From the blog

Notes from the ramp

Written by the people building the software, mostly about things that went wrong on a real ramp first.

Introducing AirPlx Mobile

Sep 3, 2026 · 3 min

AirPlx Mobile is here. Run Base View, tow checklists, walkarounds and damage reports from a phone on the ramp. Included with your subscription.

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What's New in AirPlx: July 2026

Aug 1, 2026 · 3 min

Live View updates itself now, so nobody has to hit refresh. Plus fifteen new airframes from the small end of the ramp, a rebuilt clock bar, and Copy from Live View for stacking profiles.

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Nantucket Beat the World Cup

Jul 27, 2026 · 6 min read

We forecast a 1.67x private jet surge across the 2026 World Cup host cities. Then we watched our own flight feed during finals week. Three of the four venues came in under the band, and a sandbar off Cape Cod outflew Opa-Locka.

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Where We're Going, We Don't Need Roads: Infantino's 60,000-Mile World Cup Jet Tour

Jul 20, 2026 · 6 min read

The FIFA president spent six weeks bouncing between all 16 World Cup venues in a Gulfstream. We caught his jet on our own radar, then found 1,236 more time travelers doing the same thing.

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What's New in AirPlx: June 2026 (Part 1)

Jun 30, 2026 · 5 min

Custom status labels and colors that make the board speak your operation's language, departure-proximity auto-coloring, inline trip editing, Completed Trips you can extend in a click, plus an airshow's worth of new aircraft.

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What's New in AirPlx: June 2026 (Part 2)

Jun 30, 2026 · 7 min

Stacking Profiles you can save and compare, jack- and obstacle-aware auto-stacking, the Tow Limit Warning beta, Base View markup and printing, Report Builder upgrades, and the June bug fixes.

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Top 10 July 4 Private Aviation Hot Spots to Watch

Jun 25, 2026 · 7 min read

For FBOs, airport teams, and ramp managers, Independence Day weekend is less about fireworks and more about aircraft positioning, hangar planning, tow movements, and keeping the ramp moving.

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How Full Is Your FBO Ramp? Measuring Capacity in OCU

Jun 15, 2026 · 4 min read

"The ramp feels full" is not a number you can plan around. Here is a simpler way to measure FBO ramp capacity: Operational Capacity Units (OCU), where one unit equals one Challenger 300 footprint. Plus a free calculator that does the math for you.

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What's New in AirPlx: May 2026

Jun 1, 2026 · 5 min

Base View goes live with real-time aircraft positions, a Holding Area panel, and a date picker for planning ahead. Plus faster aircraft requests, a batch of quality-of-life fixes, and 11 new airframes.

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What Actually Causes Ramp Incidents? (Based on Real Aviation Data)

May 26, 2026 · 6 min read

Nine years of ramp incident reports. Five patterns explain almost everything. Here's what they look like from the operator's seat.

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What's New in AirPlx: April 2026

May 6, 2026 · 5 min

Base View puts every hangar on one map, plus a Base Tenant Utilization Report, in-app announcements, faster tail lookups, and hangar editor upgrades.

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What 3,000 Ramp Reports Tell Us About FBO Risk

Apr 30, 2026 · 8 min read

4,969 ASRS reports and 1,075 NTSB ground accidents from the last 9 years. The patterns repeat. The damage is real. The trend is moving the wrong way.

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We Built a Free Private Aviation Event Calendar for FBO Operators

Apr 17, 2026 · 3 min read

1,536 events across 2022-2028, mapped to the airports that actually absorb the traffic. Filter by your field, see the intensity, print the line room copy. Free, no login.

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FIFA Friday: When Teterboro Is Full

Apr 17, 2026 · 4 min read

Primary FBOs fill first. The secondary airports get the aircraft nobody planned for, and every one of them has a different failure mode.

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What's New in AirPlx: March 2026

Apr 6, 2026 · 5 min

FlightBridge and FBO One integrations, operational capacity units, custom label colors, tags, multi-door hangars, and 10 new aircraft including MRO-ready modified airframes.

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Aircraft Hangar Size Guide: Dimensions for Every Jet Class

Apr 5, 2026 · 6 min read

What size hangar do you need? Hangar dimensions -- width, depth, door height -- for every aircraft class from pistons to ultra-long-range jets, with a sizing matrix and revenue-per-tier analysis.

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FIFA Friday: The Departure Wave

Apr 3, 2026 · 4 min read

Game day isn't the problem. It's the 6-hour window the next morning when every aircraft on the ramp tries to leave at once.

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See You at NBAA S&D 2026 in Cleveland!

Mar 14, 2026 · 1 min read

We're bringing live ramp autoparking and scheduling demos to NBAA Schedulers & Dispatchers 2026 in Cleveland. Book a meeting or stop by for a live demo.

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Busiest Private Jet Airports in the US: 2024 Rankings by Departures

Feb 28, 2026 · 7 min read

Teterboro logged 74,832 departures in 2024. Palm Beach hit 41,967. Here are the seven busiest private jet airports in America, ranked by departure volume, with real FAA data.

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What's New in AirPlx: February 2026

Feb 23, 2026 · 5 min

Smarter overlap detection with height awareness, a heads-up view across all hangars, custom reports with a print-friendly builder, layout comparison, enhanced labels, and 100,000+ new tail numbers.

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10 Largest Aircraft Hangars in North America: Ranked by Actual Floor Area

Feb 17, 2026 · 5 min read

Ranked by clear-span floor area, not marketing brochures. From a 1929 airship cathedral that rains indoors to a $251M dual-entry airline hangar, these are the biggest single-building hangars on the continent.

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Why Hangar Utilization Does Not Scale With Square Footage

Feb 9, 2026 · 5 min read

We ran 48 controlled layout experiments inside AirPlx, varying hangar dimensions in small increments. The results were clear: capacity unlocks in steps, not smooth curves, and small dimensional changes can drive 10-15% jumps in utilization.

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What's New in AirPlx: January 2026

Feb 1, 2026 · 4 min

Tail number hover display, keyboard shortcuts for aircraft movement, real-time wind conditions, location-specific SOP overrides, and new obstacle types.

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The 2026 International GA Event Calendar: 50+ Events That Move Global Aviation Traffic

Jan 27, 2026 · 18 min read

From Davos to Dubai World Cup, Monaco to Melbourne—a comprehensive month-by-month guide to the international events that create traffic surges, departure gaps, and capacity challenges for FBOs worldwide.

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The Hidden Event Calendar: When Tiny Airports Get Hammered

Jan 16, 2026 · 9 min read

Telluride sees 3 flights a day—until film festival week. Marfa's single runway handles ranchers—until the art collectors arrive. The events that catch small FBOs off guard.

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What Is a Hangar Queen? Meaning, Costs, and How FBOs Handle Them

Jan 13, 2026 · 5 min read

A hangar queen is an aircraft that sits in the hangar without flying. They cost FBOs $3,600-$4,900/year in lost revenue per plane. Here's what they mean for your operation.

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The 2026 US GA Event Calendar: When Ramps Actually Break

Jan 5, 2026 · 12 min read

A practical month-by-month guide to the events that compress GA demand, overwhelm FBO capacity, and expose operational weaknesses. Plan your year before it plans you.

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4 New Business Jets in 2026: Falcon 10X, HondaJet Echelon, CJ4 Gen3 & G400

Dec 30, 2025 · 6 min read

The Falcon 10X has the widest cabin in business aviation. The HondaJet Echelon flies coast-to-coast on one pilot. The CJ4 Gen3 lands itself. Full specs and delivery timelines for all four.

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What's New in AirPlx: December 2025

Dec 20, 2025 · 5 min

Enhanced multi-hangar view for CSR-to-Ops handoffs, global tail lookup covering 29 countries, dark mode, and Spanish language support—all shipped from direct customer requests.

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Private Jet Size Comparison: How Big Are They? (10 Aircraft Ranked)

Nov 15, 2025 · 5 min

How big is a private jet? We compare 10 aircraft by length, wingspan, and cabin size -- from the 31-foot Cirrus Vision Jet to the 109-foot Gulfstream G700. Full dimensions and photos.

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Which Private Jets Fly the Most? The 5 Busiest Models by 2024 Data

Nov 14, 2025 · 5 min read

The Challenger 350 logs 210,000+ flights per year. The Phenom 300 and Citation Excel aren't far behind. Using 2024 WingX data, we ranked the 5 busiest private jet models by annual flights.

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Your Hangar Wasn't Built for These Jets: How Private Aircraft Grew 50% Since 2000

Nov 11, 2025 · 5 min read

The Gulfstream G700's 104-foot wingspan won't fit in hangars designed for the GV. Here's how flagship private jets evolved from 2000 to 2025—and why it matters for your ramp.

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Gas Up the Tugs: Government Shutdown Hits GA This Friday

Nov 6, 2025 · 5 min read

The FAA just announced a 10% capacity cut at 40 major airports starting Friday. Charter operators are about to start calling every FBO within 50 miles looking for alternatives. Are you ready?

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SOP Throwdown: How SOPs Impact Your Topline

Nov 2, 2025 · 5 min

We ran the same hangar through six different SOPs. The difference between conservative and optimized clearance rules? Up to 10% more revenue without compromising safety.

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The Economics of One More Jet

Oct 23, 2025 · 4 min read

One additional mid-size jet per week generates $124,000+ annually. Here's the complete revenue breakdown and why every aircraft you can't accommodate is money left on the table.

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See You at NBAA-BACE 2025!

Sep 29, 2025 · 1 min read

We're bringing never-before-seen ramp autoparking and scheduling features to NBAA-BACE. Book a meeting or stop by the Paragon Aviation Group booth for live demos.

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Wing Sweep Explained: Why Swept Wings Are a Nightmare on the Ground

Sep 22, 2025 · 5 min

Wing sweep changes how aircraft turn, park, and get damaged on the ground. We simulated Gulfstream G650 and G700 movements to show exactly where wingtip clearance gets critical.

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AirPlx Mirrors Your SOPs in Feet (or Meters!)

Sep 15, 2025 · 4 min

Every FBO has SOPs, but they're not just policies—they're measurements. The difference between 2 ft and 4 ft between aircraft tails isn't philosophy; it's the margin between smooth operations and hangar rash.

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What Is Aircraft Ground Handling? A Practical Operator's Guide

Sep 12, 2025 · 6 min read

Aircraft ground handling is everything that happens to a plane between landing and takeoff. Marshaling, towing, fueling, GPU, lav, bags, catering, crew transport. Here is what the job actually covers, who pays for what, and how long a typical turn really takes by aircraft class.

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FBO Staffing and Training: Addressing High Turnover and Rising Costs

Sep 9, 2025 · 4 min read

Discover why FBOs face 90% turnover rates and $24,000+ training costs per employee. Learn practical solutions to attract, train, and retain skilled line service technicians.

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Simulated Hangar Stacking to Find the Best Tug

Sep 1, 2025 · 4 min read

Discover the top aircraft tugs for maximizing hangar space through smart stacking. Compare towbarless, electric, and remote-controlled models with real ROI data.

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FAA MOSAIC Rule 2025: What Changed for Pilots and FBOs

Aug 25, 2025 · 6 min read

The FAA MOSAIC rule lets sport pilots fly 70% of the GA fleet. Here's what changed, which aircraft qualify, and how FBOs can benefit from the training boom.

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Problem Aircraft: The 5 Plane Shapes That Should Cost You More at Your FBO

Jul 21, 2025 · 5 min read

From Learjet wingtip tanks to pusher props, these aircraft configurations wreak havoc on hangar optimization. Here's what to charge—and why.

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Airport Runway Markings Explained: What Every Line and Stripe Means

Jun 23, 2025 · 5 min read

What do runway markings mean? We explain every white and yellow line -- centerlines, touchdown zones, aiming points, taxiway stripes, and ramp boundaries -- with diagrams.

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The 3 Largest Aircraft Hangars in the United States (World Record Holders)

May 19, 2025 · 5 min read

Big Texas holds the Guinness World Record at 600,000 sq ft. The Goodyear Airdock rains indoors. Hangar One cost Google $1.16B. Here are the 3 largest hangars in the US with full specs.

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ROI of Hangar Stacking Software: Real Numbers That Matter

May 5, 2025 · 5 min read

Discover how FBOs achieve 222x returns with hangar stacking automation. Real data on revenue increases, efficiency gains, and payback periods.

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5 Best Practices for Aircraft Hangar Optimization

Apr 28, 2025 · 5 min read

Learn the essential strategies for maximizing your hangar space efficiency and revenue potential with proven optimization techniques.

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Complete Guide to 3D Aircraft Stacking: Turn Your Hangar Into a Revenue Machine

Apr 14, 2025 · 7 min read

Stop leaving $200K+ on the table every year. Learn how smart FBOs use 3D stacking to fit 40% more aircraft, slash hangar rash by 73%, and actually get home on time.

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Aviation Industry Trends 2026: The $10 Billion Hangar Problem

Apr 7, 2025 · 5 min read

71% of GA airports face hangar shortages and IATA projects ground damage costs could approach $10B by 2035. Smart hangar management tackles both.

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What Is an FBO? The Ground-Level Guide to Fixed Base Operators

Apr 1, 2025 · 5 min read

An FBO is the company that fuels, parks, and services aircraft at an airport. There are roughly 3,000 in the U.S., and the best ones squeeze 20-25% more capacity from the same concrete. Here's what they do, how they make money, and what separates the top performers.

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