Rookie question: Tie downs
Dallas
Having never traveled to another airport over night, I have no idea how the
tie down thing works.
How do you find out where they want you to park and who/how much to pay?
The A/FD is no help. AirNav.com publishes ownership records.. do you just
call them?
What if you pull in at night when the management is gone for the day. Do
you just pick a spot and figure out who to pay on the day you leave?
--
Dallas
Bertie the Bunyip
news:k64cjxqhfajg$.37848nb...@40tude.net:
>
> Having never traveled to another airport over night, I have no idea
> how the tie down thing works.
>
> How do you find out where they want you to park and who/how much to
> pay?
Controlled field, there whould be someone there to marshall you after
you;re cleared to the ramp. uncontrolled, just ask the ofice on the radio.
If it's small enough not to have either jus use your head.
>
> The A/FD is no help. AirNav.com publishes ownership records.. do you
> just call them?
>
> What if you pull in at night when the management is gone for the day.
> Do you just pick a spot and figure out who to pay on the day you
> leave?
>
>
>
Pretty much.
Bertie
Robert M. Gary
Always bring your own chalk and rope too. Don't expect that it will
always be available.
-Robert
BT
> Always bring your own chalk and rope too. Don't expect that it will
> always be available.
>
> -Robert
I think a pair of "Chocks" might be better...
sorry.. could not resist..
but really.. depending on where you are going.. most airports will have
"transient parking" in front of the main FBO.
Some small country airports are unmanned at night, call ahead.. get the
skinny.. and carry your own ropes.
worry about "overnight fees".. only at the larger airports.. and then.. many
times it is waived if you by gas.
B
Dallas
> Always bring your own chalk
Whoa.. chalk or chocks?
If it is chalk.. what's that for?
--
Dallas
Robert M. Gary
Yea, and if they really want it they will attach something to the
airplane or mail you a bill afterwards.
-Robert
Christopher Brian Colohan
> Always bring your own chalk and rope too. Don't expect that it will
> always be available.
First reaction: what is the chalk for? To make a new spot if all of
the painted ones are full?
Then I figured it out....
Chris
Mortimer Schnerd, RN
> Having never traveled to another airport over night, I have no idea how the
> tie down thing works.
>
> How do you find out where they want you to park and who/how much to pay?
It varies. At a grass strip any place out of the way is usually OK. With any
luck they've got tiedown spots prepared with rope or chains attached to points
on the ground. At a paved airport, with any luck you will see painted "T"s on
the tarmac. If there's more than one side choose accordingly. It's considered
poor manners to help yourself to a hangar space. <G>
As for overnight fees, if nobody's there when you arrive you can pay them when
you leave... they'll figure the airplane out. Some spots will let you slide if
you buy gas but don't count on that. Tie down fees are typically very
reasonable at all but the biggest airports.
I'd stay away from the biggest airports if there's a general aviation field
anywhere nearby. I took a C-172 into Hartsfield once to drop somebody off and I
swear I was the only single engine aircraft on the tarmac. Coming in wasn't
bad.... I kept it at cruise speed until on short final so I fit in OK with the
big iron. Getting out was something of a different story.... 70 knots uphill
kind of put a cork in the works for a bit. The controllers were polite although
I took a lot of ribbing from the airliners while we were waiting our turn for
departure. But I digress.
I have seen a few spots that just have a box for you to add your overnight fee
on the honor system. I have never screwed any of those people and would
discourage it in others.... they can ruin it for us all.
And if you happen to use their courtesy car, be sure to leave it with more gas
than you got it with, no matter what a POS it may be. You could be walking....
--
Mortimer Schnerd, RN
mschnerdatcarolina.rr.com
Robert M. Gary
wrote:
> Dallas wrote:
> I'd stay away from the biggest airports if there's a general aviation field
> anywhere nearby. I took a C-172 into Hartsfield once to drop somebody off and I
> swear I was the only single engine aircraft on the tarmac.
I'd say the opposite. I always go for the largest airport in the area.
When I land I want my rental car right there and I want 24x7
facilities. When you go to the GA field you'll be lucky if they drive
your rental out to the airport, many times they show up in a van and
drive you to the larger airport. So unless you want part of your
aviation experience to be hanging around the airport, I'd suggest
paying the extra $100 or so and go to the large airport. Usually if
you are staying for more than a couple of days you'll make it up
because the rental cars at the large airport are always cheeper
anyway.
-Robert
C J Campbell
This is one of the funny things about flight training. Here is
something every pilot needs to know, but it is not in the PTS and most
instructors don't cover it. You get your certificate and they turn you
loose and you have absolutely no concept of how to turn flying into a
practical tool. And then people wonder why so many pilots quit flying
right after they get their certificate.
Most airports have a transient parking area for visiting airplanes.
There should be signs designating where that is. It is usually by the
FBO or near the fuel pumps; sometimes near a restaurant. The fee for
parking is called a ramp fee. Some airports have no fee. Others charge
a fee for overnight parking only. Big airports might charge by the
hour, plus a landing fee, collected by a big FBO such as Signature
Flight Support. Sometimes the FBO will waive the ramp fee if you buy
gas.
If there is no designated transient parking area, feel free to park in
any tiedown that is not marked "reserved." Do not park in hangars or
sheds; those are usually private. If you need a hangar, talk to someone
at the FBO in advance.
Many airports have a gate in the security fence near the transient
parking area for use by pilots. It is common to have a box on this gate
where you can deposit your ramp fees. I usually wait until I am
departing before paying the fee; by then someone will have hung a
little envelope for the purpose on the wing strut or somewhere. If the
gate requires an entry code, it is usually written on a placard on the
inside of the gate. Write it down before you leave.
Many airports have a crew car -- a free car that you can use for an
hour or so to run quick errands. It is not intended for you to keep the
car at your hotel at night. You should put some gas in it. The car is
often a beater and might even be a retired police cruiser or the like
donated by the city. Sometimes it is simply a car borrowed from the
rental fleet. Or it is an old car or truck owned by the FBO's owner. In
any event, take good care of it and don't abuse the privilege.
For longer stays, you might want to rent a car. Many airports do not
have car rental agencies on the field. Enterprise will pick you up, but
they are often closed Saturday and Sunday. It is best to make
arrangements for a rental car before you leave. Many FBOs will arrange
a rental car for you and have it waiting when you arrive.
Many FBOs will send someone out after hours if you need fuel or a
rental car or something like that, but you have to make arrangements
for that in advance.
Some towns have no rental car service and no taxi service, or the taxis
stop running at 7 pm or something like that. Self-serve fuel pumps
might be locked up at night. This is why it is a good idea to call
ahead before flying into a strange airport at 9 at night. Nothing worse
than getting stranded late at night inside a locked airport with no
place to go and no way to get there. You could end up sleeping in the
plane.
Some hotels will send a courtesy car out to the airport to bring you to
the hotel. They usually will say so in their ads in the Yellow Pages.
What they don't say is that often they will not send anyone out late at
night, late being after the regular work day.
I well remember one airport in Texas where the cab company would not
send anyone to the airport. They said you had to pick up a cab at the
taxi waiting stand, only at the small airport there was no taxi waiting
stand and I could not convince the dispatcher otherwise. She simply had
no concept that there might be airports other than Houston
International in the area. Plus, the world championship rodeo finals
were in town, so getting a taxi was impossible anyway. It took me six
hours to get transportation to the hotel. Watch out for things like
that.
In general, the more you plan in advance the better off you are going
to be. The telephone is there. Use it, or risk sleeping the plane or
waiting six hours for a cab.
--
Waddling Eagle
World Famous Flight Instructor
Dallas
> This is one of the funny things about flight training. Here is
> something every pilot needs to know, but it is not in the PTS and most
> instructors don't cover it.
Absolutely right. I had 2.5 months of ground school, about 10 hours of one
on one CFI ground training, I've read 5 or so private pilot books and have
been receiving the AOPA Flight Training magazine for a couple of years now.
With all that, I've never seen one mention of how to deal with a
destination airport.
CJ... I'm not blowing smoke when I say that your post here is ready for
primetime. I'd bet money you could send it up to AOPA Flight Training
magazine and they'd publish it.
--
Dallas
Al G
"C J Campbell" <christoph...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:2007121407554275249-christophercampbell@hotmailcom...
Well said. Should probably go on the back of the graduation
certificate, or in the AIM under "So, you just got your license..."
Al G
Michael Ash
> This is one of the funny things about flight training. Here is
> something every pilot needs to know, but it is not in the PTS and most
> instructors don't cover it. You get your certificate and they turn you
> loose and you have absolutely no concept of how to turn flying into a
> practical tool.
I think this is pretty common in many different fields. To make a fairly
direct analogy, driver education generally doesn't cover anything about
how to use a car as a practical tool, this is left up to the student. Less
direct, in five years of school for two computer science degrees, nobody
ever taught me how to actually create and work on large projects. This is
not to excuse the failing, but rather just to point out that it's
pervasive. If you figure out how to fix it, you'll do a lot of good.
Flying gliders is never a pratical tool (unless you're fighting World War
II) but I noticed similar sorts of gaps in my knowledge, like how to deal
with the situation after you've landed in a stranger's hay field. Even how
to assemble and disassemble a glider, something that's both extremely
practical and covered on the PTS, was a topic which I had only the most
rudimentary knowledge of when I took my checkride. When the examiner asked
me how I would assemble the glider we were going to fly, I gave him an
amazingly basic description. Something like, "Pull the fuselage out of the
trailer, pull one wing out, put it in, put in the spar pins, do the same
with the other wing, put on the elevator, and connect the controls.) If I
had actually been in charge of an assembly party I would have been totally
doomed. But he accepted that without comment.
Luckily for me, shortly after my checkride I made friends with an old hand
who proceeded to teach me all about these hidden aspects, then proceeded
to lend me his glider so I could translate the theory into practice. Now
assembly is a piece of cake as is dealing with curious farmers. It could
be useful if instructors would cover some of these sorts of things even
though they're kind of off the cirriculum. Of course if you're paying for
instruction, how many people are going to get out their checkbook so you
can tell them about the difficulties of finding a taxi? Maybe groups like
this *are* the answer to how to educate people on these softer skills.
--
Michael Ash
Rogue Amoeba Software
webs...@cox.net
It would be for drawing an outline of the airplane on the ground if
the landing was too hard...
webs...@cox.net
Lots of other posters have excellent info!
I have only had ONE, count it, ONE, long distance flight, which I
spent about two months planning. It was a blast.
But I had to make arrangements for landing or tying down at 3 airports
I'd never seen.
Use the phone! AOPA and AVWEB websites have links to airports and the
businesses there. Many times airports (or the communities that
support them) have websites with plenty of extra info. Just call the
various FBOs, tell them about when you'll be coming, and ask about
fuel prices and tiedowns or whatever. They were all polite to me, and
such matters turned out to be one of the easier parts of the trip.
A word about fuel prices: I found that they vary depending on whether
you do it yourself or not. I was a bit pressed for time, so I paid
the extra to have them fill it up while I attended to making the
requisite calls to Flight Services, closing/opening flight plans, etc.
Making the plans ahead is recommended. If there is a tower operating,
you can ask for taxi instructions to get you where you already know
you want to go, rather than asking for info they probably can't give
you. I have read (but never observed) that upon rare occasion,
rather aggressive flight line attendants will marshall you to a place
very politely, and only later do you find out that there is a very
healthy tie-down fee, or even a marshalling fee, that you were not
aware of.
Have Fun!
Dallas
> It would be for drawing an outline of the airplane on the ground if
> the landing was too hard...
Ok.. I might need that. Where does one buy chalk nowadays?
--
Dallas
Mortimer Schnerd, RN
You get it the old fashioned way: you visit the local high school and STEAL it.
Robert M. Gary
Just in case you need to work out a good math problem on the ramp.
ManhattanMan
>> Always bring your own chalk and rope too. Don't expect that it will
>> always be available.
>>
>> -Robert
>
> I think a pair of "Chocks" might be better...
>
> sorry.. could not resist..
>
> worry about "overnight fees".. only at the larger airports.. and
> then.. many times it is waived if you by gas.
>
Then after you go by the gas, you might buy some to take with you, too....
I know, nobody likes a wise ass..... d:->))
Bob Noel
"ManhattanMan" <um...@binlaidon.com> wrote:
> > worry about "overnight fees".. only at the larger airports.. and
> > then.. many times it is waived if you by gas.
> >
>
> Then after you go by the gas, you might buy some to take with you, too....
>
> I know, nobody likes a wise ass..... d:->))
Noboday likes an educated mule.
--
Bob Noel
(goodness, please trim replies!!!)
ManhattanMan
ManhattanMan
> Bob Noel wrote:
>>
>> Noboday likes an educated mule.
OK - finish post, THEN hit send:
Noboday is wise Grasshopper!
Dallas
> I have read (but never observed) that upon rare occasion,
> rather aggressive flight line attendants will marshall you to a place
> very politely, and only later do you find out that there is a very
> healthy tie-down fee, or even a marshalling fee, that you were not
> aware of.
Oh.. he flies an airplane, he must have money... it's ok to rip him off...
I mean, where else is he going to go?
:- )
--
Dallas
Bob Noel
"ManhattanMan" <um...@binlaidon.com> wrote:
check spelling or hit send.... check spelling or hit send .... hmmmm
C J Campbell
One magazine you might want to read which really does tell you what to
do at a strange airport is "Pilot Getaways." There are also several
books covering popular destinations.
C J Campbell
There are places like that. I think Mammoth Springs is one of them.
What we need is a list of airports that fleece pilots.
C J Campbell
<christoph...@hotmail.com> said:
Correction. I think I meant Mammoth Lakes. I have heard of ramp fees as
high as $50 there.
Morgans
"Bob Noel" <ihates...@netscape.com.invalid> wrote
> check spelling or hit send.... check spelling or hit send .... hmmmm
How about having the speeling cheched, everie time you nit spend,
automatikally? <g>
--
Jim in NC
BT
LOL
BT
"Morgans" <jsmo...@charterJUNK.net> wrote in message
news:%UY8j.159$6o2...@newsfe07.lga...
Marty Shapiro
news:rH09j.15134$R92....@newsfe16.phx:
The following poem has been around in some version or another for over
30 years. I know it was updated in the mid-80's after the introduction of
the PC. It passes the Open Office 2.3.1 spell checker.
---
Spell Czech
Aye halve a spelling checker.
It came with my pea sea.
It plainly marques four my revue
Miss steaks eye kin knot sea.
Eye strike a key and type a word
And weight four it two say
Weather eye am wrong oar write
It shows me strait a weigh.
As soon as a mist ache is maid
It nose bee fore two long
And eye can put the error rite
Its rare lee ever wrong.
Eye have run this poem threw it.
I am shore your pleased two no.
it's letter perfect awl the weigh.
My checker tolled me sew
--
Marty Shapiro
Silicon Rallye Inc.
(remove SPAMNOT to email me)
Dallas
> My checker tolled me sew
Sores unknown?
--
Dallas
Dallas
> What we need is a list of airports that fleece pilots.
AviationRipOffs.com?
Na... on second thought the bandwidth would cost a fortune.
--
Dallas
Scott
<Ne...@SiliconSPAMNOTRallye.org> wrote:
>"BT" <bNO...@SPAM.cox.net> wrote in
>news:rH09j.15134$R92....@newsfe16.phx:
>
> The following poem has been around in some version or another for over
>30 years. I know it was updated in the mid-80's after the introduction of
>the PC. It passes the Open Office 2.3.1 spell checker.
>Aye halve a spelling checker.
I can't remember the first time I saw a version of that. Seems like
forever. Yet, a copy of WordPerfect from 1994 nails it with 30 grammatical
errors....
I've been thinking about implementing an email filter using a combo
spelling/grammar checker. It'd wipe out virtually all incoming spam, and
about 3/4 of email from my in-laws. I'm trying to identify a downside.
-Scott
Bob Noel
wrote:
> I've been thinking about implementing an email filter using a combo
> spelling/grammar checker. It'd wipe out virtually all incoming spam, and
> about 3/4 of email from my in-laws. I'm trying to identify a downside.
downside: 1/4 still gets through ;-/