United States airport comments

I was back and Hanscom yesterday, and was charged the $14 ramp fee for a 4-hour stay as well -- it doesn't have to be overnight. Gas was a bit over $7.00/gallon.

The airport that used to be located here was Charles Lindbergh's departure point for his transatlantic flight. It closed in 1951, and is now the Roosevelt Field Shopping Mall.

I like this airport for practice in Class D airspace. Just to the northwest one can fly over the Rio Grande River as it snakes it's way south through a beautiful canyon. There is a small resticted area south of Los Alamos so watch your charts. Great views.

Bode also has airplane rentals and a flight school. Weather 119.025 CATF 122.8. Double Eagle can be busy on the weekends. In the summer one should expect high density altitude and possible afternoon thunderstorms.

nice airport, no bathroom

The Clark Regional Airport's board has voted to levy a landing fee on all transient aircraft -- the story says it will be about $25 (!!), but does not mention if different fees will apply to different sizes of planes:

http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080523/NEWS02/805230474

This is a newly-built airport which opened in 2007, to replace nearby Tappahannock Municipal Airport (W79).

This airport closed in 2007, when it was replaced by newly-built Tappahannock-Essex County Airport (KXSA).

Plattsburgh is uncontrolled, but for an IFR clearance before taking offyou can call Burlington Clearance Delivery on 121.7 MHz.

I came into the airport on a diversion to get out of icing. For a piston single, Sheltair collects a $7.50 landing fee and a $4.50 parking fee on behalf of Clinton County (the airport owner), and they can't be waived (the parking fee was for a one-hour stop). On the bright side, they gave me a fuel discount that amounted to over $12, which is pretty-much the same as waiving the fee.

The FBO staff is extremely friendly -- asked if I needed a ride into town, drove me to and from my plane, and had free bakery-quality chocolate cookies ready and waiting. If you don't object to the fees (which aren't the FBO's fault), it's a nice place to stop.

The cost for a cab into Boston (Back Bay) was $55 + tolls (none on our route); however, we had to wait about 40 minutes for the cab after North Atlantic called it, so it would be a good idea to radio them before you land (123.3 MHz) and ask them to order it for you. Make sure you have the street address of your destination, because the cabbies may be relying on their GPS to navigate.

Another alternative is to take a short cab ride to Beverly Depot and catch an MBTA train into Boston, for about $8-10.

There is free parking here by the control tower. Alternatively, you can park on the other side of the field at North Atlantic for $5/day (piston single).

North Atlantic makes three trips a day with their truck to fuel planes in this area, so you can still get fuel without taxiing across, as long as you plane is there long enough.

For a piston single, quoted over the phone 2008-05-16:

Landing fee: none

Handling fee: $10 (waived with fuel purchase)

Parking: $5/night

Note that there is also free parking under the control tower on the east side of the field, if you prefer.

I think this is the only FBO at Capital City Airport. They've blocked comments on AirNav, but here's what I got from a phone call today for a light piston aircraft:

Facility fee: $25.00 (waived with 5 gallon fuel purchase).

Ramp fee: $15.00

Landing fee: $8.00 (she wasn't sure about the exact amount)

It doesn't make sense for a quick fuel or lunch stop. Nearby Harrisburg International (KMDT) also has the landing fee, but not the ramp fee at the FBO.

The airport has an $8 landing fee for light piston aircraft, but the FBO has reasonably good gas prices ($5.20/gallon on 12 May 2008).

I came to Dulles for the first time as pilot yesterday. The ADIZ was a total non-issue when I was IFR (just like any IFR flight). Potomoc approach and Dulles tower were friendly and co-operative, fitting me into the jet traffic in bad weather without any delays and giving me the runway I asked for. It was about a 3-minute taxi to Signature. They had a follow-me van waiting on their apron, and then a shuttle to take me about 50 meters to the FBO (in the rain). I waited 8 minutes for a Washington Flyer taxi to arrive from the terminal. All prices as quoted in a previous message -- cheap for a big airport (except for the fuel, of course).

Fees and costs from Atlantic Aviation (phone 607-644-1062) for a single-engine piston aircraft, 2008-05-11:

Landing fee: $0

Ramp fee: $10 (waived with fuel purchase)

Parking: $10/night

Hangar: $75/night

100LL: $6.12/gallon

Binghamton is a Customs User Fee airport. I haven't called to find out what the fee is, but you can clear in Syracuse, Watertown, or Alexandria Bay for free coming from Canada.

I believe that this is the only FBO left at Logan, an airport that hates GA more than any other public North American airport (thanks to Massport). I called Signature just to see how bad the fees are, and here's what I got for a two-night stay in a Piper Cherokee (note that not all of them are under Signature's control):

$33.00 landing fee

$166.60 parking (2 nights)

$48.40 GA fee (!!)

$56.00 security fee

$28.00 handling fee (waived with 7 gallons fuel purchase)

I didn't ask about a customs fee, but there's a steep one at Bedford/Hanscom (also run by Massport), so I expect there's one here as well. I think the security fee is for being poked, prodded, and metal-detected by the TSA, just like if you were flying on the airlines.

By comparison, if I flew my Cherokee into Washington/Dulles (another large airport affected by 9/11) and parked at the Signature there, I'd pay an $8.00 landing fee, $18.19/night parking, no customs fee, no security fee, no GA fee, and the same $28.00 handling fee (waived with 7 gallon fuel purchase).

The airport authority is proposing a 10pm-6:59am curfew on most take-offs and landings at Bob Hope Airport:

http://www.aopa.org/advocacy/articles/2008/080508ca.html

The popular general aviation documentary "One Six Right" was shot at Van Nuys in 2005:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_Six_Right

Home base for me (Fluky is the gate where most from KHEF leave the ADIZ). Use Dulles Aviation Inc. FBO at west ramp. New restaurant at east ramp but I have not tried them yet.

The FAA has issued a cease-and-desist order to prevent the large-jet ban:

http://www.aopa.org/advocacy/articles/2008/080424ca.html

Midway is my home 'drome.

It's an amazing place. Commercial, Biz, and general aviation all in one square mile patch of city.

Everything from SWA 737s, to Lears, and down to 152s... 3 FBOs, 2 Flight Schools...

I love this place.

From 31 May to 1 June, the Red Bull Air Race is coming to Windsor and Detroit. It will take place along the Detroit River between the two cities, and there will be viewing stands on both the Canadian and U.S. sides of the river.

http://www.redbullairrace.com/

Check out the local Pilot's Association Website http://www.southcountypilots.org/

Includes a couple of webcams.

Less than 100 yards from aircraft parking.

This visit was March 07.

You absolutely must stop in Moultrie if you're in the area. They give every arrival a friendly "welcome to Moultrie," their fuel price is cheaper than anywhere even with full serve, and they gladly give up the crew car for a trip to town for lunch.

This is a decent spot to fly into for Sun n' Fun. It's a bit far away from the Lakeland, but easy to get into and out of so much less hassle. They charged a $4/night parking fee (2008) and a $4.99 service charge for gassing up, on top of the fuel charge.

I had exactly the same experience at Republic in spring 2004, right down to sitting on the runway (as instructed by tower) and holding everyone else up. Same lesson -- if you can take a VFR departure out of a NY-area airport, do. It's the controller's error putting you on the runway before your clearance is ready, but why invite trouble in the first place?

I must have tied up traffic for 30 minutes of more waiting at the entrance for my IFR clearance. I'd taxied out after being told to, but there were 4 or 5 planes waiting behind me and by the time I suddenly realized that I could depart VFR and pick up a clearance later, the clearance had actually come. I felt like a complete dick.

Not much here except a lodge and guide service - which is fine. Just a thrill for my first landing North of the Arctic Circle!

I called Signature in late March 2008, and had the following fees quoted for a single-engine piston (PA-28):

$8 landing fee

$18.19/night parking

$28 handling fee, waived with purchase of 7 gal fuel

Customs will meet Canadian planes at the Signature FBO, and there is no extra charge. Their number is (703) 661-7100.

Finally, Signature's radio frequency (for when you're taxiing in) is 131.87 MHz.

My first Solo was out of Trinca about 10 years ago. The airport is a little run down, and a bit behind the times these days. I never thought much of those trees or divits in the grass as a student pilot. A bit of a bump was my launch pad for soft field take offs. All the little "Tricks" you learned flying out of Trinca only made you a better pilot. Avoiding tall trees wasn't something that made it tough, it made you FLY! Something a lot of "pavement" pilots forget how to do I think.

Trinca is one of the last grass strips around in NJ. It is a big part of many pilots fond memories. It is a truly enchanting airport. Look past the rough edges, reach back through time. You can still see and hear all the avid aviation enthusiasts sitting around on the old picnic table bench, chatting the warm summer days away. To this day, I can walk around the hangers, look in the office, sit on that bench, and get that same warm feeling of camaraderie we all shared in our never ending love for aviation.

A 7:45PM trip around the pattern in a J3 Cub, watching the sun set on a warm summer night, I can't think of anything more magical! I love this airport and only hope it will be around for a long time to come, to share with my children. Visit if you can!

S.J.M.

Bloomington has a terrific towered GA airport. There are two FBOs on the field. When we stopped in 2005, we used BMG. Because of thunderstorms along our intended route of flight, we stayed the night at the airport. BMG has a "cabin" at the foot of the control tower that was made available to us for $60 a night. It was a well-appointed modular home with internet access and computer, a full kitchen and laundry room (both stocked with basic supplies), a comfy living room with a television and several movies available on VHS and DVD. Plus, they gave us keys to a courtesy car overnight. As graduates of Indiana University, we used the car to venture into town to visit one of our favorite restaurants that we missed since moving away (there's a great selection of little ethnic restaurants in the area defined by Kirkwood Ave, 4th Street, Dunn, and Grant). Bloomington is a great stop.

Lake Placid was a wonderful stop. The area is beautiful, the FBO personnel are friendly, and the Olympic ski jumps are next to the airport. There is a free Trolley service that runs a loop through town, including the airport. Ask the FBO staff to call the Trolley. We ate lunch at The Cottage on an outdoor deck overlooking Mirror Lake. Great food, wonderful scenery.

I was hired to work as a flight instructor in April 1972 by Ed Gorski, minutes after we met.

I had graduated from Embry-Riddle and headed to NJ to pursue my aviation career. No jobs were available at all, except a FEW instructor jobs! Ed Gorski was somewhat gruff, but a real nice person. I had 3 other offers for FI positions, and I ended up taking a job at Linden Airport, NJ for a lot less money ($3/hour) than Ed offered ($15/hour), however, more students and more opportunities at LDJ. I stayed at LDJ for 16 months and moved on to a Cessna 421B job at North Philadelphia, which lasted for about 18 months.

Long Story Short, I ended up getting hired at Lincoln Park in early 1975 by a group of individuals as a Flight Instructor. An Eastern Airlines Crowd of pilots, who hired a puppet manager to follow their directives, hired me. Ed had sold the Captain Jack Faes/George Kershaw, Eastern groupof pilots, the airport, in good faith, and they concentrated their collections of Pitts Aircraft throughout 1975. What a racket these guys had. Maybe I was envious, as I was trying to break into a business that had no opportunities available at the time. This crowd took advantage of everything that they could get their hands on.

I left the job in August 1975 as I had seen enough, and one of the Eastern bunch (Jack Faes) needed a job for his son, who had lost his job at Wien Airlines in Alaska, so I was the junior flight instuctor and had to leave.

What a difference from this BUNCH to Ed Gorski. Well, the Captain Jack Faes and Eastern Airlines' crowd eventually overstayed their agreement with Ed, with the hangars filled with their Pitts Special toys. They never paid their local taxes ($75,000) to Lincoln Park Township while they managed the airport, and good old Ed Gorski was contacted for a default of the real estate taxes due. I guess Ed Gorski had to throw the puppet manager Bill out on his ass, and then the Faes Eastern crowd. Then Ed took possession of his beloved airport, and I assume ran it himself for many more years.

God bless Ed Gorski, he was a straight forward honest guy, not like the low lives that had infiltrated Lincoln Park from 1975-1977. I wish Ed was still around. With respect to Eastern Airlines Captain Jack Faes, he kicked me in the ass in August 1975, and then further attempted to trash my aviation career with unfounded bad references, however, I managed a successful career in corporate aviation as a manager/chief pilot from 1979-1998, operating several Falcon 50s, Gulfstream III/IV, Lear 55, Citation VII for over twenty (20) years, all based in New Jersey. I am now a B747-400 Captain for the last ten (10) years.

I'll never forget my conversations with Ed Gorski. A straight an honest man, who always treated me with respect and kindness. I am delighted that Ed took his airport back from that bunch of Eastern Airlines pilots who had abused their stay and stacked the hangars with their toys, and abused the employees!

Wherever you are Ed, I will always remember you fondly. And as far as that Eastern Airline Bunch, they got their due, eventually, in more ways than one!

I was hired to work as a flight instructor in April 1972 by Ed Gorski, minutes after we met. I had graduated from Embry-Riddle and headed to NJ to pursue my aviation career. Ed Gorski was somewhat gruff, but a real nice person. I had 3 other offers for FI positions, and I ended up taking a job at Linden Airport, NJ for alot less money than Ed offered, however, more students and more opportunities at LDJ. I stayed at LDJ for 16 months and moved on to a Cessna 421B job at North Philadelphia, which lasted for about 18 months.

Long Story Short, I ended up getting hired at Lincoln Park in early 1975 by a group of individuals as a FI. An Eastern Airlines Crowd of pilots, managed by a pupet manager who followed their directives, hired me. Ed had sold the Captain Jack Faes/George Kershaw, Eastern group, the airport, in good faith, and they concentrated their collections of Pitts Aircraft throughout 1975. What a racket these guys had. Maybe I was envious, as I was trying to break into a business that had no opportuinites available, but this crowd took advantage of everything that they could get their hands on. I left the job in August 1975 as I had seen enough, and one of the Eastern bunch needed a job for his son, who had lost his job at Wein , so I was the junior guy and had to leave. What a difference from this BUNCH to Ed Gorski. Well, the Jack Faes (Larry Faes) Eastern Airlines' crowd eventually overstayed their agreement, with the hangars filled with their toys. They never paid their local taxes to Lincoln Park, and good old ed Gorski was contacted. I guess had to throw the manager out on his ass, and then the Faes crowd. Then Ed took posession of his beloved airport. God bless Ed Gorski, he was a straight forward honest guy, not like the low lives that had infiltrated Lincol Park from 1975-1977. I wish Ed was still around. With respect to Captain Jack Faes kick in my ass in August 1975, and then his attempt to trash my career with bad references, I managed a sucessful career in corporate aviation as a manager/chief pilot operating a Falcon 50, Gulfstream III/IV, Lear 55, Citation VII for over twenty (20) years, all based in New Jersey. I am now a B747-400 Captain for the last ten (10) years.

I'll never forget my conversations with Ed Gorski. A straight an honest man, who always treated me with respect and kindness. I am delighted that Ed took his airport back from that bunch of Eastern Airlines pilots who had abused their stay and stacked the hangars with their toys, and abused the employees!

The first time I flew commercial into New York City I saw this underneath us as we were being vectored around. I didn't notice the historical aircraft, but there were plenty of helicopters.

Located in Brooklyn, this was the first municipal airport serving NYC. During World War II, it was Naval Air Station New York. According to Wikipedia, the runways are still usable, and the airport is occasionally reopened for air shows. The NYPD still has a heliport on site, and there is a display of historical aircraft.

Friendly people, quick shuttle over to Lamberts for a one of a kind dining experience...

Gas is very inexpensive, self serve. Someone has wrapped several 2-3" sections of PVC pipe around the hoses, makes it very easy to maneuver. Nothing there in terms of amenities, but friendly folks!

Great people, both FBOs were helpful to me when I stopped for a few days. Much less expensive than the International!

Looking at your plane and the runway while eating. Life is good.

This airport touches the Canadian border and is also listed in the Canadian CFS (airport directory) using its US identifier. Just past the northwest end of the runway is a north-south road border crossing point with US and Canadian customs.

This was originally called the Tri Cities Airport, but, unusually, it has taken its FAA and IATA code "MBS" (the first letter of each of the cities) right into its official name.

I've changed the GPS id to D38, and the site ident to US-D38. Thanks for spotting that, Paul.

The id on this airport should be "D38", not "KD38".

A taxi into DC should cost around $55-60. Here's a web site to estimate fares for specific destinations from DC to Dulles (the other way around you have to use Washington Flyer, which may charge differently):

http://citizenatlas.dc.gov/atlasapps/taxifare.aspx

A town car is probably about $10 more, but I haven't checked. The SuperShuttle costs around $27, with lots of extra stops -- it doesn't seem worth it (I remember being stuck on a SuperShuttle at LAX once, as it circled round and round for 15 minutes trying to get enough customers before it left: that's no fun after a long flight).

The cheapest option is take the WMATA 5A express bus from the airport to the L'Enfant or Rosslyn Metro stops. From what I've found online, it's $3.10 for the bus, and around $3 for the Metro. Here's the bus timetable:

http://www.wmata.com/timetables/dc/5a.pdf

And here's the trip planner on the WMATA site:

http://www.wmata.com/tripplanner_d/tripplanner.cfm

This airport is one of the "DC-3", along with Hyde Field [W32] and Hyde Field [W32]. It lies inside the inner Flight Restricted Zone (FRZ) of the Washington DC ADIZ, and access is allowed only to pilots who have been pre-screened and obtained a special Personal Identification Number (PIN). This is in addition to the normal ADIZ procedures. As a result, it won't usually make sense for non-local pilots to try to use this airport.

http://www.aopa.org/whatsnew/air_traffic/frz.html

This airport is one of the "DC-3", along with College Park [CGS] and Potomac Airpark [VKX]. It lies inside the inner Flight Restricted Zone (FRZ) of the Washington DC ADIZ, and access is allowed only to pilots who have been pre-screened and obtained a special Personal Identification Number (PIN). This is in addition to the normal ADIZ procedures. As a result, it won't usually make sense for non-local pilots to try to use this airport.

http://www.aopa.org/whatsnew/air_traffic/frz.html