Towing your aircraft to/from the self-serve pump?

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DMD3.

Pre-takeoff checklist
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DMD3.
If you’re based at an airport that is self-serve only, is there any rule or mandate against just towing the airplane to the pump before beginning the flight, or towing the aircraft from the pump to the hangar or ramp? The idea is to avoid having to startup, and then shutdown 2 minutes later. I like to think this would save some wear & tear on the engine and starter.

I used to rent a C150 at an airport like this, and I would often use the tug bar to move the aircraft to the fuel pump before or after each flight (there was a debit card in the logbook we could use). Of course, this would be very difficult with a larger aircraft or a light twin.

Also, the airport wasn’t very busy; I wouldn’t do it with 3 or 4 aircraft taxiing around.
 
I tow my plane to the mx hangar myself. Right through the flight school and fbo ramps at my class C airport. I wouldn't think twice about going to the SS pump if we had one. I'm not aware of any regulation preventing this, seems marginally safer than moving it via the 300hp salad shooter. I'd also argue I'm far more qualified to do so than than non-pilot line crew.
 
Jim K said:
I tow my plane to the mx hangar myself. Right through the flight school and fbo ramps at my class C airport. I wouldn't think twice about going to the SS pump if we had one. I'm not aware of any regulation preventing this, seems marginally safer than moving it via the 300hp salad shooter. I'd also argue I'm far more qualified to do so than than non-pilot line crew.
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Same. And I’m pretty sure if there were a mandate, the worst I’d get is a warning to quit doing it. However, if it were a busier airport with several other aircraft taxiing around, I could see it being a potential problem. Then again, a busier airport would most likely be available with full-serve.
 
I also tug my plane up the fuel pumps at my airport although small, and back to my hangar just for the reason above. Don't want to start it if I am not gonna fly it.
The flight school here does the same thing moves them around with electric tugs.
I dragged my plane to the fuel pumps last night with my tug and back to the hangar so it was ready to go this morning with my wife aboard. Didn't want her to sit waiting . And she don't like the smell of AV gas.
I have to admit the alpha3 electric tug makes it easy and at a comfortable walking speed without bending over.
 
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Towing the airplane to self serve pumps are becoming more common ,makes sense if your not going to fly the airplane after fueling.
 
I frequently use a towbot to take my Beech 18 to the self serve pump. Main reason is the stupid hose isn’t long enough to reach the outboard tank if I pull in parallel and full serve is ridiculously expensive at home field. With the towbot, I can bring it on nose toward the pump and easily reach all tanks.

Towbot isn’t cheap, but the cost savings between self and full serve has long since paid for itself (saves roughly $2500 per year).
 
Only real place I can see where it might be problematic to tow to the pump would be if the self serve is a distance from the hangars/tie downs at a towered airport. You can still do it, but you’d need a handheld radio to call ground and get a clearance. I have seen some airports where the pump is far enough away that it might not be worth the hassle.
 
Buying fuel recently at a near to me airport. It's self serve but a fuel guy always comes out to watch and/or assist as needed. Anyway ... as I was finishing up a local flight school plane was pulling in behind me so I just rolled it over to a nearby tie down spot. My plane is quite light and easy enough to move around on pavement.
 
If it's uncontrolled or in the non-movement area then I don't see why there would be an issue. I thought moving planes around is what all that concrete is supposed to be for.

Both airports I've been based at were full service only so I never had the opportunity to try.
 
Is there any meaningful data to show this is hard on an engine and actually shortens TBO, especially if one is going to go flying after gassing up - or even gassing up after a long-ish flight (where the engine is still hot after gassing up)? Starting up even an old car to pull it out of the driveway doesn’t seem risky.

I get the theoretical idea and am very open to being re-educated. This just seems like a specious argument that just won’t die despite no good evidence that I’ve seen.
 
When I was based at a super busy airport, we were not allowed to hand tow it but could tow it with a tow vehicle. Reason being, you’d had to cross a runway to get to the fuel pump. So I taxied to the pumps. At my current, tiny airport, nobody cares but I still taxi to the pumps because ain’t no way I’m pulling the Cherokee uphill for 2,000 feet (there is an upslope on the taxiway).
 
Llewtrah381 said:
Is there any meaningful data to show this is hard on an engine and actually shortens TBO, especially if one is going to go flying after gassing up - or even gassing up after a long-ish flight (where the engine is still hot after gassing up)? Starting up even an old car to pull it out of the driveway doesn’t seem risky.

I get the theoretical idea and am very open to being re-educated. This just seems like a specious argument that just won’t die despite no good evidence that I’ve seen.
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I think if you're starting up to taxi over to the pumps before a flight OR are taxiing back from the pumps after a flight I don't think it would matter. Starting a cold engine up just to taxi though is an extra heating/cooling cycle AND wouldn't get the engine hot enough to boil off any moisture in the crankcase. You're also burning said expensive avgas- probably not a significant amount but over time that could add up I guess.

OTOH there's another reason why you might not want to. Some planes, particularly big ones with fuel injection can be a royal pain to start when hot. The pilot just may not want to deal with that more than they have to.
 
Tug seems the way to go. My hangar had one for a Cessna and sold it, the guy who bought it was so happy!
 
Used to be theory that every time the engine is started your lose an hour toward TBO.
 
Clip4 said:
Used to be theory that every time the engine is started your lose an hour toward TBO.
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Most pilots probably average around 1 hour of tach time per flight, so maybe that’s why?
 
When I had my Fisher 404 (which only weighed 330# empty) I would routinely push it the 300' from the hangar to the pumps or back; it save me having to hand prop it twice. But now my Hatz weighs twice as much and is on the other side of the airport and down a hill across the runway; no way am I going to push it. But we did once tow it with a rope to get it from the hangar to the maintenance shop and back to avoid having to put the cowling back on.
 
DMD3. said:
If you’re based at an airport that is self-serve only, is there any rule or mandate against just towing the airplane to the pump before beginning the flight, or towing the aircraft from the pump to the hangar or ramp? The idea is to avoid having to startup, and then shutdown 2 minutes later. I like to think this would save some wear & tear on the engine and starter.

I used to rent a C150 at an airport like this, and I would often use the tug bar to move the aircraft to the fuel pump before or after each flight (there was a debit card in the logbook we could use). Of course, this would be very difficult with a larger aircraft or a light twin.

Also, the airport wasn’t very busy; I wouldn’t do it with 3 or 4 aircraft taxiing around.
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I don’t like that start, stop restart thing either. But I’ve heard it’s not really that big a deal if you let it warm up. I did it with a golf cart with a tow bar for a couple months when I had a hangar at Thermal KTRM. I pushed/pulled at Twin Oaks 7S3 when I was there. Good exercise. I’ve paid extra for the truck to gas it up at other places to avoid the start/stop thing.
 
Fearless Tower said:
Only real place I can see where it might be problematic to tow to the pump would be if the self serve is a distance from the hangars/tie downs at a towered airport. You can still do it, but you’d need a handheld radio to call ground and get a clearance. I have seen some airports where the pump is far enough away that it might not be worth the hassle.
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That's the situation at KGIF (Winter Haven). The pump is a long way from my hangar and getting there requires using a taxiway and crossing the south ramp. For folks who keep their planes on the ramp at the FBO, it requires using multiple taxiways and crossing two runways.

I usually fill up immediately prior to a flight or immediately after landing and just taxi to the pumps.

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When operating on straight floats it takes a lot of power to taxi to the pumps plus it's hard on the floats. ;) We obviously tow floatplanes everywhere including the pumps. The rules are slightly different at each airport but the requirement of two-way communication and amber/yellow blinking light on the tow vehicle rules seem to be consistent.

The radio calls are consistent with any aircraft taxiing under it's own power. "Airport ground plane N1234A under tow request movement down taxiway Charlie to the Foxtrot intersection and down the runway to floatplane ramp?" Ground control will sequence you with other aircraft and clear you to taxi as requested. At a Non-Tower just use a handheld to communicate your movement intentions if using the taxiways and/or crossing runways.
 
DMD3. said:
If you’re based at an airport that is self-serve only, is there any rule or mandate against just towing the airplane to the pump before beginning the flight, or towing the aircraft from the pump to the hangar or ramp? The idea is to avoid having to startup, and then shutdown 2 minutes later. I like to think this would save some wear & tear on the engine and starter.

I used to rent a C150 at an airport like this, and I would often use the tug bar to move the aircraft to the fuel pump before or after each flight (there was a debit card in the logbook we could use). Of course, this would be very difficult with a larger aircraft or a light twin.

Also, the airport wasn’t very busy; I wouldn’t do it with 3 or 4 aircraft taxiing around.
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If there is any prohibition, it should be for taxiing an airplane to a pump. Towing is always the safest way to get close to any structure. Would you taxi the airplane into a hangar?
 
yup....
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I bought a used golf cart and tow bar for this exact purpose. AND as a bonus the granddaughters love driving the golf cart around the ramp (with me close to the brake pedal). Mine is an often very quiet airport, so I can't imagine anyone caring.
 
cowman said:
OTOH there's another reason why you might not want to. Some planes, particularly big ones with fuel injection can be a royal pain to start when hot. The pilot just may not want to deal with that more than they have to.
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Hot starts a problem after they sit for a while, not after a short time like fueling.
 
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