Tell us your best courtesy car story!

Llano used to have an old cop car with power steering that no longer worked. It was always a fun drive out to Cooper’s!

I wonder if Larry is still out there tearing ass around the airport in his golf cart?
 
Back when my favorite barbecue place was in San Saba, I used to conduct IFR training and evaluation flights there.

The old Ford van sort of ran on at least five of eight cylinders and the one good wheel brake was on only the left front wheel. If you survived the drive to the barbecue joint, you enjoyed the best around!
 
Old beater Oldsmobile started smoking on the way back to the airport. Pulled over to the side with the hood up, completely clueless. A guy stopped to ask if he could help. Turned out he was a mechanic, saw immediately it was the air conditioning belt, sliced it off with a knife, and I was in my way.

When I reported it at the FBO, they apologized, "we forgot to tell you not to run the AC."
 
Paletine TX has a 4 door black Lincoln, late model, low miles. I felt like celebrity driving around in it for free.
 
Flying from CA to NY we stopped in KHQG, Hugoton, KS last summer for fuel and food. It was deserted, except for two crop dusters loading up at the end of ththe field. It was probably 100F on the ramp. The office door was unlock, rummaging around I found one of those red plastic cups, with two sets of Ford keys. Outback we found a worn out F150 and an even older decommissioned Crown Vic police car. I started the 150 which immediately blew hot air and dust out of the vents. Glancing across to my partner, you could see the smile on his face, as that Crown Vic a/c blew freezing cold air out it’s vents.

We enjoyed a quick cool ride to town, grabbed some food and continued our journey, after signing the office log and thanking the town for their courtesy car.
 
Greenville, MS had a H1 Hummer that leaned as you drove it due to blown suspension. My university buddies might or might not have driven it across several fields and through a ditch.
 
Absolutely no exciting stories for me. Had to spend the night one time due to nasty weather so they gave me the crew car to take to the hotel for the night. I went thru the drive through at Burger King with it. I know, pretty crazy, right?
 
Mt. Sterling - Montgomery County Airport, KY

Part of the trip bringing my friend Jeff's new to him Archer home back in August 2009

The Airport Manager gives us his card and said if you have any problems just call. We loaded up the bags in the car and headed for some food and then sleep. Jeff is driving I'm navigating, well trying to. As we leave the road from the airport to the main road the car died, yep, traffic coming, nose sticking out there and no can start. I jump out, a real sight to see, and start to push while Jeff opens his door and pushes with one leg out and one in still seated and trying to steer us backwards to clear the oncoming p/u truck.

The keystone cops had nothing on us! Jeff cranks this baby a few times with no luck, finally it starts and he combines the brake and gas to get us across the road into a gas station. I called Paul to let him know we had a problem as Jeff pumped in $15 or so to move the needle off the 1/4 tank mark. The car fired up ok and it seemed to run so I called Paul a second time to give him the all clear. The gauge must be broken because it ran ok after the added fuel.

The car has since been replaced. When my bride and I were making an overnight stop at KIOB, Mt. Sterling, on our way home from Olathe KS in October 2015, the courtesy car was now a Hummer.

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I always seem to get an 80s Buick LeSabre anywhere I go. There's one in pretty rough shape in Laramie, WY that screeched suuuper loud every turn you took. It sounded like and old police chase movie... It was safe to say we took many turns perhaps a bit harder than we should have to keep it screeching away :D. The turn signal in this car is by far the slowest turn signal I've ever felt.

There was another Buick LeSabre my buddy and I drove in Goodland, KS, it was night time and just driving through town we must have hit the world's biggest pothole, though we didn't see it so all of the sudden there was a BANG, it felt like we hit a landmine, we pulled over to see if we broke anything but the LeSabre kept on trucking.

In Grandby CO they have an old police explorer where the shifter doesn't index correctly, so you have to be on N to be in drive. It's fine once you figure it out, but it's tricky to figure out.
 
Tifton, GA about 20 years ago. I picked up the courtesy car to go into town for food. It was a Suzuki Samurai.

To get from the airport to the restaurants, I had to go one exit North on I-75. As I'm accelerating on the entrance ramp I realize the Samurai just isn't accelerating well. I'm in top gear, floored, trying to merge at 50 MPH. I downshift and keep it floored. 50 mph. Sure, there was a strong wind out of the North that day (which was why I needed to land for fuel), but the car wouldn't go over 50 MPH. That was a scary 2 mile ride on the interstate. In both directions.
 
Stopped at Branson West on the way back from OSH last year. Courtesy car was, you guessed it, an old Crown Vic cop car as usual. But, this one still had the spot light hooked up, so naturally, I drove around town real slow and spotlighted stuff. That's all I got.
 
This one has 1 horsepower

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So many good stories.

County sod airport with no fuel, no phone, no cell service, and no aircraft based there. Had a 4x4 truck with the keys in an empty hangar that wasn’t tall enough for a 182. Hunted pheasants on the airport.
 
The mere existence of airport cars gets me to this day. When I first started learning to fly in the 70's my father told me that most airports had a car you could borrow—for free, no less. I never finished up due to a flightless girlfriend, and I didn't believe that it was a universal thing, in any case. In the nineties, I landed at a little airport, asked the gas monkey if there was a place to eat on the field, and he tossed me the keys to an old station wagon and pointed down the road. Hmmm ... after that, I've probably used twenty of them, sometimes "just because". They always came back with more fuel (and sometimes more air in tires) than they left with.
 
Flew into Smoketown (S37) last year to goto Dutch wonderland with kids and wife on July 4th. Missed the first crew car. They had another. Was an 1980’s Ford Ranger pickup 2 door with jump seats in the back. Full of tools. No AC. INOP fuel gauge. That’s were the kids sat. Lol. They appreciated getting back into the 182 on the way home. Was appreciative to have the ride!
 
Four of us in two planes made a weather stop somewhere in southern Illinois, because the sky was black over Springfield and the field was reporting IFR conditions. Found a nearby field to stop and see when the weather was supposed to clear up. Only one pilot was IFR rated, and it wasn't me.

The field had a nice outdoor military aviation museum, and a courtesy van that made regular LOUD thumping noises, but no computer or weather source. So we piled into the van and thumped across town to the Holiday Inn and used their computer then made reservations. We then thumped hilariously back to the airport for bags, thanked the folks at the FBO and went back to the Russell Stover Factory Outlet in front of the hotel before checking in.

It was a memorable stop! We actually turned around between the FBO and the highway, concerned by the noise, but were told "it does that." Haven't had so much laughter in a car in a long, long time.
 
Typical experience... Land at a deserted airport. Find the keys to the courtesy minivan, use it, put a few gallons in it, drop a few bucks into the coffee can full of singles and fives that's there for courtesy car donations. And here we are... a vehicle with the keys readily accessible, a coffee can with probably close to $100 in it, sitting on a desk in an effectively unlocked room. And it works, because everyone wants it to work.
 
DaleB said:
Typical experience... Land at a deserted airport. Find the keys to the courtesy minivan, use it, put a few gallons in it, drop a few bucks into the coffee can full of singles and fives that's there for courtesy car donations. And here we are... a vehicle with the keys readily accessible, a coffee can with probably close to $100 in it, sitting on a desk in an effectively unlocked room. And it works, because everyone wants it to work.
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The essence of civilization.
 
Somewhere else in southern Illinois, on our outbound leg, our intrepid group was worried by a spreading undercast and ducked underneath for an early lunch and weather check. Final approach was over walmart, with a steady crowd going in and out of the Chinese restaurant. The field had two non-intersecting runways buried in tall, tall corn that gave no visibility of anything except the runway you were on. Thank you, Flight Guide, for getting me to the ramp!

After topping off both planes, we took the retired police cruiser into town to a recommended joint called Two Brothers Cafe (or was it Three Brothers?) Looked like a failed fast food joint taken over by someone else to run their own restaurant. There was a big sandwich board sign inside the door with their specials, and I ordered it--not only was it quite good, it was the only Bluegill Sandwich I've ever seen on a restaurant menu before or since!

We killed a little time back at the FBO and talked to a couple of arriving pilots, then ventured back out to overnight in Ames, Iowa where the FBO closed up between when I arrived and the second plane came in, despite my going inside and talking to the guy at the counter. But Flight Guide listed a taxi company so we made it to a hotel somewhat after dark.

Now I miss the old Flight Guide . . . . Batteries never ran down, didn't need to charge, had no cords, and didn't require wifi or cell signal--all problems that I've experienced with various "better" replacements.
 
Flying from Chicago to Elko, NV I ran into a level 5 thunderstorm, I landed in KSNY (Sidney, NE). As I was walking into the FBO a C-172 landed and taxied up to the FBO as well. It turned out he was also headed to Elko. We talked a bit and both decided to spend the night and let the weather move thru. The FBO gave us a late 60's Cadillac, (it was in rough shape but everything worked) they said just leave the keys in the ignition if no one is here in the morning. We both got rooms at a local motel and had dinner. Topped off the gas tank in the morning, dropped off the car and both of us headed to Elko. His 172 had a 180hp engine and I could not match his speed, he beat me to Elko by at least 2 hours...:rolleyes:
 
texasclouds said:
Paletine TX has a 4 door black Lincoln, late model, low miles. I felt like celebrity driving around in it for free.
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I think it was Downtown Shreveport that had a fairly new Dodge Challenger that was pretty nice to drive... felt great rolling up to a restaurant in it!
 
I found a motor bike on Craigslist and then found the seller was near an airport. I saw they had crew cars and flew there to get one and pick up the bike. When I arrived I found the place deserted but there were three Crown Vic's out front-one still said Sheriff on the side. I got in to a different one and the keys were on the floor mat. I drove off. As I rounded the corner on my way out of the airport I saw a sign that said: No Stopping County Prison. It was less than 1/2 mile from three fully fueled former cop cars with the keys on the floorboards. I guess it is true that criminals aren't that smart. I got the bike, fueled the car and took off.
 
Mtns2Skies said:
I always seem to get an 80s Buick LeSabre anywhere I go. ...
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You youngsters are soooo spoiled. Years ago it used to be every courtesy car that wasn't an ex-police Crown Vic was one of Lee Iaccoca's infamous Chrysler 'K'-cars. Thank gawd those have all finally rusted away, and been replaced with LeSabres. :thumbsup:

Shepherd said:
Flew into MPO (Pocono) a couple of years ago.
At the FBO I asked about lunch and was told the nearest place was a mile or so away.
The woman working the desk handed me the keys to her personal car and said "Just be back before 4. That's when I go home."
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You get my nomination for PoAer with the "Most Disarmingly Honest Looking Face". :ihih:
If that happened to me, almost certain I get pulled over after the second turn and charged with vehicle theft.
 
Stopped in Sturgeon Bay last year after Oshkosh. I had picked up my wife for the trip around Lake Michigan to Beaver Island. The lady helped me tie down the plane and then started to explain some idiosyncrasy of the courtesy car. She stopped midway through and just said to take her car so we wouldn’t have to worry about anything. Topped off her gas tank before I brought the car back.

Then on the way to Cleveland from Beaver Island later in the week, we got stopped by a storm in Jackson, Michigan, and found the late model sedan. Took it to Denny’s and then came back and slept in the lounge under the tower for a few hours.

Dropped the wife in Cleveland to commercial home. I got to Dayton and the FBO there said take the courtesy car as long as you need it. Want to go to the museum for the rest of the day? Take the courtesy car so you have a place to lock your bag and don’t have to check into the hotel until after! You need as much time as you can get before the museum closes!

Passengers always seem amazed and excited about the mystery of the next car and that these things actually exist.
 
GRG55 said:
You youngsters are soooo spoiled. Years ago it used to be every courtesy car that wasn't an ex-police Crown Vic was one of Lee Iaccoca's infamous Chrysler 'K'-cars. Thank gawd those have all finally rusted away, and been replaced with LeSabres. :thumbsup:
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I saw somebody driving a pristine looking K-car around Denver a few months ago. At least from the outside, it looked like the thing just rolled off the showroom floor. I thought sure all those cars had long been dead and shuffled off to car heaven.
 
LoneAspen said:
I saw somebody driving a pristine looking K-car around Denver a few months ago. At least from the outside, it looked like the thing just rolled off the showroom floor. I thought sure all those cars had long been dead and shuffled off to car heaven.
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I saw a lookin’ good K car on I95 in Florida a couple weeks ago.

I haven’t used an airport car in a long time. Manhattan, KS (KMHK) used to have a Hyundai that had been through the mother of all hailstorms. Emporia, KS (KEMP) had a retired police car, Crown Vic maybe.

My favorite was Ft Scott, KS. My daughter and I were out for a joy ride and stopped there. The airport manager was mowing. By the time I got to the pumps he met me there on the tractor. I was just going to top off at SS, but while we were talking he did it himself (at the SS price). I wasn’t really planning to do much other than get a cold drink from the vending machine and sit at the picnic table in the shade, but he gave me directions to a local burger joint and said I could use the car. While we used the bathroom he got the car for us, and told me not to bother putting gas in it. The AC was ice cold, which was great because it was over 100 that day. And the car didn’t have a back seat, just a bare floor. We got back about an hour later and he was mowing again. I left the keys and some gas money on the counter and we took off, waving at him as we taxied past.
 
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MillionAir at Hobby had a Jag; I took it to a Subway for lunch; that was a sight.
(hesitated to use it as I knew my insurance was inadequate for such a vehicle)
 
Tried to get a car at Midland Tx, they said a pilot had taken it to El Paso (maybe 3 or 4 hrs away) without permission and they were in the middle of retrieving it!
 
Tiny town in southern Colorado, took crew car to town for a bite.
Barely started (engine problem not electrical) then it quit about 4 mi from airport.
I think the police gave us a ride back (too long ago)
 
If anyone has a story that they would like me to publish on my website (assuming the location still has a car) please let me know and I will do so. The site is up to over 1,925 cars nationwide.
 
C-1 PILOT said:
Flying from CA to NY we stopped in KHQG, Hugoton, KS last summer for fuel and food. It was deserted, except for two crop dusters loading up at the end of ththe field. It was probably 100F on the ramp. The office door was unlock, rummaging around I found one of those red plastic cups, with two sets of Ford keys. Outback we found a worn out F150 and an even older decommissioned Crown Vic police car. I started the 150 which immediately blew hot air and dust out of the vents. Glancing across to my partner, you could see the smile on his face, as that Crown Vic a/c blew freezing cold air out it’s vents.

We enjoyed a quick cool ride to town, grabbed some food and continued our journey, after signing the office log and thanking the town for their courtesy car.
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I used to spray out of there... not much around.
 
Years ago I took a C-152 from Ona, WV to Lunken Field in Cincinnati for an engine over haul. A buddy followed me in a C-182 to pick me up.

After meeting with the shop manager, we asked about a place to eat. He told us there is a decent BBQ place about a mile down the road. Take my truck, the red Ford parked out the front door, keys are in it..

We walked out to see a really nicely restored red Ford pickup, about a '64 model, parked out front and the keys were in it. We took it and was surprised by the acceleration. We parked at the BBQ joint and opened the hood to find a really nice looking 390ci.

We had lunch, tolerable pork BBQ, and headed back to the airport. When we pulled into the parking lot there was a small group of people and a police car. As we pulled in, one of the guys in the crowd pointed at us. They all ran over, yelling things, so we parked the truck, right next to a fairly new red Ford pickup......

We were trying to tell our story but the owner of the truck was understandably upset and not giving us much of a chance to talk. Finally the shop manager was summoned and once he confirmed our story things calmed down a little. But it was a really nice truck....
 
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