FBOs

It occurred to me the other day that I always talk about FBOs, but having never shown anyone what one looks like, it may be hard to visualize. Again, an FBO is a Fixed base operator (From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

In the aviation industry, a fixed base operator (also known as fixed base of operation), or FBO, is a service center at an airport that may be a private enterprise or may be a department of the municipality that the airport serves. At a minimum, most FBOs offer aircraft fuel, oil, and parking, along with access to washrooms and telephones. Some FBOs offer additional aircraft services such as hangar (indoor) storage, maintenance, aircraft charter or rental, flight training, deicing, and ground services such as towing and baggage handling. FBOs may also offer services not directly related to the aircraft, such as rental cars, lounges, and hotel reservations. Entire article at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fixed_base_operator (it's pretty interesting actually).

At my job we visit these FBOs regularly. Depending on the time of day, or how large their operation is, determines how many people are on duty. Some of the

better ones meet you at the door asking you what your tail number is and what services you need. At this particular FBO, we have asked for our airplane to be towed around so that we could prep it for the day's flight. You can see the airplane through the window in these pictures (and the sun coming up through the clouds - which is why the inside of the building appears so dark). The people at the desk ring up our bill and direct the line personnel to fuel our aircraft, get newspapers, ice (for the passengers' drinks) and coffee, and anything else we need. This particular morning we didn't have to leave for a while, so we got our breakfast and enjoyed it in the pilot lounge. When it was time to leave, the line personnel marshalled us out of our parking space and off the ramp to the taxiway!