Airport FBO bulletin boards - gone or empty

ChopAndDrop

ChopAndDrop

Pre-takeoff checklist
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ChopAndDrop
I was going around local airports to post something on the bulletin-boards (aircraft related stuff I wanted to sell locally).
I noticed an interesting Trend: there are no airplane “for sale” nor any “looking for co-owners/partners” ads at my local airports.
Last time I was looking to buy a plane (around 2018) you would see a large cork-board all filled with airplane ads, CFI’s advertising training, etc.

I know “most things are online now” but Nowadays it’s only a few airport notice and a lot of blank/empty space on the cork/peg boards.

my home airport FBO (Signature) doesn’t even have a cork-board anymore, no place to post anything to local pilots or nearby hangars.
 
I can think of one airport near me (KFLX, Fallon, NV) that has a board like this. Most are going away unfortunately.
 
My airport has one. Some idiot realtor put his business card on it. Someone found keys in the gravel road leading up to the airport and put them up. And the cfi that was flying a students plane back after dropping the student off at his daughters house, then ran it out of fuel on the return flight because he never fueled up. Landed on a road and clipped a sign totalling the plane....his card is up there as well. But that's it. I suspect Facebook killed it. Wouldn't know for sure, never had one.
 
I still see small ones, mostly with aircraft sale and partnership offerings and ads for a local flight school or club, along with the odd notice. Definitely not what it once was. Social media has pretty much taken that niche.
 
We’ve got a bulletin board, but it doesn’t get an extraordinary amount of traffic.
 
Both of the airports I fly out of have them, but they almost never have anything useful on them. Usually very "stale."
 
I visit a lot of GA airports in WY, CO, and NE. I still see bulletin boards, but they're mostly covered in business cards.
 
bradg33 said:
Both of the airports I fly out of have them, but they almost never have anything useful on them. Usually very "stale."
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a572mike said:
I visit a lot of GA airports in WY, CO, and NE. I still see bulletin boards, but they're mostly covered in business cards.
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I think that is why those have died off. Stuff gets put up and no one ever takes it down. And honestly if you are looking for a service or product, do you drive or fly to the airport to look or do you just Google it these days? The airport bulletin board is extremely poor marketing in today's world.
 
Last time I used an airport bulletin board was to get phone numbers for the local taxi service(s) where Uber wasn't available.
 
I've been flying for 30 years, and though I've seen lots of those bulletin boards at lots of airports over the years, I can't think of one time where I actually called a number I saw on any of them for any reason.

So I'd suggest that even before FB and Craigslist, etc., they were of limited utility.

As a CFI, I did leave some business cards on a local airport bulletin board one time years ago. Didn't receive a single call based on it. For marketing, FB/etc have been far more effective, so why would I do anything else?
 
RussR said:
I've been flying for 30 years, and though I've seen lots of those bulletin boards at lots of airports over the years, I can't think of one time where I actually called a number I saw on any of them for any reason.
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I saw an ad on one when I flew up to visit a friend in NH many years ago. It lead to me taking a trip and doing an ASES in Maine. :D

Airplanes for sale seem to be word of mouth or online now.

Most FBOs have flight schools so don't allow instructors to advertise.

My field does have some worthwhile info on their board.
 
Here in Vermont, where VTrans (the Railroad agency that pretends to oversee aviation in the state) scares away more people and services than it attracts, the lobbies of FBO's (where there are any remaining) are not too well attended. Ahhh, for the good old days when Aviation was its own division under the Agency of Tranportation and was staffed with people who actually knew and loved flying.
 
RussR said:
I've been flying for 30 years, and though I've seen lots of those bulletin boards at lots of airports over the years, I can't think of one time where I actually called a number I saw on any of them for any reason.
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I have a number of times, and I've also I passed along the number of a plane for sale to someone who was looking for that exact make and model. Can't recall if they purchased or not, but that plane wasn't listed anywhere but on the board. I'm not on facespace, so I'd be much more likely to get your info from an FBO than that crapfest.
 
My local airport has a pretty active bulletin board in the GA terminal (separate building from the FBO). Plenty of used aircraft, parts, and most recently people wanting to go to Sun N Fun and Osh.
 
For the past few years, good planes sell online in MINUTES...why post on paper? You sell the plane quicker than the time it takes to print out a flyer.
 
Country Flier said:
For the past few years, good planes sell online in MINUTES...why post on paper? You sell the plane quicker than the time it takes to print out a flyer.
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Only if they have an autopilot.
 
Staples.com has a Sign Holder with Business Card Pocket, 8.5" x 11", Clear Plastic (590601) for $12.99. If there is counter space in a pilot lounge/flight planning room that might be an option.
 
Country Flier said:
For the past few years, good planes sell online in MINUTES...why post on paper? You sell the plane quicker than the time it takes to print out a flyer.
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Not everyone is necessarily ready to sell their plane when they list it. Lots of reasons why that happens. "Okay Honey, I put ads up for the plane."
 
I seek them out and enjoy them. They're getting pretty hard to find. FBOs don't seem to want them, and municipal terminals are not as common anymore.
 
I frequent a couple that still have them. They are both pretty much completely static. Nothing ever changes. Some of the stuff has been there since I started flying 13-14 years ago.
 
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