Working at an FBO

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Bigflightmike

Filing Flight Plan
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Bigflightmike
Hey, I was wondering if any of y'all know much about working at an FBO or have ever worked at one. I may be working at one this summer so i'd like to know how it is for a summer job. What is the everyday work life like? Any interesting stories?
 
Bigflightmike said:
Hey, I was wondering if any of y'all know much about working at an FBO or have ever worked at one. I may be working at one this summer so i'd like to know how it is for a summer job. What is the everyday work life like? Any interesting stories?
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First post....

Welcome to POA...:cheers:
 
Welcome ,working at an FBO can be fun,it's all about the attitude you start with. You get to meet quite a few interesting people. There are times of boredom ,and times that are so busy you wonder where the time went. Give it a try.
 
Working at an FBO is fun except for deicing a business jet in the middle of winter in St. Louis. That was no fun. MidCoast aviation was my college job in the 80s.
 
Hello

Not sure what your goals are. If it's in the aviation field "Go for it". I worked the ramp for over 6 years wile I was coming up through the ranks of becoming a pilot. The knowledge base that I acquired was amazing. Going to work around airplanes all day is not a bad thing either.

If your a aviation junky like me. You will love it.

Report back with a update

Good luck
Marcus
 
Hey Mike, welcome to PoA! I manage an airport in TN and also run the FBO. I love going to work everyday. Depending on your FBO and the level of services provided, you'll definitely get a workout! You'll have the opportunity to be responsible for millions of dollars of heavy metal at some, so be prepared.
 
BGF_Yankee said:
Hey Mike, welcome to PoA! I manage an airport in TN and also run the FBO. I love going to work everyday. Depending on your FBO and the level of services provided, you'll definitely get a workout! You'll have the opportunity to be responsible for millions of dollars of heavy metal at some, so be prepared.
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And VERY careful too.........
 
I worked at a local uncontrolled airport in high school and summers in college. It was a smaller airport so I never had to do lavatory service or de-icing. I had a blast working there. Around pilots and airplane the whole time.
Perks of the job:
- Did a lot of networking and even got a few job offers while I was there.
- A handful of the local pilots allowed me to use their airplanes whenever I wanted.
- One let me borrow his multi so I could get my multi-engine rating and another let me borrow their Cessna 172RG and 172XP to get the complex and high performance endorsements.
- Learn a lot about servicing airplanes
I did a lot of other duties too including mowing the grass along the runways, some light supervised maintenance on airplanes, and even got to take the flight school planes to get inspections done or get parts from other FBOs around the state.
I got discounts on airplane rentals and I also got quite a few tips from transient and based airplanes. I highly recommend it, especially if you have a passion for airplanes. You won't be disappointed.
 
Clark1961 said:
Ever hear of a tray?
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Its more of a suitcase but there was a big thread about buckets earlier in light twins :lol:

(Externally serviceable toilets are coveted, but not common in light aircraft)
 
I used to run a jet center in New Jersey...I always compared my job to being like a sunday afternoon every day of the week!!!
 
RalphInCA said:
Working at an FBO is fun except for deicing a business jet in the middle of winter in St. Louis. That was no fun. MidCoast aviation was my college job in the 80s.
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Luckily I'm in the middle of Georgia so I won't have to worry about that.
 
Pghsteel said:
Hello

Not sure what your goals are. If it's in the aviation field "Go for it". I worked the ramp for over 6 years wile I was coming up through the ranks of becoming a pilot. The knowledge base that I acquired was amazing. Going to work around airplanes all day is not a bad thing either.

If your a aviation junky like me. You will love it.

Report back with a update

Good luck
Marcus
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I do plan on working in aviation. I'm hoping working at an FBO will help me make connections and let me learn more about aviation.
 
There are also 10 kind of people; those who understand binary and those who don't.
 
Bigflightmike said:
Hey, I was wondering if any of y'all know much about working at an FBO or have ever worked at one. I may be working at one this summer so i'd like to know how it is for a summer job. What is the everyday work life like? Any interesting stories?
Click to expand...

Your duties will be varied, and depending on the FBO, so will your learning and flying opportunities. Marshaling, fueling, lav dumps, handling luggage, moving planes in and out of hangars and around the ramp; these are all standard duties. Always perform them with a smile.

The difference comes if you work at an FBO that has a repair station, you have a chance to hang out in the maintenance shop on your slow times and learn from them.
 
Its been several decades but I loved the short time I worked at a very busy (under class B is what it would be now) FBO. Mostly training and rentals. It was crazy busy; you felt a bit like you were atc with the demands of phones/radio/customers/instructors/mngmt/mechanics... on a nice day. But you will learn a lot about aviation and the business behind it.
 
Bigflightmike said:
I do plan on working in aviation. I'm hoping working at an FBO will help me make connections and let me learn more about aviation.
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Then your going in the right direction! My FBO job got me the 2 things your after. If you would like to chat. Pm me I'll send ya cell #
 
KMCN?

Bigflightmike said:
Hey, I was wondering if any of y'all know much about working at an FBO or have ever worked at one. I may be working at one this summer so i'd like to know how it is for a summer job. What is the everyday work life like? Any interesting stories?
Click to expand...
 
Depends,

May spend the summer on a tractor mowing grass.

May spend endless days in the office at a little used airport so it is "staffed", although the fuel is self serve.

May work with the mechanic, taxi planes, gofer duties, lot of hands on activity.

May be given broom, mop, window cleaner and told to make everything shiney.
 
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I always love working line service in my high school days and during my many months at Spartan School in Tulsa. I think you will like summers the best. Winter nights can be a drag. I worked for a Piper dealer at the Riverside Airport that mirrored my father's FBO in KS. I hope you have fun!
 
tinerj said:
Depends,

May spend the summer on a tractor mowing grass.

May spend endless days in the office at a little used airport so it is "staffed", although the fuel is self serve.

May work with the mechanic, taxi planes, gofer duties, lot of hands on activity.

May be given broom, mop, window cleaner and told to make everything shiney.
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When they hand you the window cleaner, hand it back and break out the Collenite Insulator Wax. There is no easier way to do windows, or clean and polish any non fabric surface.
 
I work the FBO on weekends myself at KSNL - Shawnee Regional Airport.

I love the job - I get to hang around planes all day, and get paid! Fueling, towing, tenant services, jumping, talking to pilots on their downtime, passing on info to pilots, paperwork, all of it is pretty fun. If you've got any specific questions, feel free to ask! I work at a smaller airport which means I end up doing more than the usual FBO worker since it's just me most of my shifts.
 
Our FBO would have been like a meat market to me when I was a teen.

Jack only hires cute girls. A bunch of them with poodle skirts and bobby socks.

Course, when you're my age, if they're under fourty and not fat, they're all cute.:yesnod: Good luck and happy hunting!
 
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