Since opening in August 2015, the On the Fly self-serve gas station at Ellington Airport (EFD) has dispensed well over 60,000 gallons of fuel to hundreds of planes of all kinds, allowing many pilots to “fill-‘er-up” themselves.

Shawn Chittum, Operations Manager at EFD, said that self-service fuel facilities are becoming more and more common at the 5,200 general aviation (GA) airports across the country. Customer satisfaction is among the key drivers, and the Houston Airport System (HAS) has been very intentional in its quest to attain premier five-star status among airports in the Western Hemisphere and the world. Superior customer service will be among the keys in attaining five-star status.

Ellington Airport accommodates more than 90,000 general aviation operations each year and offers 24/7 services, including refueling and Air Traffic Control service, for its three active runways. “Superior service is absolutely key,” Chittum said.

The 2018 numbers have not been authenticated yet, but 2017 was a record-breaking year, more than doubling the 2016 numbers with more than 27,000 gallons of fuel dispensed.

“We are certainly encouraged,” Chittum said, “by some of the feedback we have received, both in person and online. And we are always working to do better.”

Online comments have included such remarks as “…Excellent equipment,” “Love the big gallon readout and cost in red signage. Good job Houston,” “Wonderful self-serve station! New and well-functioning equipment, with a long hose and a high credit-card authorization limit (both of which I appreciate for my C414).”

Ellington is such a unique facility, a 380-acre site that supports civilian and military operations, with a variety of tenants that include the  Lone Star Flight Museum, NASA,  Northrop Rice, the  Texas Air National Guard, the Texas Army National Guard, and more. EFD also became home to the nation’s10th licensed commercial spaceport in 2015.

The On the Fly self-fueling station offers a convenient option to the general aviation flights operating at Ellington Airport. The station can be accessed taking Taxilane J to the T-hangar area. The station offers 100LL AvGas fuel and accepts all major credit cards, Shell cards, AVCARD and multi-service cards.

The station was built with an emphasis on functionality and safety, with built-in safety features including camera monitoring and double-walled fire resistant tanks, along with other fire safety regulated components.

Planes can need more than 300 gallons to fill up, and the self-serve station allows pilots to successfully manage their own fuel needs. Statistics stated that fuel exhaustion is the third-leading cause of GA accidents. Self-fueling facilities allow pilots to add extra gallons of fuel to their flights when necessary.

The station employs four Operations staff for daily quality control and sales. A five-person Maintenance/Electrical crew is in charge of most repairs.

“On the Fly,” Chittum said, “is available to everyone who owns or flies a general aviation aircraft and who needs fuel. “This service is for both tenants or transient aircraft,” he said.

 “The Houston Airport System had to consider all relevant fire-safety, environmental, and security requirements before installing the facility,” he said. “But it has been well worth it order to better meet the needs of our customers.”