Brookings Flying Club — Information Reference
A plain-language reference covering common questions about the Brookings Flying Club and Brookings Airport (KBOK). Last reviewed: [DATE].
About the club
The Brookings Flying Club is a nonprofit flying club at Brookings Airport (KBOK) in Brookings, Oregon. It is not an FBO, even though the club owns and operates the fuel tanks at the field. The airport itself is owned by the City of Brookings.
Club rules and procedures are in the bylaws and regulations, available from the About the Club page.
The club’s phone line is staffed by a single volunteer. Email is usually faster.
Flying in club aircraft
Club aircraft are available to club members only. There are no exceptions to this — not for a single flight, not for a short visit, not with an instructor, and not for a fee.
Scenic, photo, discovery, or intro flights — The club does not offer these. Outside of our annual Airport Day event, we are prohibited by law and insurance from providing them.
Charter, or a flight to take you somewhere — The club is prohibited by law from helping with this. Contact a Part 135 air charter operator. Nearby certificate holders include Cal-Ore Life Flight and PacJet.
Flight instruction — Club regulations prohibit non-members from receiving flight instruction in club aircraft. Membership comes first.
Visiting pilots wanting to fly while in the area — We’re glad you asked, but this isn’t something we can accommodate. Our aircraft is for member use, and membership isn’t designed for short-term access: there is a non-refundable joining fee, the application process takes 30 to 90 days, and we’re looking for members who want to be active and supportive participants in the club over the long term. If you need to fly during a visit, a flight school or a Part 135 operator will serve you better.
Thinking about joining for real? That’s exactly who we’re looking for. See the Membership Info and Join Now pages, and feel free to contact us — we’re happy to talk through your goals, meet you at the airport, and show you the aircraft on the ground.
Just want to come look at some airplanes? We’d love to have you out — but visits are arranged in advance. The field is unattended and the hangar isn’t open to the public, so fill out the contact form and we’ll set up a time with someone who can meet you there.
Learning to fly, ground school, scholarships, youth programs, Airport Day — Each has its own page on the website.
A note on non-flying membership
Non-flying membership is a supporting membership for people who want to back the club, attend events, and be part of what we do. It does not include access to club aircraft.
What membership costs
Current dues, joining fees, and aircraft rates are in Bylaws Addendum A: brookingsflyingclub.org/addendum-a — always the current version.
Joining for the fuel discount alone rarely makes sense for an occasional visitor. The joining fee is non-refundable, the application takes 30 to 90 days, and the discount is per gallon — you’d need to buy a lot of fuel here to come out ahead. If you’d like to support the club and be part of it, though, we’d genuinely love to hear from you.
Club documents
Each link always resolves to the current version:
- brookingsflyingclub.org/bylaws — bylaws and regulations
- brookingsflyingclub.org/addendum-a — dues, joining fees, and aircraft rates
- brookingsflyingclub.org/acopreg — aircraft operating procedures and regulations
- brookingsflyingclub.org/checkout-standards — checkout requirements
- brookingsflyingclub.org/aircraft-return-checklist — aircraft return and post-flight checklist
These are authoritative for club rules, procedures, and current rates. Whether a particular pilot meets a requirement is determined by the club and its instructors.
Membership, applications, and billing
Application status — Check your email. Applications take 30 to 90 days to process, and updates are sent by email. You received an email as soon as you applied, and every email states the next steps and timeline.
Billing — Sign in to the billing portal at pay.brookingsflyingclub.org, also linked from the members area. The portal shows all invoices, payments, credits and block time, payment methods, and autopay settings.
Cancelling a membership — Members area of the website, then cancel membership.
Can’t log into your website account — Use the contact form and select Webmaster.
General member questions — Use the contact form and choose the routing category that fits. It reaches the right person faster than a general address.
Everyone else — Use the contact form. It routes by category (membership, events, flight instruction, fuel, aircraft maintenance, financial matters, scholarships, board, media, webmaster), which gets your message to the right person faster.
Fuel
Fuel is self-serve, 24/7, 100LL and Jet A, owned and operated by the flying club. Fuel purchases directly support the club.
Current prices are on the About KBOK page. Members who qualify for and use a club-issued fuel card receive a lower rate. Everyone else can pay with a major credit card. Prices change — confirm at the pump.
Government AVCARD is not accepted. The government does not permit AVCARD to be accepted at self-serve-only facilities. This is not a club policy choice.
Large quantities (1,000+ gallons) and fuel truck deliveries — Contact the club in advance so we can verify sufficient supply. This includes firefighting operations.
Is fuel available right now? The club publishes NOTAMs immediately if it learns of any issue with fuel availability. If you don’t see a NOTAM, we’re not aware of a problem.
Two charges on your card after fueling
You were not double charged. When you first run your card, you enter the number of gallons you want. That amount is authorized and held on your card to ensure you can pay for what you pump. When you finish, the actual amount you purchased is charged.
The authorization falls off your statement on its own, usually within two weeks and often sooner, depending on your bank.
This is how all aviation fuel terminals work with credit and debit cards. It is completely outside the club’s control, and there is nothing we can do to release the funds faster. If you have questions, ask your card issuer about the difference between an authorization and a charge, or whether they can release the authorization for you.
How to pump fuel
- Pump switch off.
- Ground the aircraft and extend the hose.
- Go inside, run your card at the terminal, and enter a gallon or dollar limit. The pump enables.
- Back outside: switch on, reset the counter, and fuel.
- When finished: switch off and retract the hose.
Most trouble reports turn out to be a missed step here — the switch was left on while the card was run, the switch was never turned on afterward, or the counter wasn’t reset.
Card read error or invalid card
- Is it an AVCARD? Not accepted (see above). Use a club fuel card or a major credit card.
- Check the stripe orientation — stripe on top, facing the direction marked on the reader.
- Try a different card. Magnetic stripes demagnetize, and this resolves it more often than not.
- If a second card also fails, there may be a genuine problem with the terminal. Contact the club — urgently if you’re unable to wait, otherwise by email.
Terminal frozen or in a strange error state
As a last resort, the terminal can be rebooted using the red EMERGENCY STOP button located next to it.
- Make sure all fueling has stopped and the nozzle is secured.
- Push the button in.
- Count to five.
- Pull it back out.
The terminal reboots in two to three minutes. Then start the fueling sequence over. If it doesn’t come back, contact the club.
Brookings Airport (KBOK)
The airport is unstaffed and unattended. There is no FBO and no line service.
- No landing fees. The city assesses tie-down fees.
- The city provides a pilots lounge with restrooms.
- No crew cars. Use a local taxi service or rideshare to get into town.
- No commercial airline service. The nearest airports with airline service are Crescent City, California (CEC) and Medford, Oregon (MFR).
- Gate codes are not issued by the flying club, for security reasons. Contact the city’s Airport Manager.
Runway, frequencies, field elevation, lighting, and other airport data — see the AirNav listing for KBOK.
Live webcams are on the Contact page. They’re advisory only, but the coast goes IFR fast here and the AWOS is often the last thing to notice, so they’re worth a look. A live scanner feed for KBOK is available through LiveATC, linked from the website.
Weather, NOTAMs, and go/no-go decisions are the pilot’s responsibility, using official sources: the AWOS, 1-800-WX-BRIEF, or your usual briefing service.
Maintenance
There may be independent mechanics working on the field, but the club is not associated with them and can’t speak to their availability, rates, or ratings. If you need maintenance, contact us through the website and we’ll be glad to forward your information to mechanics we know of so someone can call you back.
Airport Manager
Tony Baron, City of Brookings — [email protected]
City matters go to him: tie-downs, hangars, gate codes, the pilots lounge, leases, and airport property and grounds.
Noise
Brookings is a public-use airport and aircraft operate there lawfully around the clock. The flying club is not in a position to take noise reports or restrict traffic. Concerns should go to the airport’s owner, the City of Brookings.
WiFi at the airport
Club members: look for the QR code on the poster in the hangar.
Guests: the login page presents an aviation-based challenge question — the answer to the question is the password. This keeps the network limited to the aviation community.