Where to park

azpilot

azpilot

Line Up and Wait
Joined
Jul 27, 2015
Messages
821
Display Name
Display name:
azpilot
When you fly into an airport you are unfamiliar with, how do you know where to park? I know where to park at my home airport, because I rent an airplane, and I just put the airplane back where I picked it up from. The only airports I have actually landed at, and then got out of the airplane and walked around were small sleepy non-towered airports.

So, if you come into a busy(ish) airport, and ground clears you to the ramp, how do you know where to go to park? I am sure there are designated temporary places to park an airplane, but how do you know where they are? Do I need to call up the FBO?

It's funny that you spend all this time learning how to fly an airplane, and learning about airport operations, but then it will be the simplest thing that you don't know how to do. Where do I park?
 
Often someone from the FBO will come out and direct you. If not, you can certainly ask on the UNICOM. Generally, if I'm only going to be there shortly, I just park somewhere that doesn't look like it's in the way. For longer, I'll ask inside where I should leave the plane.
 
That was my biggest concern once I got my license and started wanting to go on cross countries. The best way I've found to avoid confusion when you land is to call up the FBO before you depart and ask where their transient parking is. You can also just ask ground where parking is, they will graciously point you in the right direction.
 
Calling an on field FBO is what I usually do. They can advise parking. Sometimes I've been able to get hangared as well.

In 1984 I was flying a brand new T210 from the factory. I landed in Havre, MT due to thunderstorms. Since hail was forecast a local crop duster was able to squeeze the new 210 into his hangar. It was a good thing because the hail storm that followed a few hours later was incredible & I avoided possible damage to the new plane.

If there are multiple FBO's I pick one to call randomly & they've always been very helpful with parking suggestions.

Good question.
 
That is part of your preflight planning...when going into a new airport and just need parking, I will call the airport # listed on Airnav.com and ask if they have transient parking...if not, you can look up one of the FBO's on the field (also on Airnav) and ask them.

Often times at municipal airports there is transient parking that is not a part of an FBO and can be the cheapest, so the airport manager is who I call first to inquire.

When landing not knowing what my options are I will ask Ground if there is transient parking and they will let ya know or tell ya if there is an FBO. At an uncontrolled field ask on Unicom.

Make sure you understand what is transient parking and what is not. I had some jackwaggon park in my paid tiedown spot after returning from a trip thinking it was transient parking. Took a bit to track him down and get him to move.
 
if you announce yourself as 'cirrus N12345' you can pretty much park wherever the F you want to. sht, park on a taxiway if u want, the other shlubs will just have to work their way around you.

but yeah, you can either ask or a lot of places have a 'follow me' golf cart. other places ask how long you'll be staying so they can assign parking based on that.
 
Shawn said:
I had some jackwaggon park in my paid tiedown spot after returning from a trip thinking it was transient parking. Took a bit to track him down and get him to move.
Click to expand...

I really want to avoid being THAT guy. How do you tell the difference between a transient parking spot and a paid tiedown spot at an unfamiliar airport?
 
azpilot said:
When you fly into an airport you are unfamiliar with, how do you know where to park? I know where to park at my home airport, because I rent an airplane, and I just put the airplane back where I picked it up from. The only airports I have actually landed at, and then got out of the airplane and walked around were small sleepy non-towered airports.

So, if you come into a busy(ish) airport, and ground clears you to the ramp, how do you know where to go to park? I am sure there are designated temporary places to park an airplane, but how do you know where they are? Do I need to call up the FBO?

It's funny that you spend all this time learning how to fly an airplane, and learning about airport operations, but then it will be the simplest thing that you don't know how to do. Where do I park?
Click to expand...
ground cntrl will ask you where you intend to park. just tell them when asked. if you're not sure how to get there ask for "progressive taxi instructions".
 
Check air nav for listing of FBOs,if at a towered field ,declare you are unfamiliar,they will direct you to the FBO of your choice.
 
As others have said part of pre flight planning take a look on airnav foreflight etc see the FBO's look at their parking or fuel prices, maybe even give them a heads up your coming.

As an instructor when I was doing cross countries with my students I always told them we are going to stop and get gas, in doing this I reminded to properly plan how to get it, it was a always a valuable lesson in how every flight ends when the plane is parked and tied down.

Even now flying my bird if it's a new airport I always look at the FBO where I'm going to park and know its location on the field so I know which runway is best and which way to turn off the runway
 
This had been one of my big questions before doing my first real cross country trip in the US, especially that I trained on another continent. In the end it turned out not to be a real issue. I checked up on AirNav and other websites before each leg. If there was any doubt and an FBO available, I would just call them. At the end of my very first leg I had to divert to an unplanned airport. There I just asked the tower (so that I knew which direction to leave the runway) and they gave me instructions without any fuss.
 
Another thing I do is look at the satellite view on GoogleMaps. That will give you a general idea; row of planes is often tenants and groups of empty spaces is for transients. Doesn't work for all airports, but helps, especially so with those smaller airports with no airport diagram.
 
I struggle terribly with this. I try to land at as many airports as i can cause landing is the only fun thing about flying(mostly lol). I never know where to park about half don't even have "spaces" its just tarmac. No ones ever around to ask so I end up taking "rockstar" parking up front while I get lunch. IDK what would be so hard to draw spots on the ground and put a transient label on it.
 
If the airport has more than one FBO, Ground can't pick on for you. Too many times I've heard this conversation, "Cessna xxx, where are you parking?", "Cessnna xxx, uhhh, at the FBO?", "Which one?", "There's more than one?", "Yeah, which one do you want?", "Which one is cheapest?", "Which one do you want?", "Which one's closest?", and so on.
 
Look for the fuel sign. Should be close to that. Maybe. :(:)
 
If it is a small, single runway airport, I can usually tell where the transients park pretty easy. If it is a bigger airport, a phone(to call the FBO) and google maps are your friend.
 
I call FBO and ask where to park, is there a landing fee for my plane, any ramp fees. They will then know when to expect you and often someone is there to tell you where to park. Then You also won't be surprised when leaving or a few weeks later with unexpected bill.
 
eman1200 said:
if you announce yourself as 'cirrus N12345' you can pretty much park wherever the F you want to. sht, park on a taxiway if u want, the other shlubs will just have to work their way around you.

...
Click to expand...

It's okay. The rest of us know that when a Cirrus touches down and the canopy collapses it's a bit difficult to easily move it anywhere else.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top