping it running, there will be a donation option.
If you think AeroBuddy is worth £5 a month, that's fantastic.
If you think it's worth £50 as a one-off contribution, that's fantastic too.
And if you can't or don't want to contribute, that's absolutely fine.
Use AeroBuddy and enjoy it.
The aim is to build something valuable for the aviation community, not to build another subscription business.
AeroBuddy is a growing project, and there's plenty more I'd like to do with it.
I'm passionate about aviation, but I'm equally passionate about building something that genuinely improves the experience of being an aircraft owner, syndicate member or pilot.
I'll continue listening to the people who use AeroBuddy, taking feedback seriously and adding features that solve real problems.
If you've got an idea, something isn't working as it should, or there's something you've always wished your flying group had, I'd love to hear from you.
Because AeroBuddy started with one pilot thinking:
"There has to be a better way."
And I intend to keep building until there is.
AeroBuddy exists to make the less exciting parts of aircraft ownership easier, so you can spend more time doing the part that brought you into aviation in the first place.
Flying.
Welcome to AeroBuddy.