Car parked too close to my plane

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Luigi

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Jan 13, 2013
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Display name:
Luigi
At our airport one may pull one's plane from a tie down and leave a car in the spot vacated by said airplane's mobilization (outside tie downs, no assigned spaces). A guy next to me parks his car between wingtips rather than place his car as described above. He parked within 9" of my wingtip such that he could not even open the driver's side door. I left him a note asking him to respect my "area" and not jeopardize my aircraft with his carless (IMHO) parking tactics. He says he has a bad back and cannot pull his plane out, hence he starts it in his space and taxies out. I have moved my plane away from his, but to no avail as it has happened several times since. I contacted my FBO and they say that as far as they are concerned it is between me and him.
Any suggestions?
 
Request a new tie down spot. If you have a neighbor that you are not happy with and is not violating any rules according to the FBO...not much you can do if you have already gone down the passive aggressive route with the note to no avail.
 
If his back is that bad, how does he keep a medical? I know, I'm not a doctor, but the one time my back was messed up I was grounded until it got fixed.
 
Ghery said:
If his back is that bad, how does he keep a medical? I know, I'm not a doctor, but the one time my back was messed up I was grounded until it got fixed.
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I was thinking just that.

Maybe mention to him if he is disabled to this point you feel obligated to contact the Feds, for the saftey of the children and all that.
 
James331 said:
I was thinking just that.

Maybe mention to him if he is disabled to this point you feel obligated to contact the Feds, for the saftey of the children and all that.
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Yes, I asked him, he just kept talking over me saying he owns two planes and had been based at the airport longer, Yikes! A real a$$ h&le.
 
If complaining to him and then the management doesnt work, move the plane. Start looking for a new spot at that airport, or one at another airport.
 
Can you put something down that prevents him from parking his car too close? I'm thinking of those concrete type barriers.
 
If he didn't respect my nice request to not park so close to my plane, I would hook my tow strap up to my F250 and pull his car to the other side of the airport. I have a zero tolerance policy for jackasses
 
Luigi said:
Yes, I asked him, he just kept talking over me saying he owns two planes and had been based at the airport longer, Yikes! A real a$$ h&le.
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If he can afford two planes, why the h is he using a tie down?
 
Talk to the airport manager. The FBO likely doesn't actually deal with tie down spots. At least they don't at my airport. Our FBO only deals with fuel and the one Hangar it operates out of. The Hangars and the tie downs are all dealt with by the Airport manager who is a city employee.
 
Since this guy is taxiing out of his spot he's probably blasting the OP's aircraft too.
 
Bad back, eh? Then how is he managing the strain of pushing it back into place?

Maybe next time he parks the car, set a stack of cinder blocks in front. Then covertly filming him moving them out of the way. If he. Over them out of the way with ease, then you have the evidence to disprove this bad back thing.

But simplest/best is just move to a spot that has more courteous neighbors.
 
Contact the FAA and report a hazard at the airport that management refuses to correct.
 
Life's too short. If the management can't give you another tie-down spot thats to your liking, they don't deserve your business. Perhaps a note to the airport management, and move on.

If I couldn't move right away, I might invest in one of those battery operated game cameras that records short video clips when it sense motion. That way, if he does hit your plane, you at least have video of it.
 
bad back, eh? ask him if he wants a bad front to match.
 
bikert said:
Can you put something down that prevents him from parking his car too close? I'm thinking of those concrete type barriers.
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Better yet, bolt down a lock box that I see at many airports to sore your crap in. If FBO complains, tell them to deal with the parking.
 
Buy a $150 junk car that barely runs and park it in that spot.

On a more serious note, document how your plane looks right now with proof of the date. If he dents your plane with his car you'll want to be able to prove it's him.
 
Next time he parks his car there, let all of the air out of all 4 tires. Do the same thing each time he parks there.
 
What an ahole move. I have the um.... fortune, to be parked next to a beater plane (old straight tail 182) that appears to have been abandoned. The tires are rotting off, the airport did wasp abatement on the plane, and it's probably thirty grand away from airworthiness. At least. So I just park under its wing and nobody cares.
 
bradg33 said:
Next time he parks his car there, let all of the air out of all 4 tires. Do the same thing each time he parks there.
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That would be quite the punishment. BUT... then his car will be stuck there until he gets a way to refill the tires with his bad back. In the process of getting to all the wheels with a mobile compressor he is going to be getting awfully close to the plane you're trying to keep him away from. He will be upset... Maybe he will accidentally come into contact with the plane a few times.

I wouldn't go down that road. It is better to just prevent him from parking there in the first place. Put an object in the way. I personally like the idea of a bolted down lock box. I'd do that.
 
bikert said:
That would be quite the punishment. BUT... then his car will be stuck there until he gets a way to refill the tires with his bad back. In the process of getting to all the wheels with a mobile compressor he is going to be getting awfully close to the plane you're trying to keep him away from. He will be upset... Maybe he will accidentally come into contact with the plane a few times.

I wouldn't go down that road. It is better to just prevent him from parking there in the first place. Put an object in the way. I personally like the idea of a bolted down lock box. I'd do that.
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Fair point. The way around that problem is to just sit by your plane in a lawn chair watching airplanes takeoff and land until he gets back, refills his tires and goes on his way. Depends on your patience, tolerance for confrontation, and how dedicated you are to revenge.
 
Shawn said:
Better yet, bolt down a lock box that I see at many airports to sore your crap in. If FBO complains, tell them to deal with the parking.
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That right there! Perfect fix, and those heavy lock boxes are quite handy as well.


tehmightypirate said:
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On a more serious note, document how your plane looks right now with proof of the date. If he dents your plane with his car you'll want to be able to prove it's him.
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I would also do this, take a bunch of photos and email them to yourself (for date and time), maybe also have a current newspaper in a few of the pics so he can't say you emailed old pictures.



Damn shame you have to do any of this stuff, seem almost like this guy is going out of his way to cause issues for you.
 
bradg33 said:
Next time he parks his car there, let all of the air out of all 4 tires. Do the same thing each time he parks there.
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The problem is it could escalate, he could put sugar in your fuel tanks for example.
 
you can't fix stupid... Though it might seem knuckling under... just move to another location... Blood pressure settles... easier to sleep at night... and comfort in the fact that there is a special place in He!! for him and is "bad back"
 
FlySince9 said:
you can't fix stupid... Though it might seem knuckling under... just move to another location... Blood pressure settles... easier to sleep at night... and comfort in the fact that there is a special place in He!! for him and is "bad back"
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Best advice I think.
 
I wouldn't start a damage challenge, myself. The car will win, cost wise.
 
Just put one of these on his car.....
fake-parking-tickets.jpg
 
Put down a few cinder blocks. If his back really is that bad, he won't want to move them. If he can move them, then call BS on the bad back.
 
9" from your wing tip but not blocking your plane in any way? Nothing to see here.
 
Bobanna said:
Btw, the guys I knew in Chicago named Luigi had a special way of handling something like this...l
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With a name like Luigi, I'd expect him to be saying something along the lines of... "If you breaka my plane, I breaka your face!"
 
He's 9" from your plane, but not hitting anything, right? I'm confused who the @ hole is here...

If he's starting his plane in place, and taxing out, maybe he's parking his car there to block your plane from prop blast.

Oh, and I have a back so bad, my doctor looks at me in amazement at the fact that I can still walk...yet, if you saw me get out of my car, you'd never know.
 
tawood said:
He's 9" from your plane, but not hitting anything, right? I'm confused who the @ hole is here...
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WTF? I don't like people being parked 9" from my car, let alone my plane...
 
Lots of tough guy answers in here. Most of them at best will make you an enemy, maybe even one who will purposely do something to you or your plane. Some of them might actually get you into legal trouble.

Simplest solution would be to find a different tie-down spot if there are any available. I'd try leaning on the FBO management again as well if they are actually the ones in charge of the tie downs. I know the guys that run my FBO wouldn't be ok with this at all, as they have gotten on my back simply for driving my car through an empty row of tie downs, rather than using the taxiway.

The other good solution IMO is the lock-box. It's a double win, as you get a place to put some stuff, and it also blocks access. Just make sure you get permission from whoever controls the space first so that when he ******* you have backup. Also make sure it's within "your space", even if only by an inch. If you wanna play the game, do it right. Don't break laws, cause damage or be the a-hole. Simply do what needs to be done and nothing more.
 
I still drive on the flightline like I did in the Air Force. Planes ALWAYS have the right of way, I approach aircraft from the drivers side, and I stay out of the circle of safety (10' out from an imaginary circle the plane sits in). To me, this is common courtesy to other plane owners and I expect reciprocation. For something at blatant as 9", I would ask the airport manager to provide training as necessary to drivers before allowing them on the ramp.
 
I got done flying on Wednesday and as customary, I taxi down the row of hangar doors, when I get to mine I swing to the right and shut down, so all I need to do is basically push straight back.

As usual I was unloading my stuff and opened the hangar door, then the guy fixing my hangar heater was there(van parked out of the way) and I was talking to him.

Here comes a pickup hauling an(looked like an RV12) experimental project... down the taxiway. Never mind that the truck probably wasn't authorized to be on the ramp(someone just used their badge to open the gate), neither occupant talked to me, one just jumped out, ran behind my airplane and decided there was room and waved the pickup and trailer on through between my airplane and the front of my hangar... with not what I would call a lot of room.. all the while I'm standing by the nose of my airplane almost dumbfounded.. Inconsiderate jerks. Always of the mindset that confrontation solves little and knowing what sort of temper I can have, I said nothing, pushed my airplane in the hangar and went home.

If I were the OP I'd say nothing further and relocate the airplane to another spot. If he keeps following you around, keep moving. Everytime his car is parked there, take a picture and document the date and time. This way if you DO get a dinged wing, you have a case.

I also like the idea of a lockbox.

If the guy can't pull his plane out, he can buy a small tug. They are cheap.
 
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