Parking pigs

[I_Drive_Planes]

Some signage at airports for parking spots wouldnt be a bad thing when there is no lineman.
How about a no parking sign if you dont want someone to use your spot.

Amen! I've spent a lot of time driving around airports like a bobble head trying to figure out where to park because airport management can't be bothered to but up a sign that says "Transient Parking". I definitely make an effort to try and park where it won't inconvenience anyone, but if there's no signage and no one to tell me where to go then the airplane gets parked where it gets parked. If you have a very special stall and will be horribly offended if I park there then put up a bloody sign!

[Big Pistons Forever]

There is a flip side to this. That is a local operators that appropriate a public ramp for their own use and then shoo out transients even though they have ever right to be there.

[Shiny Side Up]

We actually had some signs that we put out when we didn't want transient pilots to be parking in spaces. I say "had" because they all got wrecked being run over by transient pilots... You couldn't make them big enough. Once we encircled one area that we needed to be kept clear with three foot high dayglo orange pylons. An idiot run the pylons over to abandon his airplane there. Then complained that he struck one with his prop.... Didn't stop him from leaving later though. Then we've painted markings on the asphalt for any of the reserved spots, but those regularly get ignored.

I should note that the CFS does require PPR for coming here, but that gets ignored by at least three quarters of the arrivals. PPR I try to remind people is so we can inform you of where to park since there is little room for transient parking, and its usually ignored by pilots since its a bit farther to the parking lot. Them heavy flight bags you know...

[Redneck_pilot86]

There is a flip side to this. That is a local operators that appropriate a public ramp for their own use and then shoo out transients even though they have ever right to be there.

There is some truth to this, which I admit. My aircraft are parked on a public ramp, and if some transient aircraft parks in the spots I claim, while I am away flying, there is nothing I can do about it. I try to ask pilots to park elsewhere (there is lots of room) as I am moving around an awful lot more than the acerage tourist and despite my best efforts, you're airplane is probably going to receive some prop blast as I come and go. I use these specific spots as one of my aircraft is a larger twin and needs the space, and it is closest to our storage shed where all the seats and scale and all the essentials are stored when not in use. This shed is on land that I pay rent for, adjacent to the public apron so its annoying when I have to work around some transient aircraft that parked in front of it. I'm not going out of my way to damage your aircraft, but with the significantly increased traffic around my operation vs the rest of the ramp, the chances of an incident are higher. I'll try and be polite and understanding with you when you come in and don't know where to go, but if you come in and just assume that the tie downs and chocks that are lying on the empty spot between two identically painted aircraft have been generously provided for your use, and proceed to use them instead of your own, I will assume you are an asshole, and take them back, leaving your airplane untied and unchocked, because obviously you don't care about it enough to provide your own. As someone stated above, I am not going to leave my airplane unsecured because you decided to use my equipment and bugger off into town.
The other day, I had a guy taxi up while I was working elsewhere, used my stuff to tie his airplane down. I noticed this before he left, so asked him if he wouldn't mind using his own equipment as I needed mine. He was an absolute prick about it, angrily told both myself and one of my rampies that we should have told him sooner so he didn't have to tie his machine down twice, and then refused to talk anymore. This was in the tiedown slot closest to my ramp shed. I didn't feel it was worth the hassle of asking this guy to move, so I left that alone, and after he left I noticed that he had forgotten a banana peel and can of tuna on his wing. Now normally, I would be the nice guy and just toss this in the garbage for you, but this guy was a real prick so I left it there. Lets just say that banana peels and tun fish don't mix well in a ravens digestive track, and their shit tends to be quite waterry and flow all over the wing. Karma is a bitch. Just remember when you are passing through, that group of company airplanes on the ramp is operated by the guys that are most likely to be in a position to stop any problems before they occur or before they get out of hand, while you are off playing tourist in town. Try not to be a prick.
There have been several occasions where I have adjusted chocks or tie downs that were beginning to work loose in a weird wind or something, or boosted batteries, or put air in tires...but I might just be too busy to help if you've been rude.

[Illya Kuryakin]

A big thank you to a certain yellow Caravan in YPM today for demonstrating to several of us, the worst parking/unparking and general total abuse of common sense many have witnessed in years. It was entertaining though.
Illya

[cdnpilot77]

Soooo, you got to spend another day in PIK? . Was it as entertaining as watching a front end loader try to rip the nose gear off of a sunken 1900 in Pik after the full power attempts to unsink themselves (props mere inches from the gravel)?

[TeePeeCreeper]

A big thank you to a certain yellow Caravan in YPM today for demonstrating to several of us, the worst parking/unparking and general total abuse of common sense many have witnessed in years. It was entertaining though.
Illya

Let me guess... Still painted in its old DHL colours? Well over 25,000 hours on the old gal by now I would guess....
Was she loaded with pop and bulked out with old Dutch chips and pampers?

Common Illya, give this poor pilot a break, as he/she is performing an essential service for YPM's community!!!

All the best,
TPC