OurAirports: Comments on airports in United States

[KCGX] "Such a shame!" by Capitano.Nico

Sun, 05 Oct 2008 08:35:34 -0400

This beautiful airport was closed by criminals!

[US-K4A4] "ASEL" by gth758y

Sat, 04 Oct 2008 23:31:33 -0400

Did my ASEL Checkride here with John Mann. Great little airport. If it's windy, watch out for shear when you descend below the treeline.

[US-0012] "First airport in Kansas City" by david

Sat, 27 Sep 2008 20:53:37 -0400

Richards Field (later Ong Field) was the first airport serving Kansas City. It closed in 1949, and was redeveloped as the Gregory Heights subdivision.

[US-KEMT] "Rented from Universal" by david

Thu, 18 Sep 2008 13:59:05 -0400

I rented Archer N38700 from Universal Air Academy at El Monte for 1.4 hours dual around the L.A. basin. The price was reasonable, and the plane was worn but in good shape mechanically. They have two Archers and an Arrow in their fleet, together with a Seneca and a bunch of Cessnas for primary training.

http://universalairacademy.com/

[US-K4B6] "Landed there 8/08" by WeirdJerry

Sun, 14 Sep 2008 09:24:44 -0400

Not much there. It's easy to find due to the paper mill just north of the airport, which also provides an aroma.

There's parking at the south end, and a pay phone outside the fence. Nextel/Sprint cell service N/A.

[US-08WI] "Closed?" by ptomblin

Sat, 13 Sep 2008 11:49:23 -0400

Not in the latest FAA data.

[US-07CT] "Closed?" by ptomblin

Sat, 13 Sep 2008 11:46:02 -0400

It's not in the next FAA data set.

[US-00UT] "Closed?" by ptomblin

Sat, 13 Sep 2008 11:31:23 -0400

I'm loading the next FAA dataset, and this airport doesn't appear on it any more.

[US-K4S2] "Museum" by Todtc

Mon, 08 Sep 2008 13:18:51 -0400

Want to talk about an awesome museum?! This place has the WAAAM that houses a huge collection of early model FLYING aircraft and running automobiles. Everything is in perfect condition, even a Curtiss-Jenny with serial #1! As a bonus, you get to fly the Columbia Gorge to get there.

[US-KVUO] "Pearson" by Todtc

Mon, 08 Sep 2008 13:16:10 -0400

An airport with a neat museum and a lot of history. Visited here for the West Coast Cherokee Pilot's Assoc. Fly-In. Great location, just review the chart carefully and be prepared to follow Portland's instructions, especially if not granted access to Class C airspace.

[US-KS03] "Great small-town airport" by Todtc

Mon, 08 Sep 2008 13:13:51 -0400

Easy access and a wonderful group of locals hanging out, ready to answer questions. They are also getting ready to base a beautiful, polished DC-3 at the airport. Not to be missed.

[KGFA] "Runway closed; heliport only" by david

Wed, 03 Sep 2008 18:27:54 -0400

The runway is closed, so this airport is available only as a heliport. Permission required, but customs services are available.

[US-WS17] "Part of AirVenture museum" by david

Tue, 02 Sep 2008 10:18:23 -0400

This airport, immediately adjacent to Wittman Regional (OSH), operates together with the AirVenture Museum at OshKosh. It is a grass strip with over 50 airplanes in period hangars, and includes a playground and rides in vintage aircraft. An AirVenture Museum ticket is required to visit the field, and a tram travels to the field from the museum:

http://www.airventuremuseum.org/flightops/pioneerairport/

[US-KOVE] "Eats" by pilotal

Thu, 28 Aug 2008 19:57:05 -0400

They have a good restaraunt at the golf course across from the fuel. They let us use their car but you could also taxi over to the restarant. The fuel was cheap and easy to get to. Self serve

[KUIZ] "Gone" by FLUNKN

Thu, 28 Aug 2008 08:49:29 -0400

I landed here back in July of 2002. Nice little airport. Too bad it got turned into houses.

[PAOR] "Northway Airport" by bsdunek

Wed, 27 Aug 2008 10:19:55 -0400

We stayed overnight in the trailers that the Alaska Highway workers used. Rustic! The restaurant had closed for the evening, but the bartender said just go fix your own. We had steak, baked potato and apple pie. Left the money and did the dishes. Great way to live!

[US-MA25] "MA25 Long Pond Seaplane Base" by chuckb185

Mon, 25 Aug 2008 12:05:22 -0400

Unfortunatley the sandy beach on the Northeast area of the pond, where seaplane pilots had previously beached their aircraft, has been acquired by a new owner and has been roped off to any traffic.

[KJYO] "Watch out for deer!" by FLUNKN

Tue, 19 Aug 2008 22:46:44 -0400

Be alert for deer on the runway here.

[WA58] "re: FAA duplicate" by ptomblin

Tue, 19 Aug 2008 07:26:39 -0400

But the two records also list different owners. I suppose the only way this is going to be settled is for somebody to phone both owners.

[WA58] "re: FAA duplicate" by david

Tue, 19 Aug 2008 07:21:27 -0400

I think that's why the FAA hasn't spotted the duplication. From the sat view, it's clear that they're the same airport, with the runway described differently -- there's not room for a second strip on the same island.

[WA58] "re: FAA duplicate" by ptomblin

Mon, 18 Aug 2008 22:15:58 -0400

Oh, and the two records have different runways, one is 16/34 1500x75 and the other is "NW/SE" 1500x100.

[WA58] "re: FAA duplicate" by ptomblin

Mon, 18 Aug 2008 22:13:22 -0400

Interestingly enough, they aren't *exactly* duplicates, at least not after I've done processing them into my navaid.com database. The latitude, longitudes and elevations are slightly different.

I have WA58 is 48.6525, -122.584166667, elev 5 and WA93 is 48.652606388889, -122.57461722, elev 8. I think that makes them 1.8nm apart according to http://williams.best.vwh.net/gccalc.htm

[WA58] "FAA duplicate" by david

Mon, 18 Aug 2008 21:17:05 -0400

The FAA has a duplicate entry in their database, listing this airport as both WA58 and WA93.

[US-S30] "Nice FBO" by airprakken

Mon, 18 Aug 2008 17:43:09 -0400

New FBO owners arrived late 07 but had the FBO here many years ago. They are 'retiring' here and are life-long aviation people who deserve our support. They are fixing it up, have reasonable gas prices, including Mogas, and have a courtesy car.

[US-K7S5] "Food, of course" by airprakken

Fri, 15 Aug 2008 17:35:33 -0400

The restaurant here has the best fly-in food in NW Oregon. First class breakfast and very good lunch. Excellent service. And, you can sit outside under the tree and admire your own airplane -- and maybe some others as well.

[US-U84] "More about landing" by airprakken

Fri, 15 Aug 2008 15:29:26 -0400

Forgot this:

Mid-July 2008, the grass & weeds were high enough in places to get green way up my prop -- which has 18" ground clearance. It's firm and not rough but probably not appropriate for wheel pants or low ground clearance.

[US-U84] "Name, landing directions" by airprakken

Fri, 15 Aug 2008 15:07:17 -0400

All of the locals call this "Donnelly" and none I talked to know why the official name had been changed. Some didn't even know that it had been changed -- don't look at new charts very often, I guess.

Normal landings are to the North across the water.

All takeoffs are to the South across the water.

Fairly high trees on the North end but it's reasonable to land over them. Just make sure you can get down fairly soon beyond them.

[PAVA] "Other runway at Chevak?" by david

Fri, 15 Aug 2008 13:17:04 -0400

Is that another runway NW of the airport, or some kind of resource-based industry?

[US-KIYK] "KIYK" by Jayson.Brouchoud

Mon, 11 Aug 2008 10:04:10 -0400

This is an old Navy field on the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada mountains in the Owen's Valley.

[KMMU] "I am based at MMU and see more GA then preivous Poster." by pa28151

Sun, 10 Aug 2008 11:59:09 -0400

The are quite a few Cessna's and Pipers based at Morristown. I fly on a regular basis and while there is a fair amount of jet traffic it's not 6 to 1 more like 1 to 1. I moved my Warrior to Morristown 8 months ago to get more experiance in a tower controlled enviroment. I don't regret the move at all. Services are 1st rate. I'm 60 and got my ticket 3 years ago, so how complex can it be?

[US-KSMQ] "Somerset (George Walker Field) is what small airports are al" by pa28151

Sun, 10 Aug 2008 11:41:25 -0400

Good people, great conversation, full service fuel. I learned to fly here, so It will always be my home airport. No matter where I am based. If passing by I just can't help but landing there, it feels so comfortable.

[US-N07] "Lincoln Park" by Wayne

Fri, 08 Aug 2008 21:14:35 -0400

I worked at LP from 1975-1980. Ed always called me "junior". I hated it then but over the years it was fitting. Ed was pretty old then, but he did not lack anything. He was sharp as a tack and if he missed anything Jule would let him know so.

I guess I went to work for him after he had repossed the airport from the Eastern group. I was for the most part an aircraft fueler after school and on weekends, but I wound up doing so much more. Moving planes, cutting grass, cleaning the office and assisting the mechanic when needed. And hung up a lot of what I know now are to be historical pictures in the office.

Ed always asked, every pay day, "do you want half in pay and half in flight time"? I kick my self in the butt today. I could have been trained to fly by the same guy that helped Amelia Earhart fly the Atlantic, wow Ed! And that also would have included instruction by Tony Farrell.

But I at the time liked fast cars and the girls that came with it. I think I kept Ed and the other guys happy with all the teenage girls that showed up to watch me work. But Ed would always come out, "junior we need to get doc's plane out" or something. Meaning she had to go.

Ed loved the airport and always wanted it looking its best. He also gave a lot back, never missing the chance to buy me a lunch at the Pequannock sandwich shop. He kept me stuffed with salt tabs in the summer also. And when the day was slow I would go up to his house and mow the lawn.

Jules and Ed had a nice, cozy log cabin up in the hills. The road getting there was windy and tight. If you think flying in a plane with Ed was fun, you needed to ride in a car on the way to his house. The tree limbs would fly in the open window and slap you in the face if you let it. He was a daredevil in my book.

The first flight I had in an airplane was in his J-3 Cub. I never knew you could look over your shoulder at the runway on final approach. That's how Ed did it all the time! And just prior to the wheel hitting the ground he would snap the tail around and bam you were rolling down the runway.

He came out of the office one day to see me propping an aircraft. I guess I was lucky that the plane fired up and I wasn't injured. But Ed made sure that I got some instruction before doing it again. The first instruction was a lot of ear chewing. But that's how he was, you didn't do it unless you were going to do it right.

We had one guy, Bernie. He owned a Mooney, and every time he flew it was "swift". He was German and the plane was fast. Ed would wait for him to come in for a landing and then the chase was on. Bernie would taxi way to fast for Ed's liking and he would let him know it. Better yet almost every landing Bernie would ding his prop after porposing down the runway, Ed would stop him and say he couldn't fly till it was fixed.

We had only one crash during the time I worked there. The radio shops owner had a bell 47 helicopter, that crashed just short of me while I was cutting the grass. He took off and pulled up too soon causing the clutch to go. He attempted a auto rotation but hit tail first, which caused the chopper to spin and land on its side.

Ed and Jules have since gone and I miss those hot New Jersey days at the airport. I'm glad to see that they have gone down in the history of aviation in NJ, and that they left us with so much. May LP airport continue to prosper.

[KEDW] "EAFB" by Wayne

Fri, 08 Aug 2008 20:38:42 -0400

This is where it happens. We test for the future.

[US-KRHV] "Busy GA airport, rude controller" by david

Fri, 08 Aug 2008 16:25:49 -0400

I flew in here as a passenger in a C152 a few years ago. We came in over the hills from the northeast, and the controller was very rude when the pilot didn't make first contact the way he wanted him to, to the point of asking sarcastically if the pilot had an emergency.

Whether the pilot was right or wrong about the way he made contact, the controller was definitely in the wrong to use the 'E' word over the radio without good cause.

[US-KRHV] "Talk about closing" by david

Fri, 08 Aug 2008 16:24:00 -0400

Some politicians in Santa Clara county want to close the airport and redevelop the land to make money, but the idea doesn't seem to have a lot of traction yet:

http://www.aopa.org/advocacy/articles/2008/080808ca.html

[US-KCDW] "Fuel Prices at Mac Dan Aviation" by swinger

Fri, 01 Aug 2008 07:58:50 -0400

Thankfully, Avant Air moved out of their leaded office space at Mac Dan to give appropriate fuel competition! Mac Dan's confidential fuel discounts are rediculous. Some people/companies/flight schools/flying clubs nearly receive 20% discounts on Avgas & Jet A, the data sheets area behind the front desk in the main lobby of Mac Dan.

-That kind of discount can add up to thousands of dollars quite fast!

-Anyone wonder why their fuel trucks are always empty or why a service call for fuel takes up to thirty minutes?

[US-0L5] "Landing at Goldfield" by Dirty

Fri, 01 Aug 2008 00:48:22 -0400

I landed here many years ago in a Cessna 172, solo and 1/2 tanks. No windsock so look for other clues. Use good soft field technique. Hard to turn around and I had to shut down and manually pivot the airplane from the tail. Taxi back was difficult due to soft runway dirt and transient parking was virtually non existent. But strip is only 400 meters from the edge of ghost town. Driving visitors to town shocked that someone could fly in. They had no idea there was a landing strip. Anyone know anything about summer 2008 conditions of runway?

Call sign "Dirt"

[US-0009] "Ski Valley" by airprakken

Sat, 19 Jul 2008 16:29:49 -0400

Fairly short and high runway unless you have experience.

Power lines across the valley to the South.

We used 34 to land and 16 to take off.

[US-KJVL] "Good Breakfast" by MyFlightBlog

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 18:40:52 -0400

I enjoyed flying in for breakfast.

[US-3O8] "Beef" by pilotal

Fri, 11 Jul 2008 01:18:57 -0400

Harris Ranch is the home of the best beef in California. The restaurant is the best. You will find the CHP plane parked here getting lunch

[US-KL77] "Tanks" by pilotal

Fri, 11 Jul 2008 01:12:27 -0400

General George Patton museum is next to the cafe. If you look closely when flying in you can still see the tank tracks where they trained for North Africa

[KROW] "aliens" by pilotal

Fri, 11 Jul 2008 00:34:01 -0400

lots of aliens

[US-KSEE] "Excellent Restuarant" by pilotal

Thu, 10 Jul 2008 21:54:10 -0400

Cafe has excellent breakfast and lunch and it is located close to the trolley line that can take you all the way to Downtown San Diego or Tijuana, Mexico

[US-KWLW] "Nice Restaurant" by pilotal

Thu, 10 Jul 2008 21:49:48 -0400

This restaurant is cute and open 24 hrs a day and the gas seems to be less expensive than the surrounding airports and the food was good.

[KAVL] "Million Air" by West270

Wed, 09 Jul 2008 23:43:04 -0400

Very Nice staff at Million Air!

[KACY] "KACY" by Soulie

Sat, 05 Jul 2008 10:14:59 -0400

For a Class C airport, this place is very GA friendly. If you are new to Class C operations, you could do alot worse that KACY as your first taste.

[KBED] "re: Not cheap, but OK service" by david

Thu, 03 Jul 2008 09:18:41 -0400

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.

[US-0007] "Lindbergh's departure point" by david

Tue, 01 Jul 2008 09:32:19 -0400

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.

[US-KSAF] "A short trip from Albuquerque by air." by reynold1

Fri, 27 Jun 2008 15:59:09 -0400

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.

[US-KAEG] "Bode Aviation" by reynold1

Fri, 27 Jun 2008 15:45:41 -0400

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.