CTAF door code follies

silver-eagle said:
One of the airports I have been to was surrounded by a chain link fence. The local FBO was the only access.
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I don't like it, but this is becoming the norm. Our airport is about to undergo some renovations that we need, like repave the runway & taxiway, AWOS, new hangars, new terminal, etc. I was surprised to see something like $600K for a fence! It's mostly paid for by the state and feds, but we don't need it... it sure would be nice if they would have allocated that money for more new hangars.
 
Airports should follow Mc Carron, KLAS. Just outside, there is a parking area with a radio repeater so you can listen in on the tower. It is well positioned so you can watch a majority of the traffic taking off and landing.
I visited that spot every day I was in Las Vegas.
 
Airport security sure is a nice joke in many places.
One of our local airports is fenced and gated 24/7. No way in without a key card or a buzzer from the personnel inside.
The other local airport is gated only at night. During daytime hours, the front gate is wide open. The other day, our line guy told me, an airplane taxiing around a hangar was almost hit by a mama-van that rounded a corner (of the hangar). The line guy asked the "lady" whether she has seen the huge stop sign with big letters "Authorized personnel only, no public admitted." She nodded and added that she wanted to show her babies some airplanes on the tarmac. And she said she does it often. Well, at least she did not make it to a taxiway, I am sure the tower guys would have made arrangements with the local sheriff to talk to her stupid a** politely. I wonder whether the LE can issue a trespassing ticket. *shrug*
 
asicer said:
At one airport the 4-digit code is XYYX on an electronic lock. The X and Y buttons are worn to the nubs and all the rest look brand new.
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When given the code to one of the gates at a nearby airport I was told it was 4884 and if that didn't work, reverse it.
 
MAKG1 said:
You're kidding.

I know a local airport around here that uses that code. What idiots.

Then, there is the other local airport that has a code no one knows because the fence is just half height and you can reach right over it.
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And one of those gates doesn't even latch when it closes!

I suppose we should feel lucky that all they did was waste some taxpayer money.
 
Graueradler said:
As a former small airport manager, I was surprised at how many pilots couldn't figure how to get into the terminal building using the keypad. It was posted as "KXXX GND", a nearby towered field. I guess that too few around here had enough experience at controlled fields. At least it was clear that they weren't trying to sneak in.
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Yes, I have been to Russellville and irritated that I had to pull up some other airport to figure out your door code.
 
This is at one of the airports I fly into... name obscured to protect the morons who came up with this idea. :)

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DesertNomad said:
This is at one of the airports I fly into... name obscured to protect the morons who came up with this idea. :)

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Maybe the person who put up the sign thought it was moronic to put a lock on the pilots' lounge!
 
Last year at a State/Fed compliance and planning meeting with our local airport committee the FAA compliance Rep stated we would need a airport wildlife study. If the study determined we have deer and, or turkeys (duh), they recommend a six foot fence around the airport. To which one of our committee members piped up “Does the FAA know that turkeys fly?”
 
Nearby local airport just added a perimeter fence about 2 years ago. Entry gate stays open during the day during the week. At other times you need to know a nearby VOR frequency to get in.
 
A1Topgun said:
Last year at a State/Fed compliance and planning meeting with our local airport committee the FAA compliance Rep stated we would need a airport wildlife study. If the study determined we have deer and, or turkeys (duh), they recommend a six foot fence around the airport. To which one of our committee members piped up “Does the FAA know that turkeys fly?”
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Not Les Nesman's.
 
A1Topgun said:
Last year at a State/Fed compliance and planning meeting with our local airport committee the FAA compliance Rep stated we would need a airport wildlife study. If the study determined we have deer and, or turkeys (duh), they recommend a six foot fence around the airport. To which one of our committee members piped up “Does the FAA know that turkeys fly?”
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A 6 foot fence won't stop a deer either.
 
I currently have a hangar at two different airports (in process of moving). The old place gate has the runway headings for opening. The new place has a combo on the auto gate but the airport manager leaves it open. If it's locked, the combo is the number from the airport indentifier plus the number of the local EAA chapter. There's a pedestrian gate that stays locked in another location that has the CTAF for the combo.

Cheers
 
EppyGA said:
Nearby local airport just added a perimeter fence about 2 years ago. Entry gate stays open during the day during the week. At other times you need to know a nearby VOR frequency to get in.
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What is a VOR frequency?
 
My first flying job, the airport was fenced with the drive through gate locked. It used one of those card keys that you pushed into a slot. Seems like the key card was never around when anyone needed it. One day out of exasperation, I used my drivers license, and the gate opened. This was before the DL had the magnetic strip on the back.
 
Unit74 said:
Yes, I have been to Russellville and irritated that I had to pull up some other airport to figure out your door code.
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For building access, I wanted a little higher threshold than the local CTAF. I figured experienced pilots encountering the Russellville posting would simply try the most common ground control frequency, so common that many towers transfer you to point niner with no additional frequency reference. For those that didn't, the KFSM reference was a back-up. Sorry that you were inconvenienced - but you did get in.
 
A1Topgun said:
Last year at a State/Fed compliance and planning meeting with our local airport committee the FAA compliance Rep stated we would need a airport wildlife study. If the study determined we have deer and, or turkeys (duh), they recommend a six foot fence around the airport. To which one of our committee members piped up “Does the FAA know that turkeys fly?”
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That particular rep. also needs to read the FAA material regarding a deer fence. He wont find "6 ft." any where in it. I don't remember exactly but it seems like it was more like ten or twelve ft. with outriggers and a skirt buried in the ground. By the way, that won't keep them out either. Also, if it has to cross a waterway, how to you keep the critters out while passing drift wood and other vegetation. An electrified wire can be somewhat effective but the deer need training and periodic re-training (peanut butter on the wire). Their hair has hollow shafts and they aren't very sensitive to shock.
 
So what's the guy gonna do that has his iPad battery die and has no idea what to do? Make it a reasonable code, not some off the wall atc freq everyone has to look up except the tenants.

"Door code is max knots on Greers Ferry lake at dawn on a thurday but not a federal holiday..... Plus the pound sign"

:rolleyes:
 
Unit74 said:
So what's the guy gonna do that has his iPad battery die and has no idea what to do? Make it a reasonable code, not some off the wall atc freq everyone has to look up except the tenants.:rolleyes:
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Dial the manager's phone number which is on the lighted sign in the foyer like other pilots have done. But of course, your phone battery would probably be dead too.
 
GlennAB1 said:
We have one of those on our NDT equipment room door. It may not be as simple as 1 - 4 - 3. And, that's all I'm going to say.
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It's a simplex lock. most folks will know that it's nearly that simple. My money is on some regulation or person requiring a lock in the door and the sign was somebody else's civil disobedience response to a dumb idea.
 
Graueradler said:
Dial the manager's phone number which is on the lighted sign in the foyer like other pilots have done. But of course, your phone battery would probably be dead too.
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Probably....
 
timwinters said:
And they don't know how to use an apostrophe either.
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Maybe it is correct as "pilots lounge." After all the pilots don't own the room, they merely use it, and apparently the room is large enought for two or more pilots.
 
tinerj said:
Maybe it is correct as "pilots lounge." After all the pilots don't own the room, they merely use it, and apparently the room is large enought for two or more pilots.
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The possessive case doesn't apply only to ownership. If you're married, try telling "your" wife that you own her. I'll watch from a safe distance!
 
mkosmo said:
It's a simplex lock. most folks will know that it's nearly that simple. My money is on some regulation or person requiring a lock in the door and the sign was somebody else's civil disobedience response to a dumb idea.
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Maybe. You think it would be nearly that simple. So you push 1 then 4 then 3 and it doesn't unlock. What do try the next couple tries?
 
Simplex locks aren't secure. In REAL security situations they're only used as a "nuisance" in facilities that are otherwise attended. They aren't hard to manipulate open and lately they've been shown to be easily defeated with a small but powerful magnet applied to the side of the case.
 
Motor mount or motor's mount?

By the way, to open a coded car gate ftrom the outside that opens automatically when a car approaches from the inside, toss over the gate a small amount of metal in the center of the lane.
 
One of my hangar neighbors rides a bike around the airport. If she lays the bike down on the sensor (on the inside), it senses a vehicle wants out and opens the gate. You can get the pike through the "people gate" which is never locked.
 
No apostrophe in these:
Airline Pilots Association
Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association
Seaplane Pilots Association

But there is one in these:
Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge
Pilot's Bill of Rights

:dunno:

There are probably hundreds of examples of both usages around the country.

Which is right? In my mind it should have an apostrophe if there is actual ownership or possession of the item in question and no apostrophe if the item is merely for the use or benefit of the group. In the case of the latter, pilots is basically an adjective that defines the purpose of the item.
 
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