Fly2RV takes you from left seat to behind the wheel

Fly2RV is the creation of Jim Schivley of Orlando, Florida, a pilot and former aircraft owner who saw a hole in the market and is trying to fill it. He and his daughter took a commercial flight to Phoenix with plans to pick up an RV reserved on a popular website that matches individual RV owners with people who want to rent those vehicles. Schivley wanted to tour the Grand Canyon and the famed red rocks of Sedona, Arizona.

Schivley encountered a series of mishaps that included having to take a 50-minute, $75 Uber trip to the owner of the RV, and later having to drive the RV down a narrow, truck-blocked residential street to return it. He started brainstorming a new platform in 2020.

Fly2RV connects pilots with RV dealerships that will deliver a vehicle to a specific airport. A walk-through and "checkout" are part of the process. Reservation and payment are conducted through the website. Aviation fuel discounts may be available at some locations; ask at the FBO when you land and pick up your RV.

The website currently lists RVs available at airports in Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Mexico, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Texas, Wisconsin, and Washington. More states, dealers, and airports are being added all the time, Schivley said. (And yes, for those who are still on the fence about going to EAA AirVenture this year, you can fly into Green Bay/Austin Straubel International Airport and rent one of 10 RVs—nine Class C, one Class A.)

Schivley said he’s had a lot of great feedback from the aviation community. "They're saying 'Why wasn't this done before?'" he said. He said he's striving for a high-quality experience for pilots, which is why Fly2RV works directly with dealers and not individual owners. Schivley said he doesn’t want other pilots to go through what he did when renting an RV. And he's excited about the quality of vehicles available through the website. At Nampa Municipal Airport in Idaho, for example, you can rent a Class A Newmar London Aire, a luxury diesel RV that sleeps six and comes with a barbecue; cornhole game; badminton set; bedding and towels; and a kitchen stocked with disposable dinnerware, appetizers, and starters. If you seek something less luxurious, at the same location you can reserve a Class C Forest River Sunseeker that sleeps six and comes with a flat-screen TV.

“The experience is what we want to promote,” Schivley said. “Camping and RV and flying into one, making it easy and available,” he said.