Self serve fuel pump etiquette

NotarPilot

NotarPilot

Pre-takeoff checklist
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NotarPilot
I feel this is a valuable lesson for new pilots so I’ll post here.

People, when fueling your plane at a self serve fuel pump and you see someone pull up behind you, please kindly pull your plane forward and out of the way if you’re going to get in and do your 10 minute checklist before starting the engine and 5 minute checklist before releasing the brakes. Okay, maybe I’m exaggerating a bit but please please please, just pull your plane forward and out of the way if you plan to do all that before taxiing your plane. Especially, if there’s only one gas pump. Thanks in advance.
 
NotarPilot said:
I feel this is a valuable lesson for new pilots so I’ll post here.

People, when fueling your plane at a self serve fuel pump and you see someone pull up behind you, please kindly pull your plane forward and out of the way if you’re going to get in and do your 10 minute checklist before starting the engine and 5 minute checklist before releasing the brakes. Okay, maybe I’m exaggerating a bit but please please please, just pull your plane forward and out of the way if you plan to do all that before taxiing your plane. Especially, if there’s only one gas pump. Thanks in advance.
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That'd be annoying if they're running through the full procedure before they clear out.
Frankly I've had more of an issue of people taking a stroll into the FBO after fueling to get snacks, sign their visitor log or take a bathroom break while they leave themselves parked. Not an everyday occurrence, but every few months I'll get that at the busier gas stops.
Either way, I agree, the courteous thing to do is move out of the way for those behind you :)
 
First world problems... taking much time at the AVGAS pump lol

i wouldn't move unless I was sure the fuel was onboard properly and my monitors were reset/adjusted to account for the new fuel load.

i do agree that strolling into the FBO after you pay is bad manners... but if they are at the pump doing airplane stuff I can't really see a problem.
 
pfarber said:
First world problems... taking much time at the AVGAS pump lol

i wouldn't move unless I was sure the fuel was onboard properly and my monitors were reset/adjusted to account for the new fuel load.

i do agree that strolling into the FBO after you pay is bad manners... but if they are at the pump doing airplane stuff I can't really see a problem.
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When there’s a line of three or four waiting for fuel, if everyone takes 10 minutes to do a checklist you’ll be waiting more than an hour to fuel up. I have a problem with that. There’s no reason to do that other than being a self absorbed arse with no situational awareness.
 
MooneyDriver78 said:
Same is true if blocking your hangar neighbors from getting in or out.

For some reason people think the world revolves around them.
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I had a guy blocking me between the hangar once. He got his passenger in, got in, screwed around for 10 minutes, started the engine, shut down the engine, screwed around more, started the engine, shut down the engine, continued screwing around…. I had gotten my crew in my plane and briefed ready to go while he was doing the first screwing around for 10 minutes.

I finally got out and carefully approached him to let him know we’d been back there waiting for him. He was totally unaware there was another human being on earth beside him and his passenger.
 
pfarber said:
First world problems... taking much time at the AVGAS pump lol

i wouldn't move unless I was sure the fuel was onboard properly and my monitors were reset/adjusted to account for the new fuel load.

i do agree that strolling into the FBO after you pay is bad manners... but if they are at the pump doing airplane stuff I can't really see a problem.
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Yeah, but to be fair, you don't even take the time to hit the shift button to type "I".
 
I was taught to shut down a few yards away and pull your plane to the pump, then when done pull your plane away from the pump for your startup procedure.. Then again I am not tugging a 5000 lb aircraft.

Brad W said:
...just like an an RV campground dump station....
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Or the drive up ATM machine... I usually get out and do the walk up, but some times I'm in a lazy mood.
 
pfarber said:
First world problems... taking much time at the AVGAS pump lol

i wouldn't move unless I was sure the fuel was onboard properly and my monitors were reset/adjusted to account for the new fuel load.

i do agree that strolling into the FBO after you pay is bad manners... but if they are at the pump doing airplane stuff I can't really see a problem.
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You probably think it's okay for someone to taxi to the number one position and then spend 15 minutes calling to file and get an IFR clearance and release on a beautiful VFR day with 3 airplanes behind him trying to depart.
 
Witmo said:
You probably think it's okay for someone to taxi to the number one position and then spend 15 minutes calling to file and get an IFR clearance and release on a beautiful VFR day with 3 airplanes behind him trying to depart.
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"Real pilots fly by instruments" Mxsmanic
 
Witmo said:
You probably think it's okay for someone to taxi to the number one position and then spend 15 minutes calling to file and get an IFR clearance and release on a beautiful VFR day with 3 airplanes behind him trying to depart.
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More like 10 airplanes behind him haha
 
Thankfully, my airport only offers full-service fueling.

Even if you don't want anyone else touching your airplane - they will bring the truck to you - and let you do your own fueling.
 
heck I even go so far as to roll that spinny thing so all the #'s on the pump go back to zeros for the next guy
 
NotarPilot said:
I feel this is a valuable lesson for new pilots so I’ll post here.

People, when fueling your plane at a self serve fuel pump and you see someone pull up behind you, please kindly pull your plane forward and out of the way if you’re going to get in and do your 10 minute checklist before starting the engine and 5 minute checklist before releasing the brakes. Okay, maybe I’m exaggerating a bit but please please please, just pull your plane forward and out of the way if you plan to do all that before taxiing your plane. Especially, if there’s only one gas pump. Thanks in advance.
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Let me guess, it was a Cirrus that did that????
 
pfarber said:
First world problems... taking much time at the AVGAS pump lol

i wouldn't move unless I was sure the fuel was onboard properly and my monitors were reset/adjusted to account for the new fuel load.

i do agree that strolling into the FBO after you pay is bad manners... but if they are at the pump doing airplane stuff I can't really see a problem.
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Do you fly a Cirrus???? :D :D :D :D

PUSH the plane out of the way, then do your cockpit stuff.
 
Ventucky Red said:
Or the drive up ATM machine... I usually get out and do the walk up, but some times I'm in a lazy mood.
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If I'm in one of my trucks, then I have to walk up to the ATM in the drive thru, as it's the only one at the bank, and the security poles are set too close to get in without hitting every one of them..They were set at about 76" apart and the smallest truck is 79" wide....Idiot architects......
 
When I was teaching middle school, I would tell students without a clue - you know when you close your eyes, we are all still here.

Some got it and some never will.
 
pfarber said:
First world problems... taking much time at the AVGAS pump lol

i wouldn't move unless I was sure the fuel was onboard properly and my monitors were reset/adjusted to account for the new fuel load.

i do agree that strolling into the FBO after you pay is bad manners... but if they are at the pump doing airplane stuff I can't really see a problem.
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It's amusing that those who use the phrase "first world problems" don't actually know what the term first world means.
 
NotarPilot said:
I feel this is a valuable lesson for new pilots so I’ll post here.

People, when fueling your plane at a self serve fuel pump and you see someone pull up behind you, please kindly pull your plane forward and out of the way if you’re going to get in and do your 10 minute checklist before starting the engine and 5 minute checklist before releasing the brakes. Okay, maybe I’m exaggerating a bit but please please please, just pull your plane forward and out of the way if you plan to do all that before taxiing your plane. Especially, if there’s only one gas pump. Thanks in advance.
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Etiquette, along with airmanship, has been in steady decline for quite a while. Both are dearly missed.

Aviation Etiquette (not just at the gas pump) is worthy of a sticky thread. Simple respect, courtesy, and consideration for others should be part of every student's training.
 
Roger Wilco said:
Etiquette, along with airmanship, has been in steady decline for quite a while. Both are dearly missed.

Aviation Etiquette (not just at the gas pump) is worthy of a sticky thread. Simple respect, courtesy, and consideration for others should be part of every student's training.
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I’ve seen a lot of cases where there is no awareness of what is going on in the world around people too. I suspect that is a big contributor to people finding fuel pumps and taxiways being blocked, among other things.

At my home airport the worst time of the year for this stuff is before, during, and after Oshkosh. I’d expect the transients passing through to know better, because it is probable that they’ve been flying for more than a few months if they’re making a trek of that magnitude. But they seem oblivious to it too, and some actually get mad if they get asked/told to park somewhere else, even when there is an obvious line of people trying to get to the gas pump or through a pinch point on the ramp or taxiway.
 
mondtster said:
I’ve seen a lot of cases where there is no awareness of what is going on in the world around people too. I suspect that is a big contributor to people finding fuel pumps and taxiways being blocked, among other things.
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Like these guys?

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1726597443567.png
 
NotarPilot said:
I feel this is a valuable lesson for new pilots so I’ll post here.

People, when fueling your plane at a self serve fuel pump and you see someone pull up behind you, please kindly pull your plane forward and out of the way if you’re going to get in and do your 10 minute checklist before starting the engine and 5 minute checklist before releasing the brakes. Okay, maybe I’m exaggerating a bit but please please please, just pull your plane forward and out of the way if you plan to do all that before taxiing your plane. Especially, if there’s only one gas pump. Thanks in advance.
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Just ask the pilot ahead of you to expedite their refueling because you are really in a hurry.
 
Or just move their plane…

And when they come back, pretend they don’t exist. Although usually I’m already airborne before they can shake twice.
 
With a lot of pilots it seems to be all about them.
 
Walboy said:
What does the term "first world" mean?
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Once upon a time, it referred to capitalist countries who were united in opposition to communist bloc countries (think US and the rest of NATO). Since the end of the Cold War the term has been used loosely to refer to prosperous industrial powers.

“First world problems” are those worries and inconveniences that people who aren’t living in abject poverty wondering if they’ll find enough to eat can concern themselves with.

IOW, someone living in a Haitian slum probably isn’t too concerned about the cost of avgas for his plane; that’s a first world problem.
 
Half Fast said:
Once upon a time, it referred to capitalist countries who were united in opposition to communist bloc countries (think US and the rest of NATO). Since the end of the Cold War the term has been used loosely to refer to prosperous industrial powers.

“First world problems” are those worries and inconveniences that people who aren’t living in abject poverty wondering if they’ll find enough to eat can concern themselves with.

IOW, someone living in a Haitian slum probably isn’t too concerned about the cost of avgas for his plane; that’s a first world problem.
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That’s the meaning as I understood it. I thought perhaps my understanding was incorrect. I thought @Roger Wilco was referring to some other meaning. :dunno: It’s been bothering me ever since I read his post.
 
Walboy said:
That’s the meaning as I understood it. I thought perhaps my understanding was incorrect. I thought @Roger Wilco was referring to some other meaning. :dunno: It’s been bothering me ever since I read his post.
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We live in a time in which the elements of language are increasingly deconstructed, repurposed, and repackaged for political and ideological ends. First and third-world are good examples.

First-world, properly understood, is a geopolitical term that referred to NATO allies during the Cold War. Second-world referred to Warsaw Pact allies, and third-world referred to everyone else. With the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, this three-world model became obsolete. The term first-world was abandoned and left to rust away in the basements of political science buildings for a few years, until the postmodernists discovered it. They quickly appropriated and redefined first-world to refer to wealthy, powerful, industrialized nations, while third-world was redefined to mean poor, unstable, underdeveloped countries. Critical theory's influence among postmodernists has led to further corruption of the terms--it is becoming common to find first-world and third world used to describe colonial relationships between oppressive colonizers (first-world) and their oppressed victims (third-world).

So we have two definitions of first-world: the correct Cold War era three-world definition; and the later woke postmodern definition. I will stick with the former reject the latter.
 
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