I'm a student pilot and I wanted to know, say when you land at an unfamiliar airport and want to park for the night, you contact the FBO, but do they direct you to the ramp? And at an airport with multiple FBO's, what happens if you get mixed up? Or do you just pull onto a ramp that looks good to you, and then head inside to take care of fees?
2006-11-30 13:54:05 · 10 answers · asked by phillyman2633 1 in Cars & Transportation ➔ Aircraft
Government published or Jeppesen airport diagrams don't show where the FBOs are and the names, but ACUKWIK and Pilots Express do show the location and names at selected airports and are meant for corporate pilots. You can call the FBO either ahead of time on the phone and ask them where they are located. They might tell you something like the northwest side of the airport, next to the Exxon sign, or next to Alpha 4 intersection. You can also get the location by calling their arinc or unicom frequency when you get within radio range. Let's take Reading Regional (KRDG) for example where thay have 3 FBOs. Say you wanted to use American Flight Services. They are on the north side of the field. The other two are on the south side. American uses Texaco. The other two use Shell and AvFuel. American has it's own arinc (123.10) while the unicom frequency is 122.95. You can call American on arinc as follows: "American Flight Services Reading, Cessna 502BE". When they answer, tell them when you'll be landing and tell them you are unfamiliar and ask where they are located on the airport. Also tell them you will be with them overnight. If there is a tower at the airport, ask ground control for progressive taxi to the FBO. Since the parking location is planned ahead of time, there will probably be a marshaller there to direct you to a parking spot. AirNav is a good source of information online. Remember though, all FBOs do not pay to be on the airport diagram on all publications or websites. If you don't have a plan, you can still choose an FBO when you get there, by just choosing the easiest one to spot or asking ground or unicom for assistance.
By the way, at an uncontrolled field, unicom frequency is used to give traffic reports. You would say for example, "Pottsville traffic Cessna 502BE left downwind runway 11 full stop, Pottsville". The same frequency can be used to talk to the FBO. If you didn't know the name of the FBO and wanted to talk to them, you would address them as "Pottsville Unicom" for example.
2006-12-01 04:40:09 · answer #1 · answered by mach_92 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If you have planned ahead and picked a FBO that you want to use then use that one. Good resources to find FBOs is the AOPA Airport Directory, or several website such as www.airnav.com Air Nav will generally list FBOs available and users can give comments about their experience there.
If you are going to a controlled airport while the tower is in operation and you are unfamiliar with the airport ask for a "progressive taxi" to the FBO. If you happened to taxi to the wrong one and don't want to stay there then just start up contact ground and taxi to the another one.
It may be a good idea to check with the FBO ahead of time, if there is more than one they may have different ramp fees, hours of operations and the such.
2006-11-30 15:06:01 · answer #2 · answered by MIPilot 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I would say that you should definitely plan ahead as to which FBO you will be staying at, you should be able to view on an airport diagram as to where the FBO is located. Also if you are landing at a towered airport once you switch to ground control you can ask for progressive to where you want to go and they will talk you through to the FBO. Also a lot of times the FBO will have its on Freq. and once you are on the ground you can speak to them and they will direct you to their ramp area. Good luck and have a great flight!
2006-12-01 03:14:20 · answer #3 · answered by ? 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
depends what kind of airport you're at as well as what kind of FBO it is...
If you're at a controlled field have some sort of AFD out and know basically where you're going but ask for progressive taxi. That way ground control will direct you to the FBO of your choosing..
At an uncontrolled field.. study the AFD and overfly the field (atleast 500 feet above pattern elevation) enough to see the taxiways and FBO. then land and head over.
once you get to the ramp.. there will either be someone waiting for you and they'll direct you to the proper place to park or you get to pick whatever place you want.
Good luck
2006-12-02 16:22:15 · answer #4 · answered by Rogue 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
There are several charges at airports in the UK and around Europe. First is the landing fee, this goes by weight, next is ramp fees, for loading and unloading suitcases, fire cover etc, - number of pax, parking charges - category of aircraft and length of stay, Refuelling charges, quantity and type, fire cover etc., Traffic control, those in the control tower who give the clearances. Ground servicing charges - A&P mechanics who carry out minor repairs and turn around servicing. Reprovisioning charges - food, water and duty free, the list goes on. How much? no idea, but I do know a landing fee at a small regional airport, for a light single would be in the region of £12 -£15. This is sometimes waived if you upload fuel from the airport. Parking fees would be in the region of £5 - £10 per night, on the far side of the apron. Smaller airfields can charge half that.
2016-05-23 06:40:29 · answer #5 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yep.
If they have groud control they can direct you to a specific place or they can offer suggestions. Otherwise just taxi by and pull in to a place that suits you, most won't say no to business.
In Canada we have the Canada Flight Supplement that lists services that airports have and has airport layouts so you know where everything is. Many FBOs have their UNICOM frequencies published so you can contact them in advance.
Remember to pack tiedowns and chocks just in case they don't have any and don't forget the gate code.
2006-11-30 14:42:12 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I found out that an airport diagram helps to direct you to the ramp but don't tell you where to park. I allways had the same problem. I soon figured out that if they don't want you to park somewhere they should have had someone to park you else where.
2006-11-30 17:33:13 · answer #7 · answered by us_pilot 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Thats the way. find a spot and tie down and head for FBO.
2006-11-30 15:22:35 · answer #8 · answered by NuncProTunc 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
when you land ask for transient parking. letting them know you are a student pilot is also a good idea.
2006-12-02 06:32:49 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
pretty much just drive up, set the brake and turn it off. If you need to move it, they'll ask you to (or move it themselves).
2006-12-01 05:27:42 · answer #10 · answered by Jason 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋