Transient or FBO?

A

Adamoh

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Adamoh
So during my training whenever my cfi and I landed at another airport we never turned off the plane. Or if I had a solo xc I landed and taxied back to the runway. Now that I have my ticket I want to actually explore the airport i land on. However what I need clarification on is whether to use an FBO or transient parking. Say Santa Barbara for example when I land do I request transient or will an FBO make me park with them? And what are the fees like? I heard the fee gets waived if you refuel but what if I don't need to. The plan is to fly to the airport get an uber to take us to to a beach then come back to the plane about 2 hours later I just wouldn't know what to request once I land.
 
You'll park at the FBO. Have to do some research. I usually look at the airport diagram to see where the parking locations are. Look on airnav.com which usually has the location of the FBOs on their website. Everything else...call the FBO and ask.
 
Gucci Pilot said:
You'll park at the FBO. Have to do some research. I usually look at the airport diagram to see where the parking locations are. Look on airnav.com which usually has the location of the FBOs on their website. Everything else...call the FBO and ask.
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I see so pretty much just always expect a fee haha
 
Adamoh said:
I see so pretty much just always expect a fee haha
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Flying into airports like Santa Barbara all the time? Yes.

Like I said, just call and ask. They will tell you if they waive the fees for a certain amount of fuel purchased. Or the comments section on airnav usually has people posting the fees of different FBOs.
 
Small airports tend not to charge. Also, if you buy fuel, they may waive the parking fee. Don't be stingy with buying fuel if you are going to park your plane. Its a trade, fuel for parking.
 
Adamoh said:
Say Santa Barbara for example.
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If you are going to SBA, there is no transient parking other than the FBOs. If you want to go to the beach, park at Atlantic and the beach is a 5 minute walk on good footpaths. Call ahead for parking rates and fuel uploads to waive the fees. It may be as little as 7 gallons.
 
I park in transient whenever it's available. Places like SBA, it's not an option, but many airports have a transient area that's free unless you stay overnight. Off the top of my head, in SoCal you have CRQ, MYF, SEE, SMO, FUL, WHP, CNO, POC, F70, CMA, all with places to park for a few hours for free. I'm sure there are others as well, but those are just the ones I've been to and remember for sure.
 
Having a small plane ,I can't always take the required fuel to waive the fee. If you ask for a top off they will usually waive the fee even if you are short of the minimum. I like to use air nav before going into a new airport.
 
If you want to go to the beach in that neck of the woods, consider Oceano rather than Santa Barbara. MUCH more low key, and a lot cheaper. Class C's tend to be pricey. Class G's, not nearly so much.
 
What they said. You don't have to park with an FBO if they have transient parking, but lots of places don't have that option. Also beyond using airnav and of course calling the FBO and asking, Google maps/Earth is a great reference for getting a picture of the layout and understanding where the parking areas are, self serve fuel pumps, etc. The smaller airports I typically prefer don't usually have an airport diagram anyway so it's a necessity if I want to have an idea where I'm going after I land.
 
If you are renting. Keep the fuel receipt and turn it in with the keys for reimbursement.
 
Yup, you can park away from the FBO, in transient parking, if you like.
Sometimes it is funny to watch multiple golf-carts racing to you from different FBOs to "welcome" you to the airport and THEIR FBO ... to make you pay their fee. Careful. :)
 
Auburn2002 said:
What they said. You don't have to park with an FBO if they have transient parking, but lots of places don't have that option. Also beyond using airnav and of course calling the FBO and asking, Google maps/Earth is a great reference for getting a picture of the layout and understanding where the parking areas are, self serve fuel pumps, etc. The smaller airports I typically prefer don't usually have an airport diagram anyway so it's a necessity if I want to have an idea where I'm going after I land.
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When they don't have an airport diagrams is when Google Maps comes in handy. I can usually zoom in close enough to get the layout of the place...:)
 
StinkBug said:
I park in transient whenever it's available. Places like SBA, it's not an option, but many airports have a transient area that's free unless you stay overnight. Off the top of my head, in SoCal you have CRQ, MYF, SEE, SMO, FUL, WHP, CNO, POC, F70, CMA, all with places to park for a few hours for free. I'm sure there are others as well, but those are just the ones I've been to and remember for sure.
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TOA is free too.

You might be able to park for free at SMO but there is the $15 landing fee.

From what I hear, they have a good restaurant there.
 
How does one identify transient parking areas?
 
Twin_Flyer said:
When they don't have an airport diagrams is when Google Maps comes in handy. I can usually zoom in close enough to get the layout of the place...:)
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This happens to be the same technique some of the ACMI carriers have to resort to when flying cargo on the B744, etc to some remote strips out there that don't have Jeppesen 10-9 diagrams published.
 
FORANE said:
How does one identify transient parking areas?
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Sometimes they are on the airport diagram. Sometimes you have to go to Google Maps and look for "TRANSIENT" painted on the pavement (it's often either next to a terminal building or self service fuel pumps, but there are exceptions). Sometimes you have to use your psychic energy, or just fly there and ask the CTAF or Ground.

FBOs are not always unreasonable. Even at Oakland, I can park at Kaiser for a couple of hours to visit the air museum for free. It varies, though. At Monterey, you're paying the fee or fuel no matter what (and it's expensive fuel). At most (not all) Class D airports, there is free parking somewhere -- e.g., Jet Center at Santa Rosa. If you aren't paying for anything at an FBO, it's good manners to minimize your impact -- park out of the way, don't eat the snacks, etc. If the fuel is less than your wet rental allowance, buy some (and consider it if it isn't too expensive), so the FBO can continue to be nice to people. You'll find that good ones will give you water, cookies, snacks, nice bathrooms, maybe even a crew car. Don't freeload those.
 
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ircphoenix said:
"Request taxi to transient."

Real airports have towers. =D *ducks*
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ok sure, but how does one determine if transient is even an option?
I have 1000+ hours and almost all has been cross country to many different fields small to large yet somehow I remain unfamiliar with transient.

edit to acknowledge I was typing as MAKG1 has answered this question.
 
Well if they have transient, they'll tell you where to go.

If they don't, then you request to go back to the hold short and fly somewhere that does. =D

Sorry. I'm being intentionally obtuse over here just because being a smart @** makes me happy inside.

I fly in a populated area, and the majority of my travel is to towered airports with transient parking, so I'm super spoiled. But to find out where the transient parking is, I will do what other people suggest, go to AirNav or SkyVector, then call whichever number I can find to ask ahead of time.
 
Count me in as one of those not familiar with transient parking at airports with FBO's.
 
ircphoenix said:
TOA is free too.

You might be able to park for free at SMO but there is the $15 landing fee.

From what I hear, they have a good restaurant there.
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It's not $15. It's based on weight, and for my Mooney it's a little under $11. Cheaper than most of the SoCal FBOs, but yes I did forget about the landing fee.

FORANE said:
ok sure, but how does one determine if transient is even an option?
I have 1000+ hours and almost all has been cross country to many different fields small to large yet somehow I remain unfamiliar with transient.
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I'm really surprised nobody has said this, but call the number listed under "airport manager" in the AFD. I've done that a bunch of times to find out about new fields, overnight fees, parking, etc. Part of their job is to provide information about the airport to pilots using it, and all of the ones I've talked to were friendly and helpful.
 
I wasn't the only one unfamiliar! Lol
I ended up paying 40 dollars to park with Atlantic aviation at sba. Their black bike sucks btw!!
 
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