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It’s interesting how the 8130-3 entry says “bearings” were replaced without any more detail on which bearings, as one would normally list. My guess is that was for a reason.

Judging from the way my head fouls the roof in a Bonanza, this one's being flown by a midget ;)

If there is demand for FBO services at a price people are interested in paying, then they will survive by selling these services. You yourself are saying they are closing and nobody is interested in the business, except where there are big fish to fry - jets etc with a ridiculous cost structure...

I can imagine that’s true and like it or not, I think it’s driven by progress that is slowly making their services unnecessary, as long as the airport itself continues to exist with self-serve fuel and parking. As mentioned earlier, restaurant leaseholders are in my view more likely candidates...

The one like that where I’m based has about 600 aircraft on the field, two large county ramps for transient parking at $5 a night, two fuel suppliers, more FBOs that I can count (although only one fancy one is needed for transient traffic) and 550 operations per day. It seems to be working out...

I did think of Oregon when writing, and how their backwards policy on automotive self-serve has finally ended. That’s also why I wrote “assuming you had a choice not to do so”, understanding that there are a (very) few places where the choice doesn’t exist. Re “kicking and screaming”, firstly...

Who would I call now at the airports I visit that have only a self serve pump? Calling somebody associated with a fuel pump and actually reaching somebody who could assist strikes me as something with a very remote chance of success, and it’s not what I’d try to do. I use e.g. Foreflight to...

As mentioned a major funding mechanism for most airports is the FAA and taxpayer. My base will get $5M this year, plus Federal taxpayer paid full time ATC staffing. The FBOs are not the airport, they are businesses that operate on the airport at the pleasure of the airport and by extension...

TB30s are modern and nice but have a very high wing loading, which shows in the way they fly. More like a lowish powered jet (good and bad) than a typical aerobatic plane. I’ve flown two of them on two flights, once from the back and once in front, straightforward to maneuver and easy to land...

As mentioned, I believe the best solution to the real (un)regulated monopoly situation given FAAs laziness in doing their job is that all public airport owners receiving FAA funds should be mandated to have a non-leased public parking ramp so that any FBO leaseholder must earn whatever it...

It is an FAA responsibility to force those who take FAA money for public GA airports to make them available to the flying public… with reasonable cost reimbursement, not gigantic fees extracted from an (un)regulated airport monopoly some of which ultimately get passed to the airport owner...

Runways, taxiways, aprons and runway lighting are the costs of maintaining an airport, as opposed to private FBO facilities. This week it was announced that my home base is getting $5 million this year from the Federal government, to support one GA airport that was originally donated to the...

Most US airport land was given the current owners by the Federal Government, as is the annual maintenance cost of runways and taxiways, with a limitation on the gifts that the entire plot of land be reserved for aeronautical use and thereby not subject to the same market forces that create land...

That doesn’t make a lot of sense but maybe what you’re trying to say is that where GA is mixed with CAT, ramp security is a greater challenge? The way that is normally addressed is with separate GA parking, a security perimeter around the CAT terminal area and simpler security measures for the...

I didn’t say free, I said public.

I’m based at a public 600 operations/day airport with two public parking ramps that have likely 200 aircraft capacity. They are well used, few people in actuality need the services of an FBO. Access to public parking is by gate code, the usual radio frequency method, and payment is cash into...

Reasonable and fair is the price the FBO would charge if the municipality (airport owner) had provided the option of parking on an adjacent ‘county ramp’, thereby preventing the FBOs government awarded monopoly. Anywhere this is an option for transient traffic the FBO cannot charge more than...

That's because is isn't "classic supply versus demand", it is a taxpayer supported and government regulated quasi-monopoly. The problem here and elsewhere (e.g. Las Vegas) is that we and our GA lobbying bodies aren't forcing lazy Federal Government officials to do their job properly in...

If I were defending them I would say that EAA is not the FAA nor the police. They create guidelines not laws, and hope them to be followed for the benefit of all concerned. That is a contribution with coordination appreciated by all, but enforcement by defined and escalating procedure cannot...

My two planes to date were purchased for a total of $57K. I sold the first after having both for a while so my current capital investment is $37K, and it’s a quality plane. Hangar rent is the real cost of owning a plane, if you want to baby it (as I do). $100K would cover almost 20 years of my...