gotta report this to someone, I"m so pissed off I can spit..... family does a get together every year on this 3 day weekend at our cabin above Palm Springs... Golf for the guys, spa treatment for the women and a great dinner each night and home on Monday....It's not a fancy cabin doesn't even have electricity, only propane for lighting and cooking.... but it is in Andreas canyon above indian canyon golf course and it's been in the family since the 1920's... enough about the cabin,... anyway I figured I would fly to Palm springs this time and have someone pick us up at the PSP airport....Jean reluctantly agreed to fly this time.... so I called "executive" on the west side of the airport... come to find out it's $25 bucks a night to tie down....in addition there is a $32.50 "handling " fee...for when they move your plane around to park others.....I said to her on the phone " I don;t want a hangar I only want to tie down for 2 nights....as 25 bucks a night is the equivalent of $700 bucks a month... I pay 400 a month for my hangar....she said that is tie down outside... I said I don't want to have my plane moved by anyone so don't want to pay the "handling" fee... sorry we might be able to let you tie down for 20 a night but the handling fee is still on... So I called the guys on the other side of the field... $20 a night and a handling fee which they would not charge if I buy 15 gallons of gas.... how much is gas you ask... as did I.... $7.85 a gallon... Have you folks heard that oil is down below 50 a barrel... "we have a resort tax.... " she said... "I just paid $4.09 a gallon here in San Diego are you saying because of some tax you are charging over 3.50 a gallon more than the rest of southern kalifornia?" yep... she asked what kind of plane I'm flying.... of course she never heard of a Maule.... and actually said," we don't sell much 100 low lead so that is why we have to charge what we do..." I said "sounds like our Liberal taxation policy....we need more money so lets up the taxes.." and hung up.... so I'm driving.....

Total BS. Thank you for the PIREP.

10 years ago they told us things are changing and we will be going global and we will have a new world order. They were right, we now have a greedy bunch of f**king no minds running things. The new executive way of thinking is: Nobody is coming here any more so we better up our rates so we still make our profit levels.
Like they say, things are a changing and you can't fix stupid. I am afraid we are going to see a lot more of this in the near future.

For what it's worth, boldmethod had an article explaining why 100LL is still so high when you can get mogas for under $2 in many places. The reason has to do with the rate that 100LL goes from being crude to holes bored in the sky. Both on the distillery side it flows much slower compared with mogas and then there is distribution and at last with each FBO the pump price is based in part on their cost when they filled their tank. If the FBO doesn't sell much 100LL then likely their prices will remain higher than someplace with higher sales volumes.

..but executive, I think not .

Fly into Thermal or Bermuda Dunes, you may get better treatment there.

I know I called Bermuda Dunes.. 10 bucks a night and that's it... but then I don't want to inconvenience my pick up people to have to drive 23 miles further south to pick me up.. but Bermuda dunes is better...

Hmmmmm, sounds like my last non-flight to Vagas.

Had to make a quick trip to Seattle over Thanksgiving and thought I would save a 10 hour round trip drive and fly instead, did some checking to see what the fees would be and it was anywhere from 50-80 a night to tie down, a couple had "handling fees" one place would wave for 15 gal of fuel, landing fees from 40-70 and 100 LL was over 8.50 at all of the FBO's. Oh and no guarantee on a ride to the airport, so that would be another 60-80 for a cab

Welcome to Vagas

Hey we only live once!. I would fly that Maule into palm springs naked, get out walk around your plane get in take off and fly to the second place and have your buddies pick you up. I have to drive 24 miles a day to town and back and never see a signal light. Don't back down due to some over price fbo. I use to hit palm springs for spring break back in the early 80's and there was some naked going on then. I say FLY.

but Av gas should be going down too even though it always was higher... a couple months ago in San Diego at Brown field it was $4.69 a gallon. today it was $4.09 Palm springs is just flat out gouging people... they get their gas from the same place San Diego does... and tell me how is it that Big Bear is the lowest price on av gas in southern california when they have to haul that shit up that damn mountain,...

mountainwagon wrote:Hey we only live once!. I would fly that Maule into palm springs naked, get out walk around your plane get in take off and fly to the second place and have your buddies pick you up. I have to drive 24 miles a day to town and back and never see a signal light. Don't back down due to some over price fbo. I use to hit palm springs for spring break back in the early 80's and there was some naked going on then. I say FLY.

OK I"ll PM you my address so you can send me the check ... . $85 bucks is what it is...I'll make it easy on you and not top off there...

If it will make you happy and have a good time flying with your wife I'll send you 100 bucks to fly there and also have a beer on me. Will there be a pissed off maule pilot giving the fbo a ba ?

I know it's easy to blame a "Liberal taxation policy", but it sounds to me more like the republican "Don't regulate business in any way, let them charge whatever they want, make as much short term profit they possibly can, and let the market decide." Don't mean to poke a sore though. Flame suit on.

Regardless, I hope you find an acceptable option that makes flying your mode of travel. Either way, have fun.

I feel your pain. Eastern Idaho has had terrible inversions this week and I got scalded yesterday. Almost everywhere was below minimums except Idaho Falls but the localizer was out. Tried a vor approach, got held high for traffic, tried losing 3000 feet from initial to final which caused carb ice concerns once we hit the soup, iced the windshield and turned the tires white 200' in, popped out and went to Driggs. No dice, 100 foot vert. into freezing fog. Now we really are running out of options so we go to Jackson Hole for the only vfr conditions within our fuel range. Paid $10 to land, $20 to park $7.25 for gas. was offered a warmup in their meatlocker for $140. Went back this morning at 9 below and they graciously alowed me to plug my plane into their electricity on the light pole. Scraped the frost off during the 3 hour plug in, finally got it lit, home at 3 this afternoon. Gave the skylane a bucket of oats and went shopping for tucks.

As a small ga plain you are a real pain in their ass. They do not want or need you. their business model is built on lots of kerosine, high price lunches and jets. When someone like you, and for that matter me, show up there, it is harder takes longer etc.

They really don't want you there, make it high and I will put up with you. That is just reality. Sorry. Rich get you and I don't even get hind tit any more.

Have a me if you want.

I hear what you are saying and that's one of the major reasons I avoid airports with blue rings around them like the plague. Probably twice a year they have some value. Or when they drop their Avgas to $1 a gallon.

When I go to the Jet Center's desk, to speak to them about landing fees or tie down fees and they ask me what kind of plane I have, I don't give them the make and model cause they have no idea what I'm talking about. I tell them it's a little tiny plane that only holds two people. Nearly a 100% of the time they send me to some far off corner of their space to tie down (which I prefer anyway), no charge, or a very small amount, or they might say "if you buy some gas from us no charge". "Some gas". Not 40 gallons. By the time I return they usually just send me on my way with a smile.

They're busy making tens of thousands of dollars every hour filling Jets. They probably only have Avgas cause some of their Jet clients have a 210, or Saratoga, or something. Or they run a flight school. They could care less if they sell any of it cause it takes the same amount of effort to fill a 150 as it does a Citation X.

And isn't landing at Palm Springs about the same as landing at Beverly Hills (is there even an airport there?). I'd expect everything to be over the top expensive because it can be.

Land some place where us red necks hangout, and most importantly go have fun with the family!

iceman wrote:...of course she never heard of a Maule.... and actually said," we don't sell much 100 low lead so that is why we have to charge what we do..."

"went shopping for tucks"

Those are anti hemorrhoid things are they not?

decision made... it's a 2 hr 20 minute drive in the Audi...Maule stays home....

Just the mention of Palm Springs conjurers up thoughts of the uber rich elite and G5's, Hell it's the Playground of the rich. The private jets probably out weigh the pistons 10-1 . A 100 extra doesn't seem that bad for docking your bird beside multimillion dollar jets for a couple of days, Probably worth the experience in the long run.

fshaw wrote:I know it's easy to blame a "Liberal taxation policy", but it sounds to me more like the republican "Don't regulate business in any way, let them charge whatever they want, make as much short term profit they possibly can, and let the market decide." Don't mean to poke a sore though. Flame suit on.

lol. Yeah. Nothing is funnier than a conservative taking a flaccid swipe at liberals while bitching and moaning about getting the shaft from a business. Better stay away from Houston. Costs about that to park a damn car at the downtown hotels! Stupid liberals!

deleted