I ****ing love crew cars

Jim K

Jim K

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Especially the ones at unattended rural airports. The little scavenger hunt/escape room to find the keys. The ****box lottery.

I made a run to Nowhere, IA today to pick up a Facebook find for Teresa. Hunted around until I found the key box. Looked up the AWOS. Retrieved the keys, instructions on how to find the car (which lives in a separate building) and the code for that door, and was rewarded with this:

IMG_20250408_110936359.jpg

I friggin love little airplanes and little airports.
 
I was in Muskogee, OK last weekend and it was just like this. FBO was closed, but could still be accessed. Courtesy vehicle’s were in a lock box (a Chevy Equinox and an old Crown Victoria) with a sign out sheet, and “OH!” they also had a Tesla Model S. I had never driven a Tesla but I will say it was pretty cool as a courtesy vehicle.
 
Somewhere in Kansas I stopped for lunch with the wife. Grabbed the courtesy car to run into town, Had to hold the gas and the brake at the same time at the stoplights to keep it running. It was an old cop car that no doubt had a hard life. It's always an adventure!
 
Flew to Davenport Iowa when I was 14 to order the race car and pick up my firesuit, helmet, gloves etc. Courtesy car was a beat up Chrysler mini van. Pretty sure the wheels would fall off above 70mph.

After picking up the helmet, I decide to try it on while going back to the airport. Partly to see how cool I look. But also to not be seen in the minivan. As well as protection in case the wheels did in fact fall the **** off.
 
Our little ’05 Honda Element serves as a crew car at Copperhill Airport in TN when we’re not there, which is most of the time. Must be able to drive a stick, however.
 
The variation in courtesy cars is always the fun part. I've had everything from a brand new Cadillac SUV, the traditional clapped out patrol car, or even a sedan that was literally parked in a ring of rusty metal that had fallen off the car while it was parked.
 
I've gotten 2 that were memorable.

One was at KMHK (Manhattan, KS) a long time ago. My recollection is it was a Hyundai. They had recently been pounded by a severe hail storm and that car looked like it had been beaten within an inch of its life. I've never seen a car that mashed up, but no glass was broken.

The other was at KFSK (Ft Scott, KS), also a long time ago. I don't remember what kind of car it was, but it was probably a former police car. The rear seat had been removed, it was just the bare floor behind the driver's seat all the way back. But the really impressive thing was that the AC was as ice-cold as I've ever had before. The outside temp was about 104F that day, but it felt like a frosty 32F inside.
 
Thief River Falls, MN, used to have an old beater that could get up to about 40 mph on the accelerator pump…
 
I once got an courtesy car, In Kentucky I think. It was an old Chevy Monza. I was briefed on how to start it. Pump the gas pedal 10 times, then start. After starting the engine would rev up tremendously, then calm down after about 30 seconds. You have to pump the pedal 10 times or it won't start. Don't go over 45 or the car will start shaking like nothing you have ever experienced before.

On the return trip I pumped the gas pedal 9 times and it would not start. I had to wait 10 minutes and try again. At 46 mph the car started shaking like nothing I have ever experienced before. They forgot to brief me that it smokes like a chimney while going down the road...
 
We got a former police Tahoe in Pine Mountain, GA last summer.
 
I've had ex-police cars at lots of places. Amusingly we had tried to fly into a town in IOWA because it had a hotel right off the field (turned out to be slightly more of a walk than we thought). A cop gave us a lift. Then it turns out that the guy in front of me gets the last room (some sort of softball tournament in town). I ask the desk clerk what other towns nearby have hotels. I suggest Pocahontas, IA. She says that's a long way away. I remind her we're going to fly there. Oh yes. She calls them and makes sure there's a room. She then says that it's a long way from the airport to the hotel, so she called the police department there. They say there's a crew car there and the keys are in the unlocked FBO office, but if it's gone or we can't find it, just call them and they'll come pick us up.

I land and tie down and sure enough there's an old retired police car there. It takes us a while to find the keys, but we ride in to town. Turns out it's their "heritage days" and there's fireworks and all kinds of stuff going down that night. Lots of fun. I'm looking for a place to park near dinner and figure I probably can park this thing anywhere.

My mechanic on the other hand, hops into a debadged police car with the keys in the ignition that was parked at the airport assuming it was the crew car. When he returned, he learns that it wasn't. They had just bought the car from another department and Kevin took it right after the other department dropped it off. They were good natured about it.
 
Two memorable ones for me.

A Suzuki Samura that I borrowed in Tifton GA to take a couple of miles up the interstate to grab a burger. Heading North (into a 20 mph wind), I couldn't get it to over 50 mph in 4th or 5th gear either entering or driving up the interstate. Frightening. It was much faster with a 20 mph tailwind headed back to the airport.

A Crown Vic we borrowed a year or so ago from Yelvington (sp?) at Daytona. 10 year old car. Like new. Beautiful black car, awesome leather interior. Like driving a sofa around Daytona.
 
kaiser said:
I enjoy the ex Police Interceptors. I purposely drive 5 under the speed limit to mess with everyone.
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I drove Crown Vics for most of my career and hated them. Awful ergonomics, caused back pain within the first hour of almost every shift.

Not much to worry about from those anymore. The last one left the factory 14 years ago, so any that are still in service as marked units are most likely an officer assigned to a school or some other non-patrol assignment. Not much chance of being pulled over.
 
I was actually thinking about this the other day. As ateamer said, the last Crown Vics are getting pretty elderly. Still the most common courtesy car I see, but their days are numbered. I was wondering what would replace them. The Challenger (Charger?) was a nice surprise. Seems like all the agencies around here are settling on the Explorer, which i personally hate. So I suppose that will be the answer in a few years.

The worst one I ever had was a mid 90's Explorer in Nebraska. It was 100 degrees that day, the A/C didn't work, and only 3 of the windows rolled down. Of course rust holes big enough to throw a cat through, and every bump made it squeak and jerked the steering. It got us to Runza and back, though.
 
cowman said:
We got a former police Tahoe in Pine Mountain, GA last summer.
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Here’s an interesting story.

So, the police department historically gives us their retired vehicles to use as courtesy vehicles. They work great, right up until they don’t.

We had an ‘08 Charger that lasted for a couple of years and then one day we loaned it out and the transmission gave up on the guy in the middle of the street. There goes another…

Then we most recently get an ‘07 Tahoe to replace it. That didn’t last more than 60 days when I get a text from one of my tenants with a photo of the Tahoe which had - get this - come out of park while parked in the parking lot and rolled back out of nowhere, taking out part of the fence. Now tell me, what are the odds of a parked vehicle coming out of gear and rolling backwards? Luckily it didn’t hit any other vehicles than what it did. Yeah, our luck hasn’t been great lately.
 
RyanB said:
Now tell me, what are the odds of a parked vehicle coming out of gear and rolling backwards? Luckily it didn’t hit any other vehicles and it did. Yeah, our luck hasn’t been great lately.
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I had a Porsche 928S4 do that. It cost me a shedload more than a bit of fence, as it was in a Los Angeles parking structure and the spots sloped slightly uphill. :D
 
Some of these courtesy cars follow the motto:
"They'll get you from Point A to Point B, but don't even think about making it to Point C".

Yours looks way better than average :)

My worst (or best really) was KGPH outside Kansas City. When the SUV with borderline bloodstain looking marks on the seats finally turned over after cranking I thought it was going to legit blow up. Not like engine struggles, but like 1980s Lebanese militia car bomb style.

Best crew car IMHO is the one that's available when you need it. I'd rather drive a busted to **** Chevy than hoof it 2 miles on foot.
 
RyanB said:
Now tell me, what are the odds of a parked vehicle coming out of gear and rolling backwards?
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Pretty low, if the driver had engaged the parking brake instead of solely relying on the transmission. But I wouldn't be surprised if you replied back that the parking brake was inop. :)
 
Just used a police car today haha. Last time we used one, when we went to a campground to rent a site, the staff started yelling oh sh&$ the cops are here. I said oh that’s my car, I’m not a cop. She didn’t really believe me.
 
asicer said:
Pretty low, if the driver had engaged the parking brake instead of solely relying on the transmission.
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I always set the parking brake, release the service brake, let the parking brake take the weight, then shift to park.

My brother, who has a steep driveway, used to not do this. Until one day the parking pawl in the transmission broke and his car rolled down, across the street, and put a mighty blow on his neighbor’s car across the street.
 
donjohnston said:
BMG (Bloomington, IN) had a nice Cadillac that had a night vision HUD on the windshield. I took it on an unlit country road one night to see if it really worked. It did.
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They always have a fleet of new Cadillacs for crew cars there. Knowing the FBO business, I asked the staff how and why, because BMG didn't seem all that different than any other airport and FBO I've visited. The FBO is actually owned by some large medical group based at Bloomington, and their Board of Directors receive new Cadillacs every year. Their trade ins become the crew cars.

The only other time I've had such nice crew cars was at another FBO that I knew was owned by a large trucking conglomerate. The FBO was the holding company for their company aircraft, and their tax write-off. They didn't want the FBO to make money.
 
The local FBO has a 535i that's pretty nice. Too bad I never need a courtesy car in my own town.
 
midwestpa24 said:
They always have a fleet of new Cadillacs for crew cars there. Knowing the FBO business, I asked the staff how and why, because BMG didn't seem all that different than any other airport and FBO I've visited. The FBO is actually owned by some large medical group based at Bloomington, and their Board of Directors receive new Cadillacs every year. Their trade ins become the crew cars.

The only other time I've had such nice crew cars was at another FBO that I knew was owned by a large trucking conglomerate. The FBO was the holding company for their company aircraft, and their tax write-off. They didn't want the FBO to make money.
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MillionAir FBOs typically have nice crew cars, but you pay for them whether you use them or not.
 
Speaking of Million Air, I got this GLC300 at KIND, not bad for $12 landing fee.

IMG_5024.jpeg
 
Jim K said:
Especially the ones at unattended rural airports. The little scavenger hunt/escape room to find the keys. The ****box lottery.
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It's always fun to see what you get, it's all over the board! I've gotten plenty of old cop cars and ****boxes, all the way up to an E series and a Tesla.

I think my favorite was the one in Coffeyville, KS:

IMG_5903.jpg
Jim K said:
I friggin love little airplanes and little airports.
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Amen. It's always an adventure!

FastEddieB said:
Our little ’05 Honda Element serves as a crew car at Copperhill Airport in TN when we’re not there, which is most of the time. Must be able to drive a stick, however.
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And/or melt a clutch. ;)

flyingron said:
Amusingly we had tried to fly into a town in IOWA because it had a hotel right off the field (turned out to be slightly more of a walk than we thought).
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Sounds like Jay's old place at Iowa City?

flyingron said:
I land and tie down and sure enough there's an old retired police car there. It takes us a while to find the keys, but we ride in to town. Turns out it's their "heritage days" and there's fireworks and all kinds of stuff going down that night. Lots of fun. I'm looking for a place to park near dinner and figure I probably can park this thing anywhere.
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Like I frequently say, some of the best adventures I've had in aviation were the ones that were completely unplanned.

These days, part of my pax briefing is "Aviation is always an adventure, it's just not necessarily the one you had planned."

midwestpa24 said:
They always have a fleet of new Cadillacs for crew cars there. Knowing the FBO business, I asked the staff how and why, because BMG didn't seem all that different than any other airport and FBO I've visited. The FBO is actually owned by some large medical group based at Bloomington, and their Board of Directors receive new Cadillacs every year. Their trade ins become the crew cars.
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Ah, Cook Group Inc.!!!

In a former life, I was a member of the Madison Scouts drum and bugle corps and later a volunteer, staff member and board member. In my earlier marching years, there was a drum corps that was sponsored by Cook Group called Star of Indiana. Cook group pumped a lot of money into the corps, and they seemed to have new everything every year: Buses, trucks, uniforms, horns, drums, etc... I know it wasn't actually all new (and the buses were part of a charter bus line, also called Star of Indiana, that Bill Cook started to help fund the corps) but they were very well funded. Later on, they left Drum Corps International and first did a collaboration with the Canadian Brass that was called "Brass Theater" before finally evolving into Blast! which was a stage show that premiered in London before moving on to Broadway and having a few touring casts as well. They won a Tony award and an Emmy award. Several of the guys I marched with later performed with Blast!

And yes, they have a nice, well-funded FBO.

Jim K said:
I have a soft spot for the panther platform

View attachment 139702
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Dude. You took the airport courtesy car to the liquor store?!? :rofl:
 
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