ggroves said:
Any particular FBO or flight school, like else where, can, potentially, be populated with butt heads. Reference experiences below.
Experience at FBO 1
Me - Where do I drop off the keys if I return after you close?
Manager - We are here until dark.
Me - OK, what if I come back after dark? Should I just leave the keys in the plane?
Manager - You can't fly our planes at night.
Me - Oh, I'm not a student pilot.
Manager - Doesn't matter.
Me - I have an instrument rating and a commerical license and xxx hours at night.
Manager - Doesn't matter, our planes don't fly at night.
Me - Are they afraid of the dark or something?
Conversation goes down hill from there.
Experience at FBO 2
ME - What is the procedure for taking a plane overnight?
Manager - We don't allow our planes out overnight.
ME - Oh. Ahh, how about for the day.
Manager - We don't let our planes go out for the day.
ME - How about if I want to, ahh, go somewhere.
Manager - You can fly somewhere but you have to come right back.
ME - That's not much fun, passengers like to do things once they get somewhere.
Manager - Most of our pilots usually don't take passengers.
ME - Yea, I can understand why.
Conversation goes down hill from there.
Experience at FBO 3
ME - What does it take to get checked out in your Lance.
Manager - You need to get 10 hours of dual.
ME - I have a commercial for singles and multi's and about 100 hours of retractable time including time in a Seneca and I have time in Cherokee 6's.
Manager - Oh. You'll just need a check out.
ME - OK. About how long do you think the check out will take.
Manager - 10 hours.
Conversation goes down hill from there.
Experience at FBO 4
While away on business over a weekend I drive to a nearby airport early one Sunday morning to see if I can get checked out in the FBO's 172. Once I get checked out I was going to take two of my clients for a ride in the local area.
ME - Hi. I'd liked to get checked out in your 172 and then rent it later this afternoon. I called yesterday and spoke with an instructor who said just come in early today.
Counter Person - You can't just come in here and fly off in one of our planes.
ME - Oh, I know. I want to get a check out this morning and take the plane this afternoon for a few hours.
Counter Person - How do I even know you are a pilot?
ME - Well. I have my license, my medical and my log book all right here. I know how the procedure usually works. You put my name on the schedule (pointing to the standard paper schedule found at every school) with a plane and an instructor, we fly the plane together until the instructor is satisfied that I can fly and then I can rent the plane by myself.
Counter Person - Well how do you know you will pass the check out that quick.
ME - Well. It is just a 172, I've been flying for xx years, have about xxx hours and have a commercial pilots license.
Counter Person - Well, go talk to the instructor over there and see if he will go up with you.
ME - I go talk to the instructor, who remembers me from the phone call the day before...he says sure...just go get the keys. So I walk back to the counter.
ME to Counter Person - Hi. The instructor says I should just get the keys, no problem.
Counter Person - I just rented the plane to someone else for the day.
ME - {explitive deleted}
I could go on but you get the picture.
Len