Upsetting Fuel Bill

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kyleb

Final Approach
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Drake the Outlaw
Flew over to CTJ today for fuel. <$4/gallon and I needed <25 gallons.

When the automated pump spit out the receipt, I reached into the little slot, grabbed it and was stunned by the amount. $478 or thereabouts.

Then I saw the OTHER receipt behind the first one. $72 or some such.

The first bill must have belonged to the guy in the 310R that was at the pumps when I pulled up, but it sure had my attention for a moment! I was already planning a frontal assault on the FBO...
 
Soon as I read it I knew it was another plane. Bet it did though! ;)
 
Fearless Tower said:
In some ways, I miss the days when $478 was a 'big' fuel bill.
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:yeahthat:

177 gal usable in my case.

But mine is no where near as cool an airplane as the 18 (nor, apparently, as cool as a Beech Duke either).
 
I smiled every time I filled up my Fisher's 8 gallon tank, which gave me 4 hours of flying... :)
 
Fearless Tower said:
In mine, it's 318 gallons if you fill all 6 tanks.
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I think my Citation held 730 or so, that one could bring tears to your eyes!! It makes you a smart fuel shopper on long trips! I only filled it up a few times for really long trips, Vegas to Atlanta, Atlanta to San Juan PR come to mind.
 
N747JB said:
I think my Citation held 730 or so, that one could bring tears to your eyes!! It makes you a smart fuel shopper on long trips! I only filled it up a few times for really long trips, Vegas to Atlanta, Atlanta to San Juan PR come to mind.
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I'm fortunate. I get to fly right seat in a Bravo and don't have to see the fuel bills!
 
Couple of years ago I was volunteering at an Airshow and we had a B-52 up from Barksdale. After show close Sunday we noticed the FBO tankers were shuttling back and forth. At the after party we were chatting up the crew and one of them pulled out an Uncle Sam Visa receipt for $79,000.00
 
GRG55 said:
Couple of years ago I was volunteering at an Airshow and we had a B-52 up from Barksdale. After show close Sunday we noticed the FBO tankers were shuttling back and forth. At the after party we were chatting up the crew and one of them pulled out an Uncle Sam Visa receipt for $79,000.00
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:yikes:, I feel better... 183 gallons ain't that bad... Whew!!!:goofy:
 
Us Govt has special fuel cards. A lot of FBOs are annoyed by them since they can't be kept "on file." Uncle Sam's credit card number is a state secret.
 
I'm new to Twin ownership, but I'm quickly learning that I have to pay attention to fuel prices, since I'm buying 2x what I used to buy...
 
rocketflyer84 said:
Us Govt has special fuel cards. A lot of FBOs are annoyed by them since they can't be kept "on file." Uncle Sam's credit card number is a state secret.
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For a fuel sale of that magnitude I'm sure they can get over their annoyance :D
 
bradg33 said:
I'm new to Twin ownership, but I'm quickly learning that I have to pay attention to fuel prices, since I'm buying 2x what I used to buy...
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And you're not going 2x as fast for the indignity either, double ouch.
 
GRG55 said:
For a fuel sale of that magnitude I'm sure they can get over their annoyance :D
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If I was an FBO and a BUFF parked outside, I'd bust out the old roller-slide card machines with the carbon copy paper, and dial-up modem. I'd be set for the year with one fuel sale. :D

We seldom took the Buff to civilian fields, but the one time I did take it to an airshow, yeah the fuel bill was hilarious. They don't list the price, but the gallons field showed 20,000 gallons. And that's a light load for CONUS puddle-jumping.
 
bradg33 said:
I'm new to Twin ownership, but I'm quickly learning that I have to pay attention to fuel prices, since I'm buying 2x what I used to buy...
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And leaning. I like to get up to 10,000 plus/minus and lean much more aggressively than I normally did in my singles, which were generally flown at lower altitudes. The difference is noticeable with two engines drinking the blue stuff.
 
hindsight2020 said:
If I was an FBO and a BUFF parked outside, I'd bust out the old roller-slide card machines with the carbon copy paper, and dial-up modem. I'd be set for the year with one fuel sale. :D
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:yeahthat:

LOL. That was exactly what that crew member pulled from his pocket. His copy of one of those three part carbon receipts from the roller-slide machine.
 
hindsight2020 said:
And you're not going 2x as fast for the indignity either, double ouch.
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I may not be going 2x as fast, but I'm so much more comfortable. My TBone has a 54" wide cabin with a bench seat. I can take a little longer flight when it's in Cadillac-like comfort.
 
GRG55 said:
And leaning. I like to get up to 10,000 plus/minus and lean much more aggressively than I normally did in my singles, which were generally flown at lower altitudes. The difference is noticeable with two engines drinking the blue stuff.
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I'm still trying to get a handle on my fuel burn. The plane has "automatic" mixture controls, so you're not supposed to lean manually. But I understand many do, at least a little bit.
 
GRG55 said:
For a fuel sale of that magnitude I'm sure they can get over their annoyance :D
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FBO was complaing mostly re CAPs guys and their 172s. For a bomber I'm sure they're thrilled.
 
Don't like it when the printer doesnt work. No receipt.

Sometimes they double bill. Can get it reversed but still...
 
Many years ago when unleaded gas was $1/gal, I got a call from my credit card company after returning home from a motorcycle trip. They wanted to verify a $300 purchase made at an automated fuel pump in Yuma. My best guess from my memory of the trip was that the pump was acting like it didn't take my card, so I pulled forward to the next pump, filled my 5-gallon tank, and drove off... And then a Winnebago pulled in behind me and filled up, maybe or maybe not noticing that my card had finally gone through at the first pump and thus got charged to fill his 300-gallon tank.

Since then, I always check the receipt. The possibility of a B-52 or even a Citation filling up on my dime is small but still to be avoided.

A Beech 18 or Twin Bonanza would never get away with it because, if one of those came up behind me at the pump, I would talk to the owner so much that he gets annoyed and flies elsewhere to gas up.
 
iamtheari said:
... A Beech 18 or Twin Bonanza would never get away with it because, if one of those came up behind me at the pump, I would talk to the owner so much that he gets annoyed and flies elsewhere to gas up.
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:yikes:, I'm so hurt...:cryin:
 
Fearless Tower said:
In mine, it's 318 gallons if you fill all 6 tanks.
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Yikes! And I thought flying a T-28A was thirsty with 177 gallons. It's gonna get worse though, we're upgrading to a big engine D, so that 177 will go a wee bit quicker...
 
bradg33 said:
I may not be going 2x as fast, but I'm so much more comfortable. My TBone has a 54" wide cabin with a bench seat. I can take a little longer flight when it's in Cadillac-like comfort.
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Exactly. It's about trade offs. I lost 25 kts while increasing my fuel burn by 20 gph when I went to the Beech 18 from the Baron, but it's so damn fun to fly and you can literally stand up in the cabin and walk around. Kids and wife can use the potty. I may be going slower, but I can do 4 hour legs now. Could never get away with that in a Baron.
 
...and while Barons are cool, showing up in an 18 really turns heads!
 
I know the trend is for airlines to charge extra for everything nowadays, but charging extra to sit INSIDE the aircraft seems a bit extreme...
 
Last night I left lax with 42000 lbs on board, glad I was not paying for it.

Bob
 
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