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Clipping Their Wings

Tribune photo by JAY NOLAN

A counter on the back of Roberto Rivera's gas truck shows the amount of fuel pumped into a plane at Peter O. Knight Airport Friday. As prices soar, filling up a small plane can cost $500 or more.

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By MARK HOLAN

The Tampa Tribune

Published: June 4, 2008

DAVIS ISLANDS - Soaring aviation fuel prices are beginning to ground some private pilots.

"If you're flying recreationally, you are thinking about it a lot more," said Dave Miller of New Port Richey, a longtime pilot training to become a flight instructor at Peter O. Knight Airport.

Aviation gas for smaller planes was selling for $5.89 a gallon at the airport recently, and jet fuel for larger, faster aircraft cost $5.99 a gallon, up more than $1.50 from a year ago. Filling up small planes and jets that carry from 50 to 500 gallons of fuel can cost from a few hundred to several thousand dollars.

Pilots say aviation fuel prices around Florida vary more than at gas stations around town, where another pump is usually just around the corner.

"If it's cheaper here, they tank up; if not, they move on," said John Martinez, who works the flight line for Atlas Aviation Tampa, which operates Peter O. Knight.

Not all pilots feel pinched by rising prices.

Kyle Bailey of Harbour Island, who oversees the Bailey Family Foundation, said fuel costs haven't stopped him from flying his Cessna Caravan, including day trips to visit family near Jacksonville.

Fuel prices include state and federal taxes, which are used to fund runway maintenance and other improvements. The price also is vulnerable to hikes associated with chemical additives in the fuel and a smaller distribution network.

"Fuel cost is only part of the story; the rest is the overall economy," said Deric Dymerski, president of Atlas Aviation Tampa.

Peter O. Knight once bustled with builders and developers flying in to check on area projects.

"Now that's gone down, and they've had to scale back," Dymerski said.

He said the economic effect of fewer flights extends beyond Peter O. Knight's two runways.

"If they are not flying here, they are not spending money here," Dymerski said. "They don't come for the airport; they fly to Tampa to go somewhere - the St. Pete Times Forum, restaurants or shopping."

Businesses that own planes are learning to fly smarter, said Ryan Gucwa, a corporate pilot for Sterling Payment Technologies in Tampa.

He said some of the escalating costs can be recovered by slowing down and flying on lower power settings, burning less fuel.

Unlike Tampa International Airport and other commercial airports, Peter O. Knight and most general aviation airports don't have a control tower to track flights. Instead, the smaller airports measure flight activity through fuel sales.

In fiscal 2007, Peter O. Knight sold 221,000 gallons of fuel, down from 266,000 gallons in fiscal 2006. For the first six months of the current fiscal year, October 2007 through March, the airport sold 107,000 gallons, a pace that indicates another annual drop.

"They have seen a significant decline in recreational flying," said Paul Phillips, general aviation director for the Hillsborough County Aviation Authority.

The authority owns TIA, Peter O. Knight, Vandenberg Airport near Brandon and Plant City Airport. It charges rent from private companies such as Atlas to operate the airports.

"It's incumbent on the operators to get creative," Phillips said. "That's critical to the future of the industry."

One solution is for small groups of infrequent fliers to share ownership of one plane. Such arrangements aren't new, but they are becoming more common.

"It keeps the airplane flying, though you obviously end up selling some of them," Dymerski said.

The Tampa Bay Flying Club, a recreational group formed last year, is shopping for a plane.

"Flying clubs are the only thing that makes sense," organizer Neil Cosentino said. "I think they will become even more viable now."

Atlas offers free airplane window cleaning and other perks to encourage owners to keep their planes at Peter O. Knight, which is building additional hangars along Seddon Channel over the next three years to accommodate a waiting list of more than 100 pilots.

Dymerski said enrollment for flying lessons is holding steady at Peter O. Knight, despite higher fuel costs being passed on to student pilots.

He said there are no plans to lay off any of Atlas' 30 employees.

Phillips said fuel sales also have dropped at Plant City but are increasing at Vandenberg.

"They've been successful in changing their marketing focus from recreational to business and corporate flying," he said.

Reporter Mark Holan can be reached at (813) 835-2102 or mholan@tampatrib.com.

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