Asheville, NC ramp

[Browncbr1]

At AVL, are we forced to go to Signature, or is there another area that GA can tie down?  

[Bartman]

As far as I know Signature is the only option.  Definitely not cheap, but they will treat you well.

[Browncbr1]

thanks.. it won't be too bad since it's just one night... 

[N6758N]

I fly into KAVL all the time, used to be Atlantic, now its signature. They haven't raised prices too much yet... The FBO folks are still very friendly. There is a woman behind the counter there named Susan who is great! I just hope Signature doesn't run all the employees away. IIRC its still $10/night plus a $5 security fee. I will be down there this Friday.

[flyboy0681]

55 minutes ago, Bartman said:

As far as I know Signature is the only option.  Definitely not cheap, but they will treat you well.

I'd rather be treated like crap in exchange for reasonable gas prices and fees.

[N6758N]

5 minutes ago, flyboy0681 said:

I'd rather be treated like crap in exchange for reasonable gas prices and fees.

The problem is no matter how nice the FBO is and/or how expensive their gas and fees are, they can still F*ck up your nose gear by oversteering with a tug. I always check after they move my airplane when I am getting ready to leave, and when I call to tell them I'll be leaving and they ask if they can pull the plane up for me, I'll say no thanks, I can walk!

[flyboy0681]

9 minutes ago, N6758N said:

The problem is no matter how nice the FBO is and/or how expensive their gas and fees are, they can still F*ck up your nose gear by oversteering with a tug. I always check after they move my airplane when I am getting ready to leave, and when I call to tell them I'll be leaving and they ask if they can pull the plane up for me, I'll say no thanks, I can walk!

Which brings up an interesting question. Many FBO's now use tugs which lifts the nose gear up off the ground. Are those any safer on the linkage? 

I remember the very first time I saw one of those tugs, I  was standing at a window at SFO and saw one lift the nose gear of a 747 and pull it along. Amazing.

[N6758N]

Just now, flyboy0681 said:

Which brings up an interesting question. Many FBO's now use tugs which lifts the nose gear up off the ground. Are those any safer on the linkage? 

I remember the very first time I saw one of those tugs, I  was standing at a window at SFO and saw one lift the nose gear of a 747 and pull it along. Amazing.

For the most part, I would say yes, they are safer. If you look at one closely, they allows the wheel/tire to pivot on a plate which ends up not turning the nose gear as much. Most of the turning is accomplished via the small wheel at the back of the tug which is connected to the steering wheel. I love these types of tugs! Less stress on the aircraft, and much faster to pick up and put down the aircraft as well.

[eman1200]

4 hours ago, flyboy0681 said:

I'd rather be treated like crap in exchange for reasonable gas prices and fees.

$45 to park for 3 hours a couple of weeks ago, and I completely agree with flyboy

[Bartman]

16 minutes ago, eman1200 said:

$45 to park for 3 hours a couple of weeks ago, and I completely agree with flyboy

I paid $45 once to park, but that was Chicago Midway.  I was at Asheville a couple of months ago and IIRC it was like Terry said above, $15 pernight and I think they waive one night ramp fee with 10 or 15 gal purchase, which with their fuel prices comes to a wash. 

By the way, we went to Asheville intending to spend some time at the Bitmore Estates, but realized how many craft breweries there are in walking distance downtown.  We ditched the Biltmore plan, got a room at the Renaissance and has a great time exploring downtown Asheville and several breweries on foot.  I know that's not for everyone, but if you are so inclined I highly recommend it. 

[flyboy0681]

25 minutes ago, Bartman said:

I paid $45 once to park, but that was Chicago Midway.  I was at Asheville a couple of months ago and IIRC it was like Terry said above, $15 pernight and I think they waive one night ramp fee with 10 or 15 gal purchase, which with their fuel prices comes to a wash. 

By the way, we went to Asheville intending to spend some time at the Bitmore Estates, but realized how many craft breweries there are in walking distance downtown.  We ditched the Biltmore plan, got a room at the Renaissance and has a great time exploring downtown Asheville and several breweries on foot.  I know that's not for everyone, but if you are so inclined I highly recommend it. 

Asheville is a great flying destination, especially for foodies and brewskies like yourself. And just several miles north in the mountains is Little Switzerland, which is owned by fellow Mooney driver Gary Jensen.

[Browncbr1]

6 hours ago, N6758N said:

I fly into KAVL all the time, used to be Atlantic, now its signature. They haven't raised prices too much yet... The FBO folks are still very friendly. There is a woman behind the counter there named Susan who is great! I just hope Signature doesn't run all the employees away. IIRC its still $10/night plus a $5 security fee. I will be down there this Friday.

As of today, they have a $35 tie down fee that is waived with purchase of 7 gallons.  FS@$7 or  SS@$5.    The $5 security fee isn't waived though.  I'll taxi to the fuel pump on arrival.

[N6758N]

2 hours ago, Browncbr1 said:

As of today, they have a $35 tie down fee that is waived with purchase of 7 gallons.  FS@$7 or  SS@$5.    The $5 security fee isn't waived though.  I'll taxi to the fuel pump on arrival.

$35/night?! Unbelievable. I really hope I can sweet talk them to wave some of the fees this weekend. I am flying down on Friday in a friends T-206 ( he is paying all the bills)  but I will be back in my Mooney often. That kind of pricing almost makes it unaffordable for me to park my airplane there for 5 days at a time as I often do. 

As Bartman said, Asheville is the mecca of craft brewing on the east coast, definitely spend some time walking around downtown if you can! My oldest brother lives there so we come down 4-5 times a year to visit and enjoy the finer hops in life. I have driven down from Philly several times and its 10-11 hours vs. 3 in the airplane. 

[Browncbr1]

$35/night?! Unbelievable. I really hope I can sweet talk them to wave some of the fees this weekend. I am flying down on Friday in a friends T-206 ( he is paying all the bills)  but I will be back in my Mooney often. That kind of pricing almost makes it unaffordable for me to park my airplane there for 5 days at a time as I often do. 
As Bartman said, Asheville is the mecca of craft brewing on the east coast, definitely spend some time walking around downtown if you can! My oldest brother lives there so we come down 4-5 times a year to visit and enjoy the finer hops in life. I have driven down from Philly several times and its 10-11 hours vs. 3 in the airplane. 

I'll be arriving there at or right before noon. Our plan is to stay at the double tree just north of the biltmore and do a few brewery tours and find some good food, which should be fun.. coming back Saturday. Yea, at $35 per night, I wouldn't stay longer than a night or two. Ridiculous.

[Browncbr1]

Another thing I found out is that if you rent a car in signature it is about $65 per day... if you're willing to walk 400-500yds to the main terminal, the same car from the same company is $20/day.


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[Wildhorsesracing]

We go to Asheville regularly, but I always fly into Hendersonville, NC (0A7), nice little airport w/SelfServe and we usually stay at one of the nicer Bed & Breakfast in Hendersonville.  Enterprise will pick you up at the airport.

There is an awesome Brewery (Bus) Tour in Asheville that is a lot of fun and informative. We have done it a few times and the Restaurant walking tours are always an excellent way to sample some of the finer things in Asheville.

[flyboy0681]

10 minutes ago, Wildhorsesracing said:

We go to Asheville regularly, but I always fly into Hendersonville, NC (0A7), nice little airport w/SelfServe and we usually stay at one of the nicer Bed & Breakfast in Hendersonville.  Enterprise will pick you up at the airport.

There is an awesome Brewery (Bus) Tour in Asheville that is a lot of fun and informative. We have done it a few times and the Restaurant walking tours are always an excellent way to sample some of the finer things in Asheville.

For those that don't mind flying a little further out of town, there's Hickory (HKY) and Morgantown (MRN).

On my last trip there I took a restaurant walking tour and loved it.

 

[Wakeup]

I fly into AVL about once a month.  They do not advertise this but they have a self serve pump that will save you a lot of money.  I agree with the above, they are way overpriced.   

Edited May 25, 2017 by Wakeup

[Wakeup]

24 minutes ago, Wildhorsesracing said:

We go to Asheville regularly, but I always fly into Hendersonville, NC (0A7), nice little airport w/SelfServe and we usually stay at one of the nicer Bed & Breakfast in Hendersonville.  Enterprise will pick you up at the airport.

There is an awesome Brewery (Bus) Tour in Asheville that is a lot of fun and informative. We have done it a few times and the Restaurant walking tours are always an excellent way to sample some of the finer things in Asheville.

Nice little airport???  I visited it by car about a year ago and I would not recommend it.  The runway was full of cracks and rundown.  My 2 cents.  It would be a nice alternative if they put some money into it.  

[Wildhorsesracing]

8 minutes ago, Wakeup said:

Hendersonville a Nice little airport???   I looked at it about a year ago and I would be scared to land on that cracked runway.  My 2 cents.  It's sad because it could be a nice option.   

Have you ever watched Piperpainter's Mooney Videos ?!?! - you'll realize your Mooney is a lot sturdier than you think!!!

[Hank]

57 minutes ago, Wakeup said:

Nice little airport???  I visited it by car about a year ago and I would not recommend it.  The runway was full of cracks and rundown.  My 2 cents.  It would be a nice alternative if they put some money into it.  

Hendersonville is huge and in great shape compared to 33A a little further south . . . No fuel, one hangar, no services, a handful of tiedowns. And the patches in the pavement have been patched . . .  But it's close to mom & dad.

Edited May 25, 2017 by Hank

[N6758N]

The news on this thread really bums me out. Going from $10/night to $35/night is ridiculous! As I previously mentioned, I frequent AVL and that kind of price increase might make it not doable for me to fly to visit family there. Paying $200 for a 5 day visit in fees is crazy. I may look into the AOPA article that mentions reporting FBOs that are gouging us on fees. I understand this is an expensive hobby, but I operate my airplane on a budget whenever possible. I am interested to see what happens when I get there tomorrow afternoon as I haven not flown in since Christmas time. Thanks for the tip on the self-serve too, I have always bought 100LL from Atlantic/Signature down there at their overpriced price, you would think that alone would satisfy them, guess not. 

[mike_elliott]

10 hours ago, flyboy0681 said:

For those that don't mind flying a little further out of town, there's Hickory (HKY) and Morgantown (MRN).

On my last trip there I took a restaurant walking tour and loved it.

 

go to MRN and do the wine tasting tour at Bob Bellville's hanger

[Bob_Belville]

Just now, mike_elliott said:

go to MRN and do the wine tasting tour at Bob Bellville's hanger

<chuckle> But I do have a stocked wine cooler there.

[Browncbr1]

30 minutes ago, N6758N said:

The news on this thread really bums me out. Going from $10/night to $35/night is ridiculous! As I previously mentioned, I frequent AVL and that kind of price increase might make it not doable for me to fly to visit family there. Paying $200 for a 5 day visit in fees is crazy. I may look into the AOPA article that mentions reporting FBOs that are gouging us on fees. I understand this is an expensive hobby, but I operate my airplane on a budget whenever possible. I am interested to see what happens when I get there tomorrow afternoon as I haven not flown in since Christmas time. Thanks for the tip on the self-serve too, I have always bought 100LL from Atlantic/Signature down there at their overpriced price, you would think that alone would satisfy them, guess not. 

What burns me up is that the airport was built with tax payer dollars for the purpose of bringing in commerce.   The hotel tax is more than what signature demands.  Plus food, shopping, etc...    so, in some cases, since the airport authority cut the deal to let signature in, they have actually hurt the local economy...  stupid and not good stewardship of tax payer investment IMHO.