What would it have? What do you think would be nice/neat to have. Not limited to any 1 particular section of GA. Think service for Ultralights to Citations.

So far what we have is (none of it is new, hence asking for you input!)

24hr availability for emergency/AOG maintenance

Online scheduling for mx and aircraft

'Crash room' for pilots traveling, two bunk beds and a shower.

All the usual inside the office: wifi, charts, etc, etc....

AND cute women pumping fuel


Any more ideas?

One of my stipulations was to add a grass runway parallel to the concrete 3500 x 65 hard runway. Not for everybody, but.... Taking off on asphalt and landing on grass will make tires last a long time!! And help draw the antique and vintage crowd that I favor, my partner really likes and is familiar with G1000 crowd.

All of my time is taildraggers and I am very envious of the flying you all get to do in the back country!

Side note my Tcraft will be back to 100% by end of the year


Lets hear what you want! Thanks in advance, soon as we hit the ground I'll post more info!



-VanDy

The courtesy car is huge to me. Doesn't have to be fancy and I know some folks abuse the privilege, but whats the point of being able to save hours getting somewhere in your bird and then be stuck at the airport.

Meat Servo wrote:The courtesy car is huge to me. Doesn't have to be fancy and I know some folks abuse the privilege, but whats the point of being able to save hours getting somewhere in your bird and then be stuck at the airport.

The area presenting itself to us is about 5-10 miles from the nearest restaurant so yes, good idea!!! It would be a beater, but reliable. I was also given the idea for fresh coffee makings avialable, along with lunch meet sandwiches in the fridge. And soda.

Keep the ideas coming!!

Ferry pilot services would also be available


-VanDy

Camping area like Columbia , Ca. or West Yellowstone.
This is Thermal, Ca.

OregonMaule wrote:Camping area like Columbia , Ca. or West Yellowstone.
This is Thermal, Ca.

I don't know if we can make it THAT nice! But secluded and quiet I can do!!


-VanDy

Some of the FBOs that I like the best have/are/offer:
> Genuinely welcoming attitude. "We're glad you picked out airport and FBO and we are at your service" kind of attitude.
> Employees who LISTEN to understand, and then confirm their understanding. "Oh, Mr. Xxxx, you say your Supercub leaks a bit in a big downpour. Well, rain is forecast for tonight: would you like for us to move it into the hangar if a storm blows through?"
> Full service fuel at a price modestly above the self-serve price. I don't mind spending an extra $10 - 15 on a 35 gallon purchase if the line boy is careful and conscientious and he washes the windshield, offers me a rag to check the oil, offers to take any garbage I might have in the plane, etc.
> Decor that is "warm" and "inviting." I don't mean slightly shabby and worn, like someone's basement family room, and I don't mean cold and businesslike or richy-rich like a Ferrari showroom. Good quality furniture, attractive carpet, tasteful decorations.
> A place to sit down and visit with friends, or to make new friends
> If there is a TV, it's not blaring at full volume, it's not tuned to Jerry Springer, and it's not an irritant in general
> WIFI and WIFI printers
> No smoking, except 200 yards downwind of the building
> A refrigerator or cooler full of free bottled water, self-service
> Sectionals, NACA approach plates, and low en route charts for sale
> A modest cafe or grill where you can get real food. The menu doesn't have to be terribly large or fancy, but it sure is nice to have soup and a sandwich or a hamburger and fries instead of the nauseating glop from the vending machines
> A place to sit outside to enjoy conversation and watch the comings and goings
> Wind socks or tetrahedrons that work and are illuminated at night
> Short term transient parking on the grass
> Competent line boys who can and will put your plane in the batch hangar if a thunderstorm crops up
> Good looking honeys behind the counter (sorry, I know it's sexist, but everything else being equal, I'll choose the place with the attractive counter girls over the place with the fat guy who may or may not have showered in the last three days).

Major turn off for me is, you want gas, bend over bitc& expensive gas. If it is a dollar a gallon more than a 10 minute flight, bad idea.

I'll accept reasonable landing and parking fees for private fields. $5 for all the touch and goes I want. $5 a night to park. Need reasonable tie downs.

Friendly employees.

PA12_Pilot wrote:Some of the FBOs that I like the best have/are/offer:
> Genuinely welcoming attitude. "We're glad you picked out airport and FBO and we are at your service" kind of attitude.
> Employees who LISTEN to understand, and then confirm their understanding. "Oh, Mr. Xxxx, you say your Supercub leaks a bit in a big downpour. Well, rain is forecast for tonight: would you like for us to move it into the hangar if a storm blows through?"
> Full service fuel at a price modestly above the self-serve price. I don't mind spending an extra $10 - 15 on a 35 gallon purchase if the line boy is careful and conscientious and he washes the windshield, offers me a rag to check the oil, offers to take any garbage I might have in the plane, etc.
> Decor that is "warm" and "inviting." I don't mean slightly shabby and worn, like someone's basement family room, and I don't mean cold and businesslike or richy-rich like a Ferrari showroom. Good quality furniture, attractive carpet, tasteful decorations.
> A place to sit down and visit with friends, or to make new friends
> If there is a TV, it's not blaring at full volume, it's not tuned to Jerry Springer, and it's not an irritant in general
> WIFI and WIFI printers
> No smoking, except 200 yards downwind of the building
> A refrigerator or cooler full of free bottled water, self-service
> Sectionals, NACA approach plates, and low en route charts for sale
> A modest cafe or grill where you can get real food. The menu doesn't have to be terribly large or fancy, but it sure is nice to have soup and a sandwich or a hamburger and fries instead of the nauseating glop from the vending machines
> A place to sit outside to enjoy conversation and watch the comings and goings
> Wind socks or tetrahedrons that work and are illuminated at night
> Short term transient parking on the grass
> Competent line boys who can and will put your plane in the batch hangar if a thunderstorm crops up
> Good looking honeys behind the counter (sorry, I know it's sexist, but everything else being equal, I'll choose the place with the attractive counter girls over the place with the fat guy who may or may not have showered in the last three days).

Eric,
While I whole heartily agree with your list, I find it impossible to believe it cam from a sled driver out of bethel
Sorry I missed you this summer. I think next summer I will fly the cub up and leave it, I'll do my best to hook up with you then!

From the comments it looks like you are talking about the whole airport not just the FBO.
I would add:
The choice to pay one price for fuel, all other services included or to unbundle and pay a lower price for fuel but pay a reasonable ramp fee a small fee for the courtesy car etc. That way I can figure out which is better for me.

Look through airnavdotcom and read the reviews. See what pilots like and what they don't. I started life pumping gas and we were obligated by the FBO to wash windows and check oil. Several of us were pilots so we knew what else to look for, low tires etc. Train everybody to think like a pilot, as least as much as their particular job warrants. Plain old good customer service will win the day no matter what else you offer.

Heck... That's a easy question.....

AirVenture ... year round..

The perfect FBO would be easy if there was more activity in the industry. Unfortunately falling volumes have forced most FBO's to close or cut back to bare minimum service levels. At the airport I have my Repair Station, Carrollton, GA, we just gave the FBO back to the County. Even at reduced service levels it lost money. Why is that?

Fuel sales have been way down, even with less than .30 gallon markup. Fuel delivery cost have gone up. Avgas must be delivered in trucks that cater to leaded fuels. fewer jobbers are selling , so the fuel is transported further, driving the costs up. Liability insurance has been creeping up. Tanks have had more regulation, requiring fencing, security and containment berms, now impermeable and sumped. Labor costs have risen, internet for example, has gone up for many rural locations. People buy their charts mail order or use EFB's. Getting insurance for courtesy cars has skyrocketed in cost.

How did FBO's make money in the past? Well they really never did. You need to sell in excess of 30,000 gallons a month to make anything. With folks using Mogas, this has hurt. People using your FBO services and not actually buying anything, fuel, charts, courtesy cars and so on. FBO's used to make money on flight instruction and maintenance. Not so much anymore. Liability has driven most FBO's to shed instruction, that and increased FAA regulation on flight schools. Maintenance has dried up for FBO's due to almost draconian increases in paper regulation requirements by the FAA for part 145. The good old boy mechanics can't make enough to make ends meet, so they now work on heavy equipment vice aircraft.

We will see many FBO's dry up and be reduced to a lone self service pump on the rim of a ramp in the future. Folks just are not spending on flying, so there is no incentive to do it anymore. Only the FBO's that have high corporate and commercial traffic will survive due to decent fuel volumes and other services like catering, cleaning and limo rentals. So when you pull up, your more of an annoyance in your light plane. If beach resorts had such low volume and the folks all brought their own food and booze, then wanted to camp in the parking lot, how long would they survive and what would they look like?

I think your right on Dog
We all know what we want in an FBO but if you run a buisness you know what the overhead now days is with insurance taxes and what not. Takes a lot of fuel sales to make it work.

If your fueling jets that take 400 gallons a time it works but supercubs taking 15-20 gallons, you better have a line of them to the end of the taxi way to make it work.

Rob wrote:
Eric,
While I whole heartily agree with your list, I find it impossible to believe it cam from a sled driver out of bethel
Sorry I missed you this summer. I think next summer I will fly the cub up and leave it, I'll do my best to hook up with you then!

Rob,

I think it's precisely BECAUSE I spend so much time in Bethel that I've come to appreciate certain things about FBOs!

On another note, the Chief Pilot tells me to expect to be in Aniak full time come June. It would be great to connect there, especially if the Kings or Silvers are running!

Eric

Was going to post something along the lines "the best FBO" but found this existing one and wanting to get more imput from folks here...I may have an idea in mind so the more comments the better...even if its a one liner along what you like/dont like at your FBO or the ones you have visited. Perhaps you remember something really neat/cool about one you have visited in the past?

Cheers BCT

How about a couple small tool shed sized buildings with some bunks. It would be nice after a long day if you could just throw out a sleeping bag and not bother with a tent. Wouldn't need to be fancy. Maybe just a few bunks and a table to throw your bags on. A light would be nice too.

A gate that you can get out of if you land after 6PM. The county run airport near me locks the place up tighter than Fort Knox when they go home. used to think that it would be a good place to go I arrived home after dark and needed runway lights. Picked up a friend there today and see that they have a new prison fence around it. Asked them about getting out if I landed there after dark. Pretty much a deer in the head light look and we will be back at 7 in the morning. The county wants to shut it down for lack of funds and traffic. I wonder why. Maybe they hope to rent it to some of the overflowing prisons someday.

Courtesy car. I'd usually be thrilled to be able to pay $30 for a really beat up farm vehicle to use for an entire day at a destination, or perhaps $10 for a couple hours to get into town for a cafe or whatever. I hardly seem to go to the places large enough to have car rentals available, and there are so many places I fly over that really deserve more exploration from the ground.

Food service. For a couple of the small towns I fly through in WY or ID on my usual XC routes, I call ahead to a local sandwich shop/cafe and have a nice lunch waiting for me in a bag by the self serve pump when I land (Big Piney, Rexburg, Challis, etc). It might be nice to have a list of local food businesses that will drop off a nice meal at the airport for a fee. It really is killer for passengers too.