Ouch. I just heard that my Wing's training budget is almost depleted, after only a couple of major SAREXs since Spring. The culprit has to be higher AvGas prices.
CAP training budgets look like a rounding error compared to other organizations, but they are budgets. Higher fuel prices means less hours flown preparing for missions.
At our home base, we already get the, "Good Guy Discount," from our FBO. We don't pay tax, and we don't pay flow fees... so we're lucky.
Here's an idea...
Can NHQ negotiate a deal upfront with our friends at BP for a discount on all the AvGas that we put into the tanks of CAP aircraft?
Sure I get that funny look from the line guy when I put 5 gallons into the mighty Skylane after a short hop, "Sorry to bug you, but she's like a fire truck, we gotta keep her topped off."
It still stings.
I have been warning that the National Economy is going suffer from the high fuel prices.
Like an anchor pulling us down. Some say that economic indicators show otherwise, but I think that won't last for long. I have been warning that soon every aspect of our lives is going to be effected by the higher fuel costs.
This represents another element that that is true.
How do you think we can mitigate all this? I ask you my Brother and Sister airmen.
Posted by: Major Carrales | April 30, 2006 at 14:04
We can mitigate it by having the damn-fool regulations that prevent us from buying fuel at the military/government rate which is almost half of what we must pay at the pump.
Call your congressman because NHQ seems to be impotent on this matter.
At the very time we are increasing the sophistication of our equipment our training and currency resources, pitiful as they have been, are evaporating before our very eyes.
Posted by: aveighter | April 30, 2006 at 22:56