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Dollar a Gallon Fuel? Regular Pilots Still Welcome

Rumors force adjustments.

That no-strings dollar-a-gallon fuel you’ve been hearing about has a few catches now, forced by rumors and reports of commercial operators planning to game the system.

When Redbird Skyport (KHYI) in San Marco, Texas, announced a couple of weeks ago that it was going to sell fuel for a dollar a gallon throughout the month of October, it sounded too good to be true.

It wasn’t. In an attempt to learn more about GA pilots’ habits, Redbird partnered with a number of companies, including Flying magazine, to promote the event, thinking it would give personal transportation pilots the chance to travel back in time for a month and fly like it was 1975 again.

Redbird’s plan has hit a snag, unfortunately. The dollar-a-gallon deal is still going strong, but commercial operators who, the rumor mill reported, were planning to base out of San Marcos and other commercial operators who were planning to tanker large amounts of fuel to their home bases from KHYI will have to make other plans.

In wake of the reports, Redbird came up with new ground rules. They are, according to the company, as follows:

· The purpose of this experiment is to study the effect that fuel price has on flying activity as well as understand how fuel price factors into the complete cost picture.

· The offer is open to any piston-powered GA aircraft that can fly into San Marcos Municipal Airport under its own power. Only the regular tanks in the aircraft will be filled.

· To maintain a reliable supply for everyone and keep delays to a minimum, the fueling limit is 200 gallons per aircraft per day. Aircraft requiring more than 200 gallons may purchase that additional amount at the regular price. We won’t fuel aircraft that we believe are violating the spirit of the experiment.

· The $1 price is valid for the entire month of October during normal operating hours, 6 a.m. to 10 p.m.

· There may be lines to get gas. If you expect to be in a hurry, we recommend you pre-register on the website or by calling us at (512) 878-6670.

· San Marcos Airport is a former military training airport and has acres of ramp space, so space for waiting or parking overnight is not a problem.

· Data collected from pilots during the month will be aggregated before publication. Absolutely no individual personal information will be shared.

Flying will be there on October 1st to report on the story (and to top off the tanks of the SR22 too).

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