Comments 14,914 to 14,963 of 15,848
AIRPORT
I THINK ITS RUN WELL AND SERVES THE PUBLIC WELL.
provide flight from gaya
gaya is international airport but there is no flight,what is the reson
On the Canada-US border
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.
"MBS" = Midland, Bay City, and Saginaw
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.
re: Wrong id
I've changed the GPS id to D38, and the site ident to US-D38. Thanks for spotting that, Paul.
Wrong id
The id on this airport should be "D38", not "KD38".
New terminal for Olympics
Terminal 3 at PEK will open on a trial basis on 29 February 2008, then go into full operations in late March. The terminal will include 64 restaurants and 84 retail shops, together with a high-speed commuter train connecting to the city:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080226/ap_on_re_as/beijing_new_airport
Nice airport
Nice little airport, with a gentle service of the airfield operators.
The city Oostende
This airport is the first one where I had to stay the night over (gladly enough in a hotel down-town). Together with a pilot-friend we had a superb night with oisters and mussels, despite our disappointment of staying over.
The airport itself is not so special, but the city of Oostende is worth another visit.
re: Landing Fee ($8.67)
Les Cedres would be faster (but further) than St. Hubert, and Mascouche would more difficult than both to get into downtown. If you're cabbing, I suppose the St. Hubert landing fee would be justified, but be sure to check fuel prices too!
B-2 stealth bomber crash
On Saturday 23 February 2008, one the 21 stealth bombers in the USAF, visiting from Whiteman AFB in Missouri (SZL), crashed at Andersen AFB in Guam. Fortunately, both pilots ejected safely:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080223/wl_afp/usmilitarybomber
Ground transportation
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:
Under construction
There is a lot of construction underway at Sheremetyevo, including a new terminal and a new runway:
Great airport
Nice, friendly people. Big runway.
Access severely restricted by ADIZ
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.
Access severely restricted by ADIZ
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.
Access severely restricted by ADIZ
This airport is one of the "DC-3", along with Hyde Field [W32] 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.
re: Landing Fee ($8.67)
Lommer: thanks for the comment on YHU -- I haven't been there since they brought in the landing fee. How are Mascouche and Ceders for getting into downtown Montreal compared to St-Hubert? It would be pretty easy to burn more than $8.67 in extra round-trip transportation costs.
Living in the South Terminal
An unemployed chef managed to live in Gatwick's South Terminal for almost four years before he was finally arrested:
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/open_thread/2008/02/grounded_at_gatwick.html
History
This field opened for military use in 1914, and received its first airline flights in 1924. It was a major US airbase during the Vietnam war, as well as Bangkok's main civilian airport until the new Suvarnabhumi Airport (BKK) opened in 2006. It's currently a joint-use military civilian airport, hosting the Royal Thai Air Force's 1st Air Division.
My chosen airport
KLUK is where I go to have fun and enjoy myself today. I'm on the Board of the Cincinnati Aviation Heritage Society here and we have a micro museum on the South end of Lunken terminal. It is the repository of the Lunken Family Aviation Collection. Donations are welcome Google us at cahslunken for more information. We need someone to buy the computer program Past Perfect Museum Software for us.
You can join us too. Old timers meet on third Fridays at 10:00 am in the museum and Regular Members meeting will be held on the First Monday of each month at 7PM in the museum beginning March 2008. Come on and join us.
KGSO-An enroute stop
When USAIRWAYS closed the Cincinnati Station in 1997, I was forced to transfer and here's where I went. I liked the people, loved the area and left some good friends here on my way to KCMH where I polished off my career.
CMH-The end of my road
KCMH was where I finished my career with USAIRWAYS in 1999.
My Hometown Airport
I looked up in the sky from here as a young boy and learned how to identify aircraft using GOC and CAP manuals. American Airlines served here through my childhood and finally Lake Central Airlines who hired me in 1963 for a 35 & 1/2 year ride through USAIRWAYS where I retired in 1999.
I thought when LCA hired me that I would get to work in my hometown, but it was not to be. My career was to start at KPMH and end at KCMH. Most of my time was at KCVG.
Not open for long
This airport opened in 1998 in the wake of the Oslo Peace Accords, but Israel shut it down by bombing the control tower and radar in 2001, then bulldozing the runway in 2002. The Palestinian Authority continued to staff the airport, including ticket counters, until 2006, though it was not operational. It had been the home base for Palestinian Airlines, which moved across the border to Egypt after the airport closed.
Probably closed
This airport was adjacent to the Israeli Gush Katif settlements in the Gaza Strip, which were evacuated in 2005 as part of the handover to the Palestinian authority. You can still see the runway in the satellite shot, though there is a building now right near one of the runway thresholds.
Administered by Israel
Fiq airport is under Israeli civilian control and has an Israeli ICAO identifier, but is located in the Golan Heights area, which is disputed with Syria.
Baseball Hall of Fame
I'm hoping to bring my daughter to the Baseball Hall of Fame some time in 2008, and K23 looks like the closest airport (ALB is the closest with airline service). If anyone has any suggestions or comments about the airport before then, please leave them here.
Contact info
The phone number for the Esso at Timmins is 705-268-7212 ext. 3157.
Fuel and parking
I called on 18 February 2008, and the Esso was selling 100LL for CAD 1.52/litre + GST. Plug-in posts are available at the visitor parking along the fence.
Interesting aircraft at Sky Manor
The airport's owner is also the US importer for the Beriev 103, a unique Ukrainian twin engine amphibian. It seats six, floats on its hull and its wing roots, and the two engines are mounted on pods aft of the wing. There is usually one of these on the field.
A self-serve fuel pump with credit card reader is available.
Pixelated -- military stuff
I notice that Google has pixelated the satellite view (as of 2008-02-15), probably because Hanscom is a U.S. military base as well as a public airport. Unfortunately, they've pixelated the civilian side as well, so you can't see the FBO, terminal, etc. very well.
I didn't see anything military when I visited, but I certainly heard it -- there were regular bugel calls coming over hidden intercom speakers, which was a bit funny, including (I think) reveille at 7:30 am on Valentine's day. Do soldiers really sleep in that long these days?
Not cheap, but OK service
I parked at Signature for three days during a business trip to the Route 128 corridor, and it wasn't too bad. The airport was friendly, and while gas was expensive (over $6/gallon), I didn't need too much of it. I think parking was $14/night. The FBO wasn't willing to brush snow off my plane for any price when I called -- they said they're not allowed to touch the planes (!!) -- but they were fast to give me a forced-air preheat when I had trouble starting in cold weather for departure on Valentine's day (and the line guy, Jeff, was very friendly). I don't know what, if anything, the preheat cost, because it hasn't shown up on my credit card yet. Excluding that (and the landing fee, which the airport will charge), my total bill was about $160, including 22 gallons of 100LL and three nights' parking. That's about in line with what I'd pay at Teterboro (TEB), which is a similar bizjet-style GA airport for New York City, though much busier.
Customs
This is a good place to clear Canada Customs flying to Ottawa from Boston or New York (during normal business hours only). It's a small, uncontrolled airport, but it does have a non-precision instrument approach, and you can use the TAF for Massena, NY (KMSS), right across the St. Lawrence River. When I stopped on Valentine's Day 2008 on my way home from Boston, the Unicom was staffed and helpful, and the runway, taxiway, and apron were all clear, despite a heavy snowfall the day before.
History of "Searcy Field"
Searcy Field (now Stillwater Regional Airport) was a storage and disposal site for 475 combat airplanes after World War II. Paul Mantz purchased all 475 aircraft for $55,000 in 1944. He kept only 12 of them, selling the rest for in parts and for scrap. Between that and the sale of the fuel drained from the fleet, he made a nice profit. The remaining aircraft he used in the making of Hollywood movies.
Australia's busiest air base
This is the RAAF's busiest base by aircraft movements, and serves as an alternate landing site for the U.S. NASA space shuttles.
Gorgeous
Another one of my Favs!
Bronson Creek
This gravel strip is still in great shape and the camp is alive and well in the summer months (Summer 2007). My favourite airport ever.
American naval base
Although this base is located in Cuba, it's under American control due to a long-term lease signed -- its the U.S.'s oldest overseas base, and the only one in a hostile country. It has received a lot of news coverage recently because of its use as a prison camp during the Afghanistan and Iraq wars.
History: Berlin Air Lift
The Berlin Air Lift, "Operation Vittles", started here in 1948 with USAAF C-47 and C-54 cargo planes flying supplies into the now-closed Berlin-Templehof airport. Rhein-Main Air Base joined as the main C-54 depot, and the British flew missions from several bases in the Hamburg area. France joined the airlift later.
History: Rhein-Main Air Base
The southern half of the field was originally the Rhein-Main Air Base, which was the main hub for U.S. military airlifts in and out of Europe (it closed in 2005). It was also one of the main departure points for the Berlin Airlift, serving as the principal C-54 depot.
Dornier and German Aerospace Centre
The aircraft manufacturer Dornier Flugzeugwerke (later Fairchild-Dornier) was located at Oberpfaffenhofen from the 1950s until 2002, when Fairchild-Dornier went bankrupt. This is still a major location for the German Aerospace Centre (DLR):
Filming location for Memphis Belle
In 1989, Binbrook -- a retired RAF field -- was used for the filming of "Memphis Belle".
World War II history
During the second world war, Gananoque (pronounced "gan-an-AH-kway") was a relief landing field for the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (BCATP) No. 31 school in nearby Kingston. It has had little modification since, and still maintains the classic BCATP triangular shape (with three runways so that taildraggers could always land into the wind) and, I believe, some of the original World War II structures.
Very narrow strip - watch for muddy spots!
This strip is at the bottom of the canyon, parallel to the river. The lower portions are prone to flooding and the mud is very heavy - your wheels will get bogged down. If it looks wet, do NOT land here! Otherwise, it is a spectacular setting and a wonderful place to hike and take photos.
Nice Little Place!
Very quaint old-style country airstrip. Self serve fuel, friendly people. There is a Husky dealer (Wayne Clements) on the field. You can buy a nice house on the property close to the hangars or the strip.
Good Fuel Stop at Wichita
There is a full-service FBO here. The airport is at the north edge of town, away from the complicated airspace around the other (12+?) airports at Wichita. Fuel is expensive, but they have lots of hangars in case of thunderstorms during an overnight stop. Lots of hotels with shuttles to pick you up.
Historic airport (kind of)
The Nut Tree shopping center is an easy walk from this airport. The Nut Tree was, in the 40's and 50's, a rest stop half-way between San Francisco to Sacramento on U.S. 40. That was when U.S. 40 was a 2-lane road. The Nut Tree was a "Destination" that boasted its own airport. Nowadays, the Nut Tree is just another shopping mall surrounded by suburbia and the drive from S.F. to Sacramento takes an hour and a half on I-80. Even still, it is a good place to go if you're looking for an easy flight to something more than a just a restaurant.
This is the "training airport" for the KSAC flight schools
This airport is about 10 nm S of KSAC. This is where the pilots flying out of KSAC (including me) go to practice touch-and-go's, emergency landings and so forth. It can be quite busy on VFR weekends.
Airport comments for the World
Second runway planned
π Tue, 11 Mar 2008
β @david at Fort McMurray International Airport, Canada
This airport is running at 8 times planned capacity because of the oil boom. There's a new terminal and new runway planned, among other changes:
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/edmonton/story/2008/03/11/fortmac-airport.html