Avgas or jet?

Beginning in October, pilots flying into the Vicksburg Municipal Airport will be able to fuel their own planes.

The Board of Mayor and Aldermen Sept. 7 approved an agreement with Eastern Aviation Fuels Inc. of New Bern, North Carolina, to activate a self-serve station at the airport’s fuel farm south of the terminal. Eastern sells aviation and jet fuel to the city.

The target date to begin service is Oct. 1.

“We already have the equipment installed for self-serve,” airport director Sam Washington said. “That was done when (former airport director) Curt Folmer was here. He began the process. The card-reader is in place, we have the electricity running to the system. All we need is the phone line for the reader. I don’t know why it wasn’t done sooner.”

He said the process works is similar to self-serve gas stations — the customer pulls up, swipes the credit card or pays cash and refuels the plane.

“It’s more of a convenience,” Washington said. “It will allow our tenant pilots and transient pilots who fly in here to fill their planes themselves. It will be available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.”

He said installing the self-serve system will save the airport money, because an employee will not have to go the airport nights and weekends to fuel planes. Currently, airport employees are on call nights and weekends to help fuel planes that land at the airport.

But Washington said the self-serve system won’t completely prevent callouts.

“Charter flights usually like to have the airport staff fuel their planes, so I’m sure when we get a charter in here, they will want one of the airport employees to come refuel them,” he said.

“Self-serve fueling is common among the majority of general aviation airports across the country. They do it mainly for the convenience of the customers,” he said. “One thing I’m hoping is we will pickup more business. I believe we’re missing some business at nights and weekends because pilots pass us by because we don’t have self-service, and some pilots are particular about their plans. They don’t like someone else touching it. This will help them.”

Washington said the airport will soon see other changes, such as the installation of video cameras around and in the terminal to allow pilots to use the facilities on weekends and after hours.

“I’m looking forward to getting the self-service going,” he said. “If the weather and my schedule cooperate, I hope to bring my plane and be the first one to use it.”