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Typical airport services for GA: AC for preheat?

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greenbaron

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In checking out the facilities at my local airport, I'm finding there is no provision for access to AC power for based aircraft that are tied down. There are a very small number of hangars (which have power) at the airport, but no hope of in my lifetime of attaining access to one, so I'm looking at what I can do to best care for my aircraft as it will have to sit on a tie down out in the open. And preheat is a subject near and dear to my heart. I was frankly dumbfounded the other day as I overheard a conversation between a worker at the airport and someone who was calling in trying to find out how they could get their aircraft preheated. It was as if the subject was being broached for the first time. No, there's no power available on the line, the box that's out there was long ago inactivated, no, no power on the outside of the terminal building, hm, there may be power on the far side of the old hangar, where you may be able to string a cord [but there's no parking there, you'd kind of just be hanging yourself out there in my opinion, and in any event that option wouldn't be available to more than one aircraft at a time], no we don't tow you for that purpose you can just taxi your plane on over there ( :shock: )... anyway, in speaking with the manager over there I'm hearing that 99% of airports in the lower 48 don't include providing access to 120V AC in their list of services offered to tenants or transients... is that true? Is it unreasonable to think that an airport should provide this service? Not like those plugin preheats are big power draws... What the heck do people do half the year? Not fly? Not worry about it? In my location, I'd say the possibility of an engine cold soaked to 32F exists 5 to 6 months out of the year. I wouldn't start my engine without preheat in those conditions .period. Based on my conversations on my last two trips out there, it's like no one has ever raised the issue before. Am I missing something?
 

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