Jerry Your comments are entirely appropriate. One of the first things I learned when I was learning to fly is to value the relationship with my small-airport FBO. I pay a few dollars more for small items, but the support, good will, and friendhip are worth a million dollars. Carry on and thanks! Eliacim
> I didn't mean to jump down anyone's throat on this one. If you remember > the > old saying about the best way to make a small fortune in the aviation > industry is to start with a large one, I can vouch for that. Although my > partner and I never started with large fortunes. > > The FBO business at smaller, county type, single runway airports is a real > crap shoot, especially in the parts of the country with winter weather. > Here in Ohio, we've had 6, that's right, 6 really good VFR days with light > winds on weekends since Thanksgiving. Our business receipts demonstrate > that. > > And for the guy who hangars his airplane, many counties retain the hangars > unto their own right (ours does) so the FBO gets zilch from hangar rents. > > 100LL will always be expensive for many reasons, but primarily because > it's > the only gas left with lead in it. It takes a dedicated tanker truck to > haul it, and it's a very expensive cleaning operation if they have to haul > it in a tanker that will then be used to haul unleaded auto fuel. Same > for > running it thru the nationwide pipeline system, which is seldom done > anymore > due to the cost of cleaning out the line before a load of car gas can be > run > thru it. And, it accounts for less than 2% of all of the gasoline that is > refined. > > Our FBO is a labor of love - my partner is a dentist and I'm a lawyer. We > can each invest our disposable income in something far more attractive > than > an FBO. But, we did it out of love for aviation, and the fun of being > around the airport. As for income, forget it - most small airport FBOs > are > truly shoe string operations because our industry is shrinking, not > growing. > > Hence, every time we hear of pilots who carp over the cost of fuel, our > comment is that we'll be glad to sell the operation to that person, then > he > can set the price where he thinks it would be more fair. > > The same goes for maint. prices - we have a competitor nearby who has no > insurance (ours costs over $30,000 per year), operates from a nearly > deserted airport where he pays a mere pittance for rent for his hangar, so > sure, he can do an annual for less than can we. And, of course, he has no > current computerized maint. library like we pay over $10,000 per year for; > the list could go on and on. > > So if you think your FBO has a fancy car and big house in the country, he > may; but it wasn't acquired thru FBO operations. > > Now, of course, the large airport FBO business is different, but I doubt > many Coupes are based at large, airline type airports, or even the large > GA > airports. The little guy at our typical GA airports is struggling > everyday > just to pay the rent. > > If you expect him to be there for you when you need him, support him when > you don't. > > Thanks for listening to me whine. > > Jerry E. > > > -----Original Message----- > From: [email protected] > [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > Behalf Of Mac Plumb > Sent: Thursday, February 28, 2008 11:12 PM > To: [email protected] > Subject: [ercoupe-tech] Re: Plastic Gas Cans > > > > Ok, I gotta come outta the woodwork and add my two cents on this one. I > own two planes at the moment. I burn auto gas in both, and take it to the > airport myself in plastic cans, bought brand new just for the planes and > checked regularly for trash and moisture in their brand new clean bottoms > with a flashlight. > You wanna know why? It's simple enough. I get auto gas for about $3.20 > a > gallon. I can fly on about 6 to 8 gallons an hour in my planes. I love > flying. I've been privileged to have flown 500 hours in the last 4 1/2 > years. > If I go 40 miles, I can get avgas for about $4.00 a gallon. That's a > considerable amount more, and yeah, I believe it's an airport owned by the > county it's in. Or I can support my own FBO, as one of you said. Of > course, he charges $4.91 a gallon. Do the math. That's more than a buck > fifty more per gallon, at 5 to 8 gallons an hour. Imagine just how much > less I would have been able to fly if I bought gas from the FBO. I > estimate > I saved enough to have flown over a hundred more hours easily. I'm sorry > for the FBO guy and his nice car and his beautiful home, but I figure I > pay > him for a hanger and that's gonna have to do. I fly on weekends, he's > only > open 8 to 5 weekdays anyhow, I honestly couldn't pick him out of a lineup > as > I've only seen him maybe 4 times in 4 years. That doesn't mean I dislike > him, it is just plain good business sense to me to bring my own gas. > As for ethynol? I agree, it's a political mess that is just beginning > to > get started, and is gonna change our lives before it's over. I talk with > my > local gas/oil company manager regularly, he will not sell it in any of his > stations "in the forseeable future." It reduces the octane level, making > distributors either lie about their octane rating, or they have to mix it > with higher octane gas to sell at the same level on regular pumps. It > costs > more than gas, raising the cost even higher. And that doesn't count the > increased handling charges, ethynol is added at the ethynol factory into > the > trucks between the fuel depot and the dispensing gas stations. So I'm > garaunteed safe from that problem at this point as long as I continue to > buy > his gas from one of his stations. > Just my own choices of course, everyone is certainly expected to do > their > own "due diligence" to maintain the safety and security of their own > aircraft. And I do love both of mine, I'd rather total my car than > scratch > my planes!!!!! Happy flying all, hope to catch you in the air and see > some > of you at Sun n Fun. > William. > 1967 Alon N5640F, and 1955 Mooney M20 serial number 4 (oldest flying m20 > in the world!!!) > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- > -- > Looking for last minute shopping deals? Find them fast with Yahoo! > Search. > > >
