Training and Safety Tip: Be in the know about the FBO
As I pulled off the taxiway, I was greeted by an unusual sight: To my left was a guy in a yellow-green safety vest waving orange batons, trying to marshal me to a parking space.
What made this relatively routine scene unusual was the second person, wearing an orange safety vest—using identical batons—trying to marshal me into a different parking space.
You see, the airport had two competing vendors on the field keen to sell me gas and put my airplane up for the night. The dueling linemen worked for these competing fixed-base operators, FBOs for short, the keepers of fuel, parking, and other aeronautical services at public-use airports across the country.
Most also offer a variety of pilot-friendly amenities, such as a lounge for resting and flight planning, along with refreshments in the form of water, soda, coffee, popcorn, freshly baked chocolate chip cookies, and more—often free to pilots. (AOPA Pilot compiled a list of some of our favorite complimentary offerings in May 2022.) Some have full maintenance shops, while others have “line services” ranging from oxygen refills to catering.
A great number of FBOs also offer some sort of ground transportation to help you get into town for a bite of lunch or to a hotel for an overnight stay. Almost every FBO is small airplane-friendly, and even some out-of-the-way airports have awesome FBOs. But, of course, with an airplane, nowhere is truly out of the way. As you gain experience with FBOs you like, the availability of certain FBOs might even factor into your flight planning process.
By the way, the rather odd-sounding name for these vital airport oases dates to the dawn of civil aviation. In the post-World War I era, civilian aviation was largely a nomadic affair. For-hire pilots, instructors, and even mechanics traveled wherever the action was and, like birds, migrated with the seasons. The Air Commerce Act of 1926 established the first requirements for licensing pilots, and prompted aviation service providers to put down roots and begin calling themselves “fixed-base operators” to differentiate themselves from their more itinerant brethren, and the term stuck. Today, there are more than 3,000 FBOs nationwide.
