Practical Pilot Knowledge

Marshaller guiding an aircraft into a parking spot

Fueling your own aircraft? Stopping at an FBO? Crew Car?

These might be foreign concepts to student pilots, and are often unknowingly skipped by CFI's in private pilot training. Practical scenarios like these are essential parts of real world flying. They usually don't come up in training unless your CFI goes out of their way to introduce these topics to you. Normally, you might not stop at an FBO because you are never flying long enough to have to land and re-fuel. Or it might be rare to stop and get a crew car unless you plan to go sight seeing. Or, if you're like me, they might not even let you take the crew car due to age.

In fact, many items were unfortunatley missed in training, even my own. Skills I thought I understood until I was suddenly responsible for them on my own. The first time I walked into an unfamiliar FBO unsure of the etiquette, I realized just how much “practical pilot knowledge” matters. It’s not just about flying the airplane safely from point A to point B; it’s about managing the entire experience of being a pilot.

A pilot who knows how to fuel their aircraft, request services, or operate around an FBO becomes a pilot who moves confidently through the aviation environment. Learning how to use a crew car on a cross-country flight, understanding where to park on an unfamiliar ramp, or even knowing how to settle a fuel bill without looking confused; these tasks aren’t glamorous, but they are the pieces that transform a student pilot into a competent aviator.

The easiest way to navigate unfamilar waters like these would be to have an instructor fly with you to a local airport and run through all these items. Have them teach you how to use the self serve fuel pump (make sure to turn off the battery and ground the plane!), or pay for fuel in the FBO. Sometimes, when you go to a larger, towered airport, staff will use marshalling signals to bring you into a parking spot! Review those before you go.

Another tool I love using is the comments section under the FBOs on ForeFlight for each airport. The comments are from other pilots who have flown there recently. Some remarks might consist of: "self serve fuel was not working", or their experiences there. I always check the comments or call the FBO before I go to an unfamiliar airport. Each FBO will have a phone number, hours open, amenities avaliable, credit cards accepted, and fuel prices! Always prepare before you go!

One time, I made the mistake of not calling the FBO for the particular untowered airport I would be arriving into late at night on a commercial XC with a student. Low and behold, we get to the self serve fuel pumps, and they were not operational. This was not NOTAM'ed out, nor was it on the comments section in ForeFlight. However, if while I was scanning the comments on ForeFlight, I had simply called the FBO phone number so convenientley located on the same page before I left, I might have saved myself some time but stopping at the local Signature Flight Support at another airport about 30 miles away.

Moments like these turn into memorable lessons for myself and the student. These teaching moments are also preparing students for independence. No where in the ACS, the PHAK, the AFM, or even the AIM are little tips and tricks like these listed. This is the knowledge that comes from a CFI or another pilot that cannot be learned in a textbook, only through experience.

So the next time you plan a flight, consider taking an instructor or a fellow pilot to an airport you’ve never visited. What’s often called the “$100 hamburger” has far more value than a simple meal. These small adventures can help you build confidence in new airspace, new procedures, and new responsibilities: building practical knowledge that strengthens your confidence and competence as a pilot.