U-Fuel, a manufacturer of fuel equipment for aviation and other markets, has released a white paper (Self-Service Fuel: Airport Money Maker) on the benefits of self-service fueling.
The paper covers the historical development of self-service fueling, standard components of a modern system, related topics such as site preparation and installation, safety features, financing, insurance, and the expected return on investment (ROI), which U-Fuel forecasts at 20% or higher annually.
Included is a comparison between self-service and truck-based fueling, to what extent these systems can be used with turbine aircraft, and it debuts the company’s “FBO in a Box” concept, an outgrowth of U-Fuel’s experience placing fuel systems in remote environments.
To airports searching for the means to reduce operational expenses and lower the cost of flying, self-service fueling, in widespread use for highway vehicles since the 1970s, provides many benefits to aviation, company officials said. The lower costs and smaller sizes of modern systems also enable airports to provide additional fuel options to pilots, for instance the emerging replacements for leaded avgas, ethanol-free autogas and 94UL.
The GAfuels Blog is written by two private pilots concerned about the future availability of fuels for piston-engine aircraft: Dean Billing, Sisters, Ore., an expert on autogas and ethanol, and Kent Misegades, Cary, N.C., an aerospace engineer, aviation sales rep for U-Fuel, and president of EAA1114.