CTAF door code follies

tinerj

tinerj

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tinerj
The city airport had an unattended FBO, but sent a cleaning service once a week.

When I arrived, a woman with a bucket and cleaning supplies was standing by the door looking puzzled and frustrated.

"What's the problem?" I asked.

She said, "The sign gives the door code, but when I punch in C-T-A-F, it doesn't unlock."

True story.
 
My wife is a very smart lady, but we stopped for fuel at an unattended airport and the FBO said "CTAF" next to the keypad that had nothing but numbers. She yelled at me "How the hell am i supposed to put CTAF into a damn number pad?" It took me a few minutes to stop laughing.
 
Sounds like it works the way it is supposed to, non-pilots wouldn't have a clue. A while back I was at an unfamiliar FBO that was closed waiting for my ride. It was really hot and I waited outside for about 5 - 10 minutes before I read the sign about CTAF for door code - Doh!
 
I agree, these signs keep non-pilots out. Too bad for the cleaning crew. But they should have a badge to get in anyway.

I also like the signs that say something like "Pilots, to enter, squawk VFR". I always laugh when I imagine what this must look like to a non-pilot. "Po-kaaawwww, veee efff arrrrr! ... Damn thing is broken ... no matter how loud I squawk V-F-R into it". :D
(some pilot lingo is really bizarre :) )
 
BigBadLou said:
I agree, these signs keep non-pilots out. Too bad for the cleaning crew. But they should have a badge to get in anyway.

I also like the signs that say something like "Pilots, to enter, squawk VFR". I always laugh when I imagine what this must look like to a non-pilot. "Po-kaaawwww, veee efff arrrrr! ... Damn thing is broken ... no matter how loud I squawk V-F-R into it". :D
(some pilot lingo is really bizarre :) )
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Haha, I got a good laugh out of that. I have seen those as well. I never really thought about it, but now that you mention it that would be hilarious.
 
At unfamiliar airports I will try the CTAF, or tower, or ground, then climb the fence.....;)
 
Stopped in Michgan City last night for cheap fuel on the way home and my youngest daughter wanted to use the restroom and the door was locked but there was a keypad. I punched in the CTAF and the door open and she was AMAZED. "How did you know the code?" :)
 
BigBadLou said:
(some pilot lingo is really bizarre :) )
Click to expand...
Sign in the men's bathroom at Dalhart, TX

"Male pilot's with low manifold pressure or short pitot tubes are requested to taxi up to the hold short line since the next pilot might not be float rated."
 
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.
 
My favorite.

A couple of years ago @ Farmington, MO they put up a gate across the drive leading to some private hangers and a mechanics shop. No one was happy, especially the mechanic because of all the UPS type deliveries he received almost daily.

He was puzzled when the UPS driver quit calling him for the code. So he asked the guy one day "you don't call anymore, did you write it down somewhere?"

"Nahhhh," the driver replied, "a couple of weeks ago, just for grins, I tried 1234 and it worked. Even I can remember that one."

So the airport folks had programmed the new code (9753) but failed to erase the default code.

Brilliant.

AFAIK it's still that way.

(Are you listening @Stephanie B ?)
 
timwinters said:
"Nahhhh," the driver replied, "a couple of weeks ago, just for grins, I tried 1234 and it worked. Even I can remember that one."
Click to expand...

Was somewhere once and needed a ladder...there was a contractor who had a bunch at the site but had them locked down with one of those combo locks with the dials on the bottom. Having owned a bunch of those I thought "what are the chances?" and dialed up "0000"...click...open. That is the combo outta the box.

You can often also get into those by looking at the combo, remembering the code, then spin the first dial through all the digits if that does not work spin the last dial though all the digits. People are predictably lazy and will often only spin one dial to lock it up!

I get into more keypads with 1234 or the street address of the building...it is kinda sad.
 
At lqk there's no after hours entry to the fbo, so it's different some places.
On a hot summer day recently it sent me back too the giant fan rather quick.
Glad they are not all like that.
 
timwinters said:
My favorite.

A couple of years ago @ Farmington, MO they put up a gate across the drive leading to some private hangers and a mechanics shop. No one was happy, especially the mechanic because of all the UPS type deliveries he received almost daily.

He was puzzled when the UPS driver quit calling him for the code. So he asked the guy one day "you don't call anymore, did you write it down somewhere?"

"Nahhhh," the driver replied, "a couple of weeks ago, just for grins, I tried 1234 and it worked. Even I can remember that one."

So the airport folks had programmed the new code (9753) but failed to erase the default code.

Brilliant.

AFAIK it's still that way.

(Are you listening @Stephanie B ?)
Click to expand...

I know the gate code. It drives the airport manager nuts when we use it, and then drive over to the shade hangers, past terminal. But there's nothing he can do about it, since the mayor's Twinkie is in the same shade hanger as my airplane. And he drives in that way, too. :)
 
I was driving by an airport in Montana when my wife woke up and said that she had to pee. Knowing that there was nothing open at that time of night that was close and not wanting to drive too fast in the snow,I chanced there being an FBO or club building. I found a locked building with a sign that had an arrow pointing to a key pad and a notice that a pilot could use their restroom if it was a real "EMERGENCY". She thought all was lost and that she was going to make yellow snow. I was a hero that day and even had time to brew up some of their complimentary coffee.
 
red4golf said:
I was driving by an airport in Montana when my wife woke up and said that she had to pee. Knowing that there was nothing open at that time of night that was close and not wanting to drive too fast in the snow,I chanced there being an FBO or club building. I found a locked building with a sign that had an arrow pointing to a key pad and a notice that a pilot could use their restroom if it was a real "EMERGENCY". She thought all was lost and that she was going to make yellow snow. I was a hero that day and even had time to brew up some of their complimentary coffee.
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I plan some of my road trips to have bathroom breaks around small airports. Often I'm the only one around with a clean bathroom and reading material!

@Graueradler 's airport code threw me for a loop the first time I saw it. Just slightly enough out of the ordinary to make you think.

We had a old key box at my school that had the phone area code as the combination. I would always get the question, "What's the code?" And shortly after "What's the area code?", after I'd yell back that it was the Area Code.
 
I don't know why our city made ours so complicated instead of just CTAF. Its also funny to see a passenger walk over to the terminal, then back to the pilot fueling the plane to ask what CTAF is, then back to the terminal and then give up! It is 0+CTAF+0 #
 
A few places I've flown in make it the runway numbers instead of the CTAF. Bit easier to remember unless you have REALLY short term memory and can't recall what runway you just landed on, or the 180 reciprocal.
 
I believe it is at Beech River KPVE (Tennessee) where you push a button by the door, that calls the police in Lexington which is several miles away, they question you, and then remotely open the door if they like your answers.

In Perryville MO the door sign says "Enter code on fuel receipt." Only problem is the fuel pumps have been deactivated for years.
 
timwinters said:
My favorite. . .

So the airport folks had programmed the new code (9753) but failed to erase the default code.
. . .
Click to expand...

And to enter that new code all you need to remember is to press every button on the right side from top to bottom.
 
timwinters said:
My favorite.

A couple of years ago @ Farmington, MO they put up a gate across the drive leading to some private hangers and a mechanics shop. No one was happy, especially the mechanic because of all the UPS type deliveries he received almost daily.

He was puzzled when the UPS driver quit calling him for the code. So he asked the guy one day "you don't call anymore, did you write it down somewhere?"

"Nahhhh," the driver replied, "a couple of weeks ago, just for grins, I tried 1234 and it worked. Even I can remember that one."

So the airport folks had programmed the new code (9753) but failed to erase the default code.

Brilliant.

AFAIK it's still that way.

(Are you listening @Stephanie B ?)
Click to expand...

I tried it this morning. The default code still works.

The bind moggles.....
 
On a long family road trip a number of years ago, we pulled into KTCC (Tucumcari, NM) to make a much needed bathroom break. Place was closed up, but the front door was unlocked. Clean restrooms and a couch inside. I think we got a cold drink from the vending machine and spent maybe 30 minutes relaxing before getting back in the car.
 
Ours says "squawk VFR" for entry.
 
Local airport has a gate that requires your pilot number and # and today's date and #. I left on a Tuesday and returned about midnight. It took me a few tries to get the right combo since Wednesday didn't quite work at midnight.
 
Another local airport has a combination lock that requires a single digit number then two pressed together. Nothing related to anything. Tough to do in the deep of winter.
 
Old Geek said:
Eating diner in a small restaurant in Maynard, Mass. My friend asks the teen-age waitress what the soup du jour was. She runs back to the kitchen, returns and says "it's the soup of the day".
Click to expand...

Which restaurant? I lived in Maynard until a year and a half ago. Small world.
 
silver-eagle said:
Another local airport has a combination lock that requires a single digit number then two pressed together. Nothing related to anything. Tough to do in the deep of winter.
Click to expand...
Any chance is it 2-4 together then 3? If so, it just means they never set the combination. That's the way Simplex locks come set from the factory. Manassas used to have them all set that way for a long time.
 
flyingron said:
Any chance is it 2-4 together then 3? If so, it just means they never set the combination. That's the way Simplex locks come set from the factory. Manassas used to have them all set that way for a long time.
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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.
 
At HEF for a while they had a fence that ran the length of the ramp. Then there was a gate. Then the fence ended. I'm glad they put the gate at the end, safed me to walk another three feet around the end.
 
Shawn said:
Was somewhere once and needed a ladder...there was a contractor who had a bunch at the site but had them locked down with one of those combo locks with the dials on the bottom. Having owned a bunch of those I thought "what are the chances?" and dialed up "0000"...click...open. That is the combo outta the box.

You can often also get into those by looking at the combo, remembering the code, then spin the first dial through all the digits if that does not work spin the last dial though all the digits. People are predictably lazy and will often only spin one dial to lock it up!

I get into more keypads with 1234 or the street address of the building...it is kinda sad.
Click to expand...

Busted! Haha, I only spin one dial. I actually do it so all my hangar neighbors can easily remember the code. We all borrow tools, turn off each other's lights if they get left on, shoot pigeons if we hear some in another hangar, etc. It's terrible security, but it's the kind of place where we don't worry too much about thieves.
 
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.
Click to expand...
Depends on where you are. Around here, there's just not much crime, and anyway, the local police patrol the road leading up to the airport frequently. Any suspicious activity, especially after dark, and they close in.

I know because they approached me one time coming back at night. They noticed my headlamp inside the fence and stopped to check me out. I thanked them for their vigilance, but really, this area is safe enough that many people don't even bother to lock their doors.
 
BVS is the old CTAF. but the sign reads ->CTAF they try several times then get frustrated and call me. I tell them and they go like "OH" the bathrooms are still 2-4 together then 3
 
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.
 
flyingron said:
At HEF for a while they had a fence that ran the length of the ramp. Then there was a gate. Then the fence ended. I'm glad they put the gate at the end, safed me to walk another three feet around the end.
Click to expand...
One of the airports I have been to was surrounded by a chain link fence. The local FBO was the only access. I followed the fence around to the far side of the building where a 3' gap was. The fence did not go all the way up to the building. Maybe someone was to cheap to put in a gate or they ran out of money.
I wasn't going to say it but airport security appears to be the same as the TSA. Good show, lots of money spent on it, but not really worth a thing. Of course, airports that have commercial ops are a bit more serious and a waste of much more money.
 
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. I followed the fence around to the far side of the building where a 3' gap was. The fence did not go all the way up to the building. Maybe someone was to cheap to put in a gate or they ran out of money.
I wasn't going to say it but airport security appears to be the same as the TSA. Good show, lots of money spent on it, but not really worth a thing. Of course, airports that have commercial ops are a bit more serious and a waste of much more money.
Click to expand...

At GA airports, I would prefer to think that you are seeing cost effectiveness principles applied to the use of taxpayer money. 90% effectiveness is achievable with less that 10% of the money it would take to achieve 99% effectiveness. The money pot has a limited size and is better spent on aviation related improvements.

By taking advantage of natural barriers like creeks and woods as well as man made ones like railroads, casual non-patron related vehicle traffic can be eliminated with minimal fencing and gates. Pedestrian exclusion may not even be a goal.

The other end of the spectrum is totally enclosing the airport with several miles of double fencing with a cleared area in between, all sorts of detectors, physical vehicle barriers where needed, and regular patrol with an armed guard force like a nuclear power plant.

The main goal in complete fencing a rural GA airport would be wild life (deer) control and you have to build one hell of a fence to keep deer out.
 
azure said:
Depends on where you are. Around here, there's just not much crime, and anyway, the local police patrol the road leading up to the airport frequently. Any suspicious activity, especially after dark, and they close in.

I know because they approached me one time coming back at night. They noticed my headlamp inside the fence and stopped to check me out. I thanked them for their vigilance, but really, this area is safe enough that many people don't even bother to lock their doors.
Click to expand...
It's not a great neighborhood. However, the various FBOs offer the cops free use of the bathrooms, so there are always cops around. But they don't go on the field, and most of the shelters are WAY out of sight on the other end of the field.
 
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