Find names of Airport Aircraft Parking Areas

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MMax45

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MMax45
Hey there! First off, new member and new pilot so I'm excited to be here!

I'm looking to rent an Cessna to fly to a nearby airport, pickup a friend, and take him for a ride. Getting to the airport is obviously no problem, but I'm trying to find where to look up aircraft parking locations. When ATC says "say parking," where do I find what to tell them?

It would just be to shut off the engine, have a buddy hop in, and get back up, so hopefully wouldn't have to pay for that.

Thanks all!
 
I usually look at google to find the location of the FBO if I'm going somewhere. If you have trouble locating it, switch to satellite mode and you'll see where all the planes are parked. Or, just call the FBO and ask. Then tell ground you're going to X FBO. Add the word "unfamiliar" if you'd like a progressive taxi.

Otherwise, if it's a parking area, they're usually referenced by direction - north parking, south ramp, etc.

Welcome aboard. Student or private?
 
airnav.com. You will sometimes see some information on parking. Check the comments for parking too. Or just call and and ask.

Unless it's a larger controlled, field, there's unlikely to be any charge for stopping. Now if it's a ORD or ATL type airport then all bets are off.
 
Look up airport in your Airport Facility Directory. Ask for progressive taxi instructions if you need them
 
Ask if the airport has a transient parking area ("transient"). If not, you'll need to park at an FBO. A generous one will let you do what you want. A not-so-generous one will want you to buy a some fuel. An onerous one will charge you a fee no matter what.
 
Tell us the airport and we can help even more. I use Google maps and Garmin Pilot to generally figure parking out.
 
More than once I’ve simply explained my situation to the tower and asked if they have a suggestion and it worked out fine.
 
Congratulations on your new certificate!

If you can find a not very busy Class D or a non-towered field, it may be better to meet your friend there. Usually you can do that for no charge.
 
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I'm glad you're asking and trying to prepare ahead.

A few days ago I heard on the ground frequency at a local Class D airport basically this exchange:

Ground - N123 say parking
N123 - oh, I don't know, the FBO will be fine
Ground - we have 3 of them, which one would you like
N123 - what are they
Ground - [lists the names of the FBOs]
N123 - which one would you recommend?
Ground - sir, we really can't recommend one over another
N123 - oh, I guess [FBO] will be fine

So, don't be like this guy who apparently did zero research. As far as I could tell this wasn't an emergency landing or anything. And of course I'm pretty sure he picked the one with the highest fuel price and ramp fees.

It's not like the FBOs at an airport are a secret anymore, if they ever were.
 
Check AirNav.com. The bottom of the page will list the FBOs on the field and you will know what the fuel price will be. Many FBOs at smaller fields will offer a crew car if you would like to go for lunch in town. (I've had the opportunity to drive a 72 Bronco, Mercedes 530, and a lot in between)
 
Aopa also has a pretty nifty airport tool that lets you go from satellite view to runway to sectional view. Lists fbos and their location as well as other businesses. Here's a link to Akron-Canton, my last cross country picking the pup up from the trainer.

https://www.aopa.org/destinations/airports/KCAK/details
 
Not knocking you, but this is something your CFI should have taught you.

But any doubts when you land, just ask ground for the FBO to park at. They will give you instructions.
 
Foreflight usually has good info on FBOs and the comments section has great info on which ones are friendly
 
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