Airport Courtesy Cars Bridge Visitors' Mobility Gap

General Aviation aircraft are not only fun to fly, but (dare I say it?) PRACTICAL for personal and business travel. Yes, they are comparatively fast-enabling not only cross-country trips, but a GA aircraft can enable travel to a destination several hundreds of miles away for a weekend-a trip not practical by car.

Inevitably, getting the LAST few miles to your destination can be a problem. Having a friend or relative pick you up is one solution (and also gives you "bragging rights" about your trip!)

More than a few people decided to learn to fly after seeing friends or family able to make trips that THEY couldn't make by car. If flying to a large airport, a rental car is an option-especially if you will be touring the area afterward.

Rental cars are available online at major airports, and at non-metro airports, the local FBO may be of help in arranging for a rental from a local source.

For short trips, there is always Uber or Lyft-or a local taxi-call the local FBO to discuss options. (I've even seen an increase in folding or electric bicycles lately-and even a powered skateboard!)

At many small-town airports, (especially in rural areas) the local mobility problem is solved by the "Courtesy Car"-a vehicle usually provided by the airport operator (city, county, or FBO) for short-term use by itinerant pilots and their passengers. These vehicles are made available for short terms (2 hours or less). Cars can be old city cars, the owner's personal vehicle, or even an old pickup truck!

Visit https://www.airportcourtesycars.com/minnesota.html for a helpful listing.

Some states get military surplus vehicles for use as courtesy cars-Minnesota USED to have a program for this years ago-I'd like to see it restarted.

At Albert Lea, we have a former city car-a 4-wheel drive Ford Explorer. It's 10 years old, but has less than 100,000 miles on it. It's clean and dependable. BECAUSE we have a courtesy car, Albert Lea has become a "destination" for pilots looking for lunch-we have eight restaurants within 5 blocks of the airport-and on nice summer days, pilots and passengers often choose to walk instead of drive to the restaurants-but the car is usually available.

We also have a golf course adjacent to the airport, and the Albert Lea-Freeborn County Chamber of Commerce has a 75-foot pontoon boat that gives a narrated tour of Albert Lea Lake, the Native American encampment at Big Island State Park, and the terminal moraines geology of southern Minnesota.

Others use courtesy cars for visiting or doing business in town. Since we only have one loaner car, we try to restrict it to a maximum of 2 hours usage, and a 10 mile radius-so it is available to others.

Obviously, courtesy cars vary-some airports have several-some cars are dependable and presentable, and some I have seen should have a sign cautioning: "Don't drive this vehicle any further than you care to walk!" Literally-cracked windows, rotted floorboards, missing fenders, and bald tires are sometimes encountered-it is the reason that the radius from the airport is restricted. Some cars are free-others may be restricted to customers that buy fuel. Others may want the car-keep your use short to make it available to others.

As mentioned, keep it to a reasonable distance. The city or the FBO is doing you a favor in helping you solve your ground transportation problem. They usually don't even charge for the car-and the cars can be old. Usually, the FBO operator can't guarantee that the car will be available-and doesn't take reservations-there are far too many "no shows." (Hint-you might try phoning to confirm availability, and with an ETA-"I'll be there in 2 hours-is the car available?") The FBO will then have reasonable assurance that you will be showing up. No, we can't "leave the keys in it" as we won't be there after hours. Several FBOs (including us) have had cars stolen. In our case, the caller identified himself as a U.S. Marine Corps gunnery sergeant who was coming to render honors for a veteran at a community funeral home, with services at the local cemetery.

The next day, the car was gone-a local pilot saw four men drive up in an SUV and take the car. I reported it stolen-but the police wouldn't prosecute because we left the keys in it for the caller. We did recover the car-several hundred miles away, after a convenience store had video of it used in an attempted holdup!

We require the driver of the car to fill out a form, listing name, address, telephone number, driver's license, and insurance information, aircraft number, and telephone number. We only collect the information once-the next time it is needed, it is already on file.

Before departing, it's always a good idea to "preflight" the vehicle. Look for dents, tire conditions, glass cracks, and cleanliness. These checks are for your own safety, and to protect yourself in case damage is later discovered. After starting, check for warning lights, and CHECK THE FUEL GAUGE!

Most courtesy cars have little or no fuel. We have a small sign in our vehicle-"Everybody says they put some gas in the vehicle, but it is always empty-how can that be?"

Treat the car like your own. Let me correct that-treat it like your MOTHER'S CAR! Don't get in with muddy shoes. If you drive it on dirt roads, TAKE IT TO A CAR WASH. We don't charge for the car, but we do spend a lot of time cleaning and caring for it! Let us know if there is a problem with it-since we don't normally drive it, we may not be aware.

Don't expect to keep it a long time-when the car didn't come back overnight, we wondered about it the next day, and nearly reported it stolen. The driver didn't even bother to notify us.

The FBO takes care of the car-cleans it, keeps it up-puts fuel in it-and doesn't charge anything for it-return the favor and buy some fuel or services from them.

I don't know of any other business that does that-even most CAR MAINTENANCE places no longer have a "loaner car."

The ultimate in Chutzpah came from a person that asked if we had a courtesy car-I asked him where he was going-he listed a town 52 miles away! I told him we didn't allow it to

go that far-and in attempting to solve his transportation problem, asked how long he needed a vehicle. He answered "10 DAYS!" I asked why he didn't land closer to his destination, and he replied, "They charge a daily ramp fee, and their fuel price is higher!" So-he landed at Albert Lea expecting to get a free car for 10 days and avoid a ramp fee!

Editor's Note: Jim Hanson has been the FBO at Albert Lea, Minnesota, for over 42 years and has been a contributing writer for Minnesota Flyer magazine for nearly 30 years. As a corporate pilot, he has visited airports throughout the U.S. and the world, and has driven a number of "courtesy cars." Jim can reached at the Albert Lea Airport-(507) 373 0608 or jimhanson@deskmedia.com.