Sleep overnight in small GA airports pilot lounge?

Lndwarrior

Lndwarrior

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A lot of small airports have unoccupied pilots lounges. Is it ok to sleep overnight in them?

I'm not sure if this is understood as a no-no, or if people sleep overnight in them when possible?

Planning a month long trip as we economical as possible and want to know if this is even an option.
 
I’ve slept on the chairs in a Van Nuys FBO when Santa Monica was fogged out... they didn’t seem to care.
 
My wife and I have done this many times while traveling cross country. By plane and by car. We have air mattresses and blow them up and throw on the sleeping bag. We try to vacate before anyone arrives in the morning, but sometimes that does not happen. Never had anyone made a negative comment about us sleeping in there lounge. Just clean up after yourself.
 
Absolutely. I stopped for gas at a small town airport in central Texas and wound up having to stay overnight due to T-storms. They had a lock box with the keys to the courtesy car with instructions to call the police department to get the code to the lock box. I was able to drive into town to get dinner and then slept on the couch in the lounge. That's one of the unique things that makes general aviation so great.
 
Are there airports with camping on or adjacent to airports, not counting special events?
 
MooneyDriver78 said:
Are there airports with camping on or adjacent to airports, not counting special events?
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Some, not many. But many small airports don't care if you stretch a sleeping bag under the wing, I've done it a number of times.
 
My only problem with it is that a few times Leslie and I wanted to eat a brown-bag lunch (to save a few bucks) on a cross country, but there was someone sleeping in the pilots lounge, and they groaned and turned over when we talked or laughed. There was no other convenient place for us to eat and flight plan. But that was during the day. I doubt there would be much problem overnight.
 
I have slept in a few FBO lounges. Not on purpose. And I use the word slept loosely.

For a planned overnight I would rather set up camp under a wing. Then again, I have been to some very spooky rural airports at night.
 
Shepherd said:
I wish I had taken pictures of every FBO where I've had to sleep in my life. It would make a nice coffee table book.
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:yeahthat:

I've done it so many times over the decades, don't want to admit it.
 
Lndwarrior said:
Why? Not sure of your point.
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So lets say that you decide to sleep in the pilots lounge instead of a hotel. You get there at a normal time, set up your little camp, and hit the sack. Then at midnight someone lands there because of bad weather, and because of the time of night, they can't get to a hotel. Where are they going to sleep? Since you're planning these stops well in advance, you have the luxury of reserving a hotel. The unlucky person that lands at that airport doesn't have that option, and now they have no where to try to sleep.

There are also plenty of professional pilots that use the lounge to pass time between their flights. You comfortable with trying to sleep between two guys watching fox news and talking about the game last night?
 
MBDiagMan said:
That’s what it’s there for. They encourage you to sleep there as opposed to making a bad decision and fly in bad weather.
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The purpose of the pilot lounges is a place to allow pilots to relax while their passengers are conducting their activities in the area or during weather delays. Most FBOs have a negotiated crew rate at local motels for overnight stays. There are some FBOs that allow pilots to overnight due to weather or when local accommodations aren’t available.

Asking an FBO to stay in their building overnight in lieu of a hotel room is not going to be permitted at most locations and honestly I don’t know why anyone would really want to. You sure aren’t going to be well rested sleep in a chair or couch for the next day. If you really want to stay overnight at an airport, there are many that allow overnight camping.
 
There are some FBOs that have quiet areas for the pilots that want to take a nap in a cheap recliner.

I have seen some FBOs that have a couple small rooms with a single bed, a reading light and an alarm clock. Usually found at bigger airports.
 
GRG55 said:
I've done it so many times over the decades, don't want to admit it.
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Yep, me too. The last one I slept in had the rotating beacon on top of the terminal... made for some nice background noise to put me to sleep! It was also nice watching it light up the fog, which is why I was there in the first place.

The only thing I'll say to someone planning to use terminals to sleep in, even ones they've visited in the past, is make sure it's open. Quite a few terminals I visit are now closed due to COVID. My local airport closed the terminal and made the courtesy car unavailable.
 
Every place is different, so if there is a human to talk to and ask, I do that first.

If I'm carrying a tent and a sleeping bag (which I am most of the time, as part of the survival gear), I'll first ask if there's an out-of-the-way place to pitch the tent for the night, figuring it'll be less disturbing of others. Responses will vary, from:
"Not really... but I can help book you a hotel."
"Not really... but you can sleep in the pilot's lounge if you want."
"Sure, I suppose... behind that hangar over there is fine."
"Sure, we've got a full-service campground with restrooms and electricity and..."
"Are you kidding me? It's supposed to rain tonight! Use the couch in the pilots' lounge, it'll be warm and dry!"

I've slept in a lot of odd places at airports. I think of it as part of the adventure.

@Lndwarrior whereabouts are you going to be traveling? Will you have camping gear? I'm sure people could recommend good places with cheap overnight options.
 
Clip4 said:
The purpose of the pilot lounges is a place to allow pilots to relax while their passengers are conducting their activities in the area or during weather delays. Most FBOs have a negotiated crew rate at local motels for overnight stays. There are some FBOs that allow pilots to overnight due to weather or when local accommodations aren’t available.

Asking an FBO to stay in their building overnight in lieu of a hotel room is not going to be permitted at most locations and honestly I don’t know why anyone would really want to. You sure aren’t going to be well rested sleep in a chair or couch for the next day. If you really want to stay overnight at an airport, there are many that allow overnight camping.
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Well, down here there’s this thing called Southern Hospitality.
 
Groundpounder said:
So lets say that you decide to sleep in the pilots lounge instead of a hotel. You get there at a normal time, set up your little camp, and hit the sack. Then at midnight someone lands there because of bad weather, and because of the time of night, they can't get to a hotel. Where are they going to sleep? Since you're planning these stops well in advance, you have the luxury of reserving a hotel. The unlucky person that lands at that airport doesn't have that option, and now they have no where to try to sleep.

There are also plenty of professional pilots that use the lounge to pass time between their flights. You comfortable with trying to sleep between two guys watching fox news and talking about the game last night?
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Well since you’re a guest, I would think that this is the chance you have to take. Complaint to the manager where you’re curling up fo free doesn’t seem polite.
 
Lndwarrior said:
A lot of small airports have unoccupied pilots lounges. Is it ok to sleep overnight in them?

I'm not sure if this is understood as a no-no, or if people sleep overnight in them when possible?

Planning a month long trip as we economical as possible and want to know if this is even an option.
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Just ask them. I have slept in hangars and under my wing at my tie down, too.
 
Bunches of you seem to think there is a problem with sleeping in an FBO.
You must never fly more than 20 miles from some big city.
Do you have any idea how many hundreds, maybe thousands of airports aren't within an hour of a hotel? How many don't have crew cars? How many don't even have a diner or restaurant within driving distance, much less walking distance?
Seriously, you need to get out in the boonies more often.
 
Shepherd said:
Bunches of you seem to think there is a problem with sleeping in an FBO.
You must never fly more than 20 miles from some big city.
Do you have any idea how many hundreds, maybe thousands of airports aren't within an hour of a hotel? How many don't have crew cars? How many don't even have a diner or restaurant within driving distance, much less walking distance?
Seriously, you need to get out in the boonies more often.
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Been to many of them. I try not to plan my overnights there.
 
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Gotta remember not all FBOs are 24 hour operations. They might not want to or be allowed to have someone staying there without an employee around.
 
Perhaps you need a refresher on what "fitted sheet" means. :D
 
Shepherd said:
Bunches of you seem to think there is a problem with sleeping in an FBO.
You must never fly more than 20 miles from some big city.
Do you have any idea how many hundreds, maybe thousands of airports aren't within an hour of a hotel? How many don't have crew cars? How many don't even have a diner or restaurant within driving distance, much less walking distance?
Seriously, you need to get out in the boonies more often.
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Bid difference between getting stuck somewhere like this and having to crash out on the couch and planning for this to be your layover.
 
I've slept in FBO lounges twice. Both were due to unexpected late night arrivals and the need to get some sleep before departing in the morning. They were actually both in bigger cities, but quite late at night (early morning) and due to significant weather-related changes to plans. In those situations, it made more sense to camp out at these 24 hour FBOs than to try and hobble into a hotel and lose more sleep. I wouldn't plan to use one in lieu of a hotel on a planned stop, but I wouldn't hesitate to give consideration to their existence when considering my options on a long cross country.

Lndwarrior said:
A lot of small airports have unoccupied pilots lounges. Is it ok to sleep overnight in them?

I'm not sure if this is understood as a no-no, or if people sleep overnight in them when possible?

Planning a month long trip as we economical as possible and want to know if this is even an option.
Click to expand...

It is fine to sleep in them - they are there for a reason. Just think about WHY you are using them and why they are there. They are more for pilots who need some rest because they are sitting at the airport for some exceptional reason, not because they have decided to just save a few bucks.

Groundpounder said:
So lets say that you decide to sleep in the pilots lounge instead of a hotel. You get there at a normal time, set up your little camp, and hit the sack. Then at midnight someone lands there because of bad weather, and because of the time of night, they can't get to a hotel. Where are they going to sleep? Since you're planning these stops well in advance, you have the luxury of reserving a hotel. The unlucky person that lands at that airport doesn't have that option, and now they have no where to try to sleep.

There are also plenty of professional pilots that use the lounge to pass time between their flights. You comfortable with trying to sleep between two guys watching fox news and talking about the game last night?
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I'd draw the line at Fox News :p

I tend to agree with the rest of this though.
 
Never done it but I’ve seen people waking up in the am at FBOs before. My wife wouldn’t sleep a minute but I’d do it in a second. I certainly don’t mind if the FBO doesn’t. Not a clue why somebody would say don’t do it for savings. This hobby is expensive enough. I’m not judging you. I’ve read the “whys” but find them weak.
 
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