Courtesy Cars

Salty said:
When we evacuated for Irma, Videlia gave us a courtesy car to use for the 3 days we were there.

When I stopped at union county SC on a long cross country, they gladly provided me a car for an overnight at a local hotel.
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I know the folks in union well. They are a good group. When I was over flying that airport and had a fuel line break behind the panel I stopped at union. the mechanic there recognized me and called me by name when he saw me; he repaired it for me buying lunch.
 
Ravioli said:
We've had numerous times where someone was right ahead of us or right behind us to get the courtesy car.

Always works out the same... there's room for all of us? Which restaurant were you heading too? Sounds good. Where ya from?

2 hours is about normal for the places we've been. Much longer and Uber is preferred.
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So y'all hit McDonalds eh? :D
 
I've done the courtesy car thing twice at KAPF. No problems. Went to a couple BBQ places nearby (Michelbob's and another dive somewhere) with friends/family.

Good way to spend the afternoon since it's only about 45 mins from KSRQ via a Skyhawk or Cherokee.

Call ahead, be prepared to uber/taxi if the car is taken when you get there. Other than that, NBD.
 
Just gave the airport a call to confirm what they had told me about a year ago. They do offer a car for up to an hour. First come first served. Guy on the phone acted like I was an idiot to ask such a question. Must be a POA member. :rolleyes:
 
Ryanb said:
Just gave the airport a call to confirm what they had told me about a year ago. They do offer a car for up to an hour. First come first served. Guy on the phone acted like I was an idiot to ask such a question. Must be a POA member. :rolleyes:
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Henning got another new job it seems.
 
Yeah, every FBO is different so I just call ahead and see what their policies are so I know what to expect. Have had everything from keep it as long as you need it from the Podunk field to a two hour max with ramp fee or fuel purchase from a Biz Jet FBO. Some will let ya reserve it, some are first come first serve.

Some are hand you the keys no questions asked, some take DL and CC for deposit/security...no standard policy.
 
It depends. Ive seen courtesy cars at unattended airports!. Put in the secret code (and they tell you what it is in a way only a pilot would know). And you can open the key box. Away we went!

Some places have let me keep it overnight. (I had to get a hotel).

Sometimes they are real junk, smoked bad and stuck in first gear etc. Sometimes they are pretty nice SUVs.

All kinds of courtesy cars and rules about using them out there.
 
I've used courtesy cars frequently and most FBO's, especially at smaller airports, bend over backwards to make it easy in you. I always put gas in the car and in my plane when I use one.

The one that made me feel the best was at a small County airport just south of Cincinnati. I can't remember for sure but I'm guessing it was Cynthiana - Harrison County 0I8. I stopped to wait out a thunderstorm on my way to Columbus in 2006. There wasn't anyone around but the door to the 'terminal' was open.

There was a sign on the desk that said 'Gone to Alaska to work on motorcycles for the summer. If you need fuel put a note in the book saying how much you got and we'll send you a bill one of these days. If you need the courtesy car it's the old sheriffs car out back. The keys are in the desk and we'll assume that whoever left their plane tied down is using it'.

I sent them a check the next day for slightly more than the posted rate for the fuel I used and complimented on the great treatment. They sent a letter back thanking me for the business and said that in the 20 years the then current person was managing the airport they not only had never had anyone stiff them on fuel they'd always ended the summer with more than they'd have made from some form of credit-card based self-serve system because most people sent a little extra like I did.

That made me feel good about being a pilot for a very long time. I don't think there are many places like that left other than small airports. I just checked and see notes talking about the nice new terminal and credit card self service system so if that is the place it's 'modernized' as well.

Gary
 
A few years ago (probably 6 or 7, my memory fails me), I flew up to Union City, Tennessee, to look at and ultimately buy a motorcycle for my son from Abernathy's, a well known motorcycle dealer. I wound up with a Honda Shadow, but the thing pertinent to this thread is that the Airport Manager there, (Jo Ann Speer) let me use the courtesy car to drive to Abernathy's. It took a while to find and negotiate a deal, but I called back to Jo Ann and she said it was slow and not to worry. I wound up keeping the car several hours (I filled up the tank, of course). Super nice airport to visit. One of my favorites.

When I had to stop for fuel at Perryville, MO., a thunderstorm blew up while I was there. The line guy on duty (it was right before they closed) let me borrow the courtesy car overnight. I wound up going back to the airport and flying on home after the storm blew through, but I could have kept the car all night. I left the keys under the mat as instructed.

For most airports that have courtesy cars (and thank goodness quite a few of them do, as we usually have to get from the airport to wherever), it has been my experience that they are very accommodating and as flexible as they reasonably can be with the use of the car(s). Please return the courtesy so the cars will continue to be available to all of us. :)
 
I was on a long cross country Chicago to Elko, NV. Stopped flying around dinner time and ran into another pilot who just landed and was going to Elko as well. I was somewhere in Wyoming. The FBO said they were closing and let us keep the car over night. We both got rooms at a motel down the road went to eat dinner met for breakfast and were at the FBO in the morning when they opened. I think we both gave them $20, it was worth it after flying 10 hours that day....:)
 
I was once weathered in for two days. The airport operator told me to keep the car. It was a van, a genuine '70s shag'n wagon with carpet on the dash. Luxury.
At Syracuse, NY I asked for a rental car because I would be longer than two hours. The FBO insisted on giving me a courtesy car.
At Augusta, GA the FBO made a hotel reservation for us and gave us a courtesy car overnight.
I always fill up before returning. The van had a voluntary donation envelope. I donated generously.
 
When I traded my old Cherokee for my new to me Mooney the airport leant me their courtesy car, an enormous and fairly luxurious SUV for some stripe, for a period of days. I was utterly blown over. I of course left it with a full tank of gas. They very apologetically asked for it back, some unseen circumstance. Thankfully its return coincided with my departure from that airport, so everyone was happy, not that I'd have had even a single complaint had it been otherwise. Great folks.
 
I have used it twice. In billings, went to grab dinner, they said don't bother with gas (the restaurant was nearby), but if u want to take for more than 2 hrs, it's 20 for a day. Another time in Jamestown, nd, no one at the FBO, have a lot book that asks for ur DL and insurance information. It's a honor system, so I put 2 gallons while returning, there is no way I used 2 gallons. But yeah, small FBOs have 1 car, u might not get it when u arrive. Billings I think have 2 or more

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I'm happy courtesy cars are provided, but ultimately they benefit the airport/FBO. I check airnav if I'm going somewhere. Going to an -airport- isn't usually the point. I'm going to somewhere close to an airport. The airport that provides some sort of ground transportation, wins.

I always try to put gas in, of course. But I also make sure the people know that's why I selected that airport.
 
coloradobluesky said:
Sometimes they are real junk, smoked bad and stuck in first gear etc. Sometimes they are pretty nice SUVs.
All kinds of courtesy cars and rules about using them out there.
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Boy ain't that the truth.... about 20 years ago I got a courtesy car somewhere in small town Kentucky. It was an old Chevy Monza with a 4 speed manual. It did not have first gear so starting off in second gear was tricky. At about 35 MPH the whole car started shaking tremendously, and the smoke, the county was mosquito free. After about 15 minutes, the engine would just quit running. I was told to pull off the road, sit for about 3 minutes, crank it and go another 15 minutes.

After the first 15 minutes there was an old truck stop café. The engine quit so I pulled into the truck stop to eat. The waitress saw that I parked the car just a few feet short of parking and laughed.

"From the airport are ya..???" says Myrtle.

"Yes, how did you know..??" says me.

"Everybody that borrows that car eats here for some reason..." says Myrtle.

Yes, her name was Mrtyle. Said so right on her pink waitress dress. With the beehive hairdo she resembled Flo. I looked in the kitchen and the cook did not look like Mel.

I am pretty sure the chicken fried steak and French fries are the reason I had the heart attack last month...
 
Ryanb said:
I didn't ask. The guy on the phone acted appalled that I would even ask about a courtesy car.
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I have used courtesy cars for an entire weekend from an FBO that left me the key in a magnetic holder behind a soda vending machine. I also have had a courtesy car at a public airport with a sod strip, no FBO, no fuel, or phone. They told me the keys were always in the truck in the only hangar on the field, which was always unlocked. A couple days later I hunted pheasants on the airport.
 
I've used courtesy cars several times and I hope we can all agree to treat them courteously. It would be terrible if these vehicles started going away because people started abusing them. PLEASE be courteous and add fuel or leave a tip. It's a heck of a lot cheaper than renting!!!
 
Anymouse said:
Sounds like Pinehurst. Of course, the courtesy car is actually one of the Hertz rental cars.



I've gotten the courtesy overnight twice. Both due to unexpected RONs. In both cases I asked for a cab to the nearest hotel. In both cases they insisted that I take the car. In one case, I actually kept it for two nights.
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We were stuck in Walnut Ridge, AR for two days due to weather. The courtesy car was an old police car. They told us it was OK (I did call twice a day to check). Very nice people. I did fill it up before returning it, but then, I always do that with courtesy cars. On the same trip we used the courtesy car at Barger, TX. It was only half full when we took it. Was gone about an hour, but I filled it anyway. The guy at the office was really surprised - said no one does that.
 
The policies on using courtesy cars vary widely from FBO to FBO. I've used courtesy cars at several places for dinner runs, mostly KIKX (when I lived in Michigan) and more recently Infinity Aviation's at KASH. At KIKX use of the car was free; at KASH, Infinity wants $10 a pop or $10 worth of gas (for the car). At KCON, it's first come first serve; Infinity lets you reserve the car for a particular time, and KIKX would hold the car for me for an hour or so if I called ahead. But the line guys at Infinity also let me borrow a private car one time when the previous user was late in getting the car back.

Sadly, I don't think Infinity has a courtesy car any more; last two times I've been down there I was told it was "inop", and that was two months apart. Since I only use it for VERY local travel, I just pack the bicycle now. But the courtesy car was quite nice.
 
azure said:
Since I only use it for VERY local travel, I just pack the bicycle now.
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Do you have a folding bike for the plane, or just pop the wheels of a regular bike?
 
Bill Jennings said:
Do you have a folding bike for the plane, or just pop the wheels of a regular bike?
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It's a regular bike - a Trek 2000 - and I only need to pop the front wheel. It's not a large frame bike as I'm not a large person. :) Also, the plane is a Cardinal, and with the rear seat sitting in the hangar, there is plenty of room back there.
 
azure said:
It's a regular bike - a Trek 2000 - and I only need to pop the front wheel. It's not a large frame bike as I'm not a large person. :) Also, the plane is a Cardinal, and with the rear seat sitting in the hangar, there is plenty of room back there.
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Nice! Yeah, I suppose those nice big doors make it easy to get a bike in there. I keep thinking about folding bikes for both the plane and car trunk, but have yet to scratch that itch.
 
The doors definitely help (unless it's windy of course...)! But the big advantage is the roomy interior, better in that respect than either a 172 or even a 182. I decided against getting a Mooney specifically because it would have been so much harder to get a bike in there.

I did have a folding bike back in Michigan that I bought for $25, but I only used it a couple of times. The wheels were so small it was like riding a toy bicycle. Yes, they do make folding bikes with larger wheels, but I very much prefer a real bike. I've done a lot of cyclotouring by plane in northern Michigan, the Lake Erie islands, and even on Block Island a few (3 I think) years ago.
 
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