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Your Own Fueling Operation

D

David Paule

Well Known Member
Since a number of you are planning to fuel your own plane with your own equipment, this might be of interest. These are the rules for doing it at my home airport, KLMO, Longmont, CO.

Perhaps if your local authorities are hassling you, you can offer this to them as a means of approving it.

The rules are, paraphrasing a bit,

1. You need a permit, which the airport manager provides.

2. You'll have to give the manager a complete description of the operation and your equipment.

3. You'll need to follow the National Fire Prevention Association manual, Standard 407, Standard for Aircraft Fuel Servicing. The airport manager can give you this.

4. If you spill fuel or cause a hazardous condition, you've got to tell the manager. And you're responsible for paying clean-up costs.

5. You need to have a 20-BC fire extinguisher on hand.

6. The city fire department or the airport manager have the authority to suspend operations if you're not in compliance.

7. You can only fuel your own aircraft or a rental. You can't sell fuel to someone else.

8. The city has a "fuel flowage fee" that the City Council sets, and you'll have to report the fuel you dispensed and pay the fee quarterly.

Dave
 
There's a much easier solution. Pull your plane out of the hangar, and fuel it by hand from 10-gallon containers that you take from the back of your car and return there when empty. Close your car when you're done. Don't ask permission, don't tell anyone you're doing it, and don't make a scene about it. In other words, stay under the radar.

All assuming, of course, that you don't have some blatantly obvious signage, or a rental contract, that explicitly states such activities are verboten, of course...
 
I worry more about static electricity sparks. A friend carries fuel in a plastic can to his plane and pours it in. Metal cans are outta sight expensive any more, but without a metal can and a ground wire, I just don't feel safe. Am I being overly cautious?
 
David Paule said:
Since a number of you are planning to fuel your own plane with your own equipment, this might be of interest. These are the rules for doing it at my home airport, KLMO, Longmont, CO.

Perhaps if your local authorities are hassling you, you can offer this to them as a means of approving it.

The rules are, paraphrasing a bit,

1. You need a permit, which the airport manager provides.

2. You'll have to give the manager a complete description of the operation and your equipment.

3. You'll need to follow the National Fire Prevention Association manual, Standard 407, Standard for Aircraft Fuel Servicing. The airport manager can give you this.

4. If you spill fuel or cause a hazardous condition, you've got to tell the manager. And you're responsible for paying clean-up costs.

5. You need to have a 20-BC fire extinguisher on hand.

6. The city fire department or the airport manager have the authority to suspend operations if you're not in compliance.

7. You can only fuel your own aircraft or a rental. You can't sell fuel to someone else.

8. The city has a "fuel flowage fee" that the City Council sets, and you'll have to report the fuel you dispensed and pay the fee quarterly.

Dave
Click to expand...

Does the airport get federal funds? If so you may want to look at FAA Advisory Circular 150/5190-6.
 
JHines said:
Does the airport get federal funds? If so you may want to look at FAA Advisory Circular 150/5190-6.
Click to expand...

I bet the Federal Advisory Circular does not over-ride this one...

National Fire Prevention Association manual, Standard 407, Standard for Aircraft Fuel Servicing

It probably even calls it out...:)
 
Too many rules. Be fire safe and responsible, but forget those rules. Our airport wanted us to report any spill, even if it was a couple of drops, to them and call the fire department. We pointed out that it is a crime to call 911 for non emergency situations. This is the last we heard.
 
JHines said:
Does the airport get federal funds? If so you may want to look at FAA Advisory Circular 150/5190-6.
Click to expand...

This AC says that the airport can establish reasonable rules. I don't have an issue with these. In fact, I posted them so that if someone has encountered difficulty getting their local authorities off their back, they could point to these as both a precedent and a potential path for approval.
 
David Paule said:
This AC says that the airport can establish reasonable rules. I don't have an issue with these. In fact, I posted them so that if someone has encountered difficulty getting their local authorities off their back, they could point to these as both a precedent and a potential path for approval.
Click to expand...

I don't disagree with safety rules. Just pointing out that the AC does in fact require reasonable rules.

I was more addressing the "flowage" fee - what's the rationale for that? If it's basically just a tax imposed by the city, or a money grab by the airport authority, and the airport gets federal funds, the AC might control. Not to mention, if you've purchased the fuel outside the airport and brought it in, presumably you've already paid taxes on it.
 
I'd just fuel and not ask questions. Easier to get forgivness than to get permission.:) But then again, I still live in the dark ages. I haven't caught up to all the political correctness, "I have to have insurance for EVERYTHING," oh, I better get a permit for this, or what's the city going to say about this, blah..blah...blah.... The thing I've noticed, as a contractor for 30 years, and dealing with inspectors or any government official, is when you ask one of them questions, if they don't know the answer, they make up something. Then, it's off to the races for everybody to try to get in your pocket for a fee of some kind and a whole can of worms is opened.

Marshall Alexander
 
Flowage Fee

It's 6 cents per gallon, you track it and report it (on the honor system) and pay quarterly. The airport manager said that around here it runs 5 to 8 cents a gallon.

He said the city council reviews it every couple of years.
Dave
 
David Paule said:
It's 6 cents per gallon, you track it and report it (on the honor system) and pay quarterly. The airport manager said that around here it runs 5 to 8 cents a gallon.

He said the city council reviews it every couple of years.
Dave
Click to expand...
Hmmm, I wonder what issue of safety this is designed for? I am not sure I could tolerate that amount of tax or fee or whatever word you chose to call it.
 
RVbySDI said:
Hmmm, I wonder what issue of safety this is designed for? I am not sure I could tolerate that amount of tax or fee or whatever word you chose to call it.
Click to expand...

It pays for your use of the airport facilities.

No requirement for it to be safety-related - it is a separate fuel tax on top of the Federal and State taxes.

If you don't like it, then the local airport owning authority is the outfit to complain to...:)
 
az_gila said:
It pays for your use of the airport facilities.

No requirement for it to be safety-related - it is a separate fuel tax on top of the Federal and State taxes.

If you don't like it, then the local airport owning authority is the outfit to complain to...:)
Click to expand...
I hear you Gil. However, my thoughts are that if it is a public use airport that is federally funded then all of us should already be paying for the airport facilities through our federal taxes. This additional 6 cents per gallon becomes another additional tax added on top of an existing tax. I do not face this in my current situation but if I did it would be a an issue I would be hard pressed to accept.
 
David Paule said:
8. The city has a "fuel flowage fee" that the City Council sets, and you'll have to report the fuel you dispensed and pay the fee quarterly.

Dave
Click to expand...

Dave, I would ask to see the city's authority to impose a fuel tax. I'm obviously not from your state, but all fuel taxes ("flowage fee" is a tax) have to be approved by the state legislature. Giving each city in any state the authority to levy their own fuel tax would be chaos. Currently, there are state and federal taxes on fuel and sales tax.
 
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RVbySDI said:
I hear you Gil. However, my thoughts are that if it is a public use airport that is federally funded then all of us should already be paying for the airport facilities through our federal taxes. This additional 6 cents per gallon becomes another additional tax added on top of an existing tax. I do not face this in my current situation but if I did it would be a an issue I would be hard pressed to accept.
Click to expand...

It is only partially Federally funded...:)

Heck... the small fuelling operation at our Airpark averages $1500 - $2000 per year for maintenance (no labor component in that amount), with an extra $2000 this year for a new card reader system... We sell around 32,000 gallons per year, which would be under $2000 at a 6 cent fuel flowage fee.

We could easily call it a fee and and not a tax...:)
 
Personally, this isn't an issue for me. I buy 100LL at the FBO's pumps for my Cessna 180.

I just posted it because - heck, I've already explained it.

Still, for whatever it's worth, here's some history:

Back in the mid to late '80s, a buddy and I bought a van and installed two transfer tanks, 110 gallons each, with commercial filters, a good meter and a decent 12 V pump. We put some effort into it to make it reliable and get clean fuel. We'd fill it at the local cheap gas station (before ethanol) and drive it to the airport and fill our tanks.

After a few years we decided that it was costing us 50 cents per gallon to maintain the equipment, from insurance to replacement filters. At the time we hadn't asked permission, didn't pay any flowage fees (we would have happily paid the 6 cent a gallon fee to get the city to buy in to the deal) and had unleaded fuel available whenever we needed it.

The system was considerably safe and more sophisticated than some I've seen on VAF. It was nearly a commercial unit in a van.

We eventually quit and got rid of the system. It was too much trouble for the relatively small net savings, especially with car gas available here and there at airports. Besides a certain vulnerability because of being parked outside, neither of us ever got really comfortable with driving the van with a full load of fuel in cross-town traffic.

Dave
 
Hi David...

You 'gotta admit that you guys over there in Longmont have got it pretty good with regard to fuel pricing. You're usually within a nickel or so of the lowest price within HUNDREDS of miles.

Our fuel over in Loveland is about a dollar a gallon more expensive than Longmont. I wish our Jet Center had a little competition!
 
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