Midwest Flyer Magazine

of avgas lags?MCKINNEY: Airports –particularly the smaller airports –typically do not go through fuel thatfast. “A gas station on a really busyweekend will go through a load in aday. In comparison, an airport may finditself sitting on a load of 8,000 gallonsof fuel for two or three months beforeselling it. (In the meantime) maybe theprice went down, but it is hard for thefixed base operator or airport to lowertheir price when they paid a lot morefor it. Yet, if the price goes up and theyare still sitting on that fuel, they mayraise their prices and try and makea little money. The volumes at mostairports are not like the bigger airports,and it’s a tough business. Pilots maywant a better price, but the truth of thematter is, those operators are providinga service and they need to make thekind of margins they do or else theywouldn’t be there.”WEIMAN: How about deliveringfuel in Canada?MCKINNEY: We would like todistribute fuel in Canada, but havechosen not to do so at this time, asthere is a lot of paperwork and a lot ofdifferent regulations. We have spokento a number of our suppliers and theyhave found that it is a lot of work forthe effort. Maybe in the future.WEIMAN: Are there getting to bemore above-ground tanks at airports?MCKINNEY: Yes. Some of ourairports still have underground storagetanks, but most are going with aboveground tanks, so they can bettermonitor them. They can easily see ifthere is an issue right away. And moreChris Misiak, the Wholesale CustomerManager with Best Oil Company, demonstrateshow to use and read a hydrometer duringa fuel-testing seminar sponsored by BestOil Company at Richard I. Bong Airport inSuperior, Wisconsin. The purpose of thetest is to measure the density of the fuel, as contamination by another product. Lookingon are Best Oil Company customers TomWoock of Cook, Minnesota; Rob Missinneof Monaco Air, Duluth; and Ernie Seppala ofCook, Minnesota.and more of the above ground tankshave double walls, again for safety.WEIMAN: Speaking of safety,aren’t fuel tank owners required to becertified?MCKINNEY: Yes. Fuel tankowners are required to take an onlinecourse and exam, which is now afederal mandate. So we are running thisprogram tomorrow. Chris Misiak inour office will be overseeing it. Anyonethat owns an underground storage tankhas to have a certificate showing theyhave a basic understanding as to whenthey have to run tests for tightness, linetests, cathodic protection…whetherBest Oil Company Photoor not they have a suction pump, adispenser…all those sorts of things…and inventory keeping. This is oursecond workshop. We are trying tohelp our customers and make sure theyattend. We have been telling themfor two years that it is required, andthey can go online and get it done,but there’s something to be said for astructured classroom setting, and settingaside the time to do it. It is one of thoserequirements the federal governmentwants everyone to pass. If they don’t getit right the first time, they can retakethe exam until they understand theirsystem and pass.The federal government keepsramping up the requirements. At firstthey wanted people to do inventoryand tightness tests of their equipment.Now they want owners to actuallyunderstand how their equipmentoperates…so more and morerequirements, all of the time.WEIMAN: As a pilot and aircraftowner, if I go out to the airport and fuelup, is there anything I should do asidefrom sampling my fuel to make sure Iam getting non-contaminated fuel, andis there any way I know I am gettingfresh fuel?MCKINNEY: I can say this aboutPhillips 66…branded fixed baseoperators…they are required by Phillipsto be doing – at a minimum – weeklysamples…checking their filters, andtheir water defense systems. Phillips 66is committed to having testing doneto make sure fuel meets the requiredspecifications, and is clean and dry. Asfor unbranded locations, they should bedoing it as a good business practice and!"#$%&'#()*+,()'-)#.&)*#/00)12345#6378#9#:872)'08';$8458'#(180)#/-83*80&$%031&,20)?2@&?'''3.;""#$%$&'(&)*')+,)-"./0.""+123)&'"456)-"+#%#718)"""3)/0-%4'15/16%.1%75#8'(/"1!"#$%""$"&'()*$+,&-#,-$.#&/-'0&1*2.../.01213/456