Schedule 'em the same way any other business that operates on weekends does. You think restaurants, gas stations, grocery stores, jewelry stores, etc. pay overtime to "just have someone sit around"?
Did I ***** about the price? Nope. Costs more to get my car serviced (and yes, I can get that done on Saturdays)... I say the FBO is not charging enought.
If you are willing to pay more and possibly travel to a nearby regional airport, the service is available to you.
As for Mom & Pop FBOs, don't blame the small FBO owner for not wanting to work weekends, or pay an A&P to hang around so, or at least a $12hr competent employee, preferably a bright kid (do you have to be 18 to handle O2 in commerce anywhere?) that you'll bribe into the job with flying time, the one they just can't find..., and they can't, so if you're a mechanically and technically minded kid, SPEAK UP! Walk up to the owner of the FBO and say "You need someone that can provide weekend servicing ability, I want to be the person to provide that service." believe it or not, operations need you. BTW, it's not a resturant, trades don't work like that. That's why you learn a trade so you don't have to put up with the conditions of the Food Service Industry. When I ork a trade on a weekend, I'm minimally time and a half. Again, a bright inclined kid would be the best thing at a lower pay with flight instruction.
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Regular customer whose business is important needs help on Saturday? or Sunday? or middle of the night? They all have my cell number. Everybody else? See you Monday.
That's your right. Just don't complain when GA folks go elsewhere - or just stop flying because it's impossible too get the plane serviced.
That would require taking the keys to the airport. During the week when maintenance is working. Sorta defeats the purpose, doesn't it?
Dude, seriously, why doesn't you local shop, all of them if you trust them, just have a key to your hangar? Most operations take the responsibility seriously. That way when you park the plane low on O2, you call them up the next day, or leave a message right then, and say "I'm flying again next Wednesday at 16:00 could you please fill the O2 for me" or just "Could you top my O2 ASAP? Thanks" and it will be done, no worries. I used to do that all the time. "Go get that plane, go drag the O2 cart to..." and it gets worked into the regular schedule and the service can be provided at a reasonable rate. You could also personally go into the O2 servicing business. To do it efficiently, you need to spend about $3500 (if you can find used, $7000 if you can't) on an O2 ready Haskell pump and a few hundred on a medium sized compressor. I'd get a gasoline powered contractors type compressor with a Honda engine from a pawn shop. Then you can provide that service and charge whatever you feel is fair, balanced against what the market will bear.
Again, I'm not talking major stuff, I'm talking minor stuff like O2 fills, a landing light out, loose heat insulation, etc. For the record, I have a pretty good set of screws, common "owner maintenance" hardware, air compressor, batt charger, etc. in the hangar. Together with routine maintenance, it's not a huge issue. However, to get true utility out of a plane, it often means leaving before the shop opens and returning after it closes.
Pretty broad brush there. Some of us maintain the planes well for just because of this issue.
Renters and club members are at the mercy of someone else. It doesn't take but one or two canceled trips because of a minor problem that can't be fixed "till monday" before the person controlling the purse strings (sometimes a spouse) says "no more money".
Amazing how simply leaving out one letter (a K after the 50) can change a post.
