Airport comments for the World
Comments 15,614 to 15,663 of 15,880
NDB Approach
I flew here several times while doing my IFR rating to practise the NDB approach to runway 35. It is an interesting IFR flight from Ottawa, culminating with the classic "NDB astern of you" approach and missed approach back to the beacon. I think I might actually get to land here one day. :-)
Watch for Float Planes
I had two close encounters (that I know of) with float planes within 5 nm of Elliot Lake airport. They seem to transit the zone but are not on the frequency. This is a good pit stop or a place to wait things out while the afternoon thunderstorms over Algonquin Park dissipate (BTDT). I understand there is a golf course near the airport that encourages fly-in golfers, but I don't golf so I can't comment on the quality of the golfing.
Clear US Customs Here
A good place to clear US Customs flying into the USA. The customs agent drives over from the nearby road border crossing station. Lots of floatplane traffic in the area, but the airport is relatively quiet.
Weather
Get a good weather briefing if you are flying into or out of Billings. The airport sits on top of a hill and the weather can change rapidly. There is much higher terrrain nearby on all sides and there can be unexpected turbulence.
If you are heading West into the mountains, stop here to get a weather update and suggestions from the FSS briefer on what route is best for low level VFR flight. If the forecast winds or cloud base make you uncomfortable, stay in Billings until conditions improve.
Aviat Aircraft - Husky and Pitts built here
Afton Wyoming, home of the Aviat Aircraft factory. Ask for a tour of the factory and see how Aviat can rebuild a damaged aircraft or update an older model to "better than new".
There is a new FBO here, managed by the former Aviat factory test pilot. I hope to visit on my next trip West and will comment on the service.
Mustang Mickey's - Great FBO
A great fuel stop - self serve fuel at a good price, and a nice pilots lounge with a courtesy vehicle. Everything is on the honour system - please don't abuse it!
Hoff Family - Private Airstrip
Bob Hoff (Idaho Falls Aeromark FBO and Aviat Husky dealer) family farm and private grass strip. If you are invited to visit, ask to see inside the hangar - Bob and his family have an amazing collection of classic aircraft, automobiles and motorcycles stored here. Not a static museum, most of their collection is in flying condition or is being restored to flying condition.
Parachuting Club
A nice grass strip between Montreal and Ottawa. Tune and listen for para drop announcements - there is an active parachuting club here.
BCATP Airfield
All the old runways are here - a complete British Commonwealth Air Training Programme field from the 1940's. Some hangars are intact, but they are being used for other purposes now. A popular breakfast fly-in every second Sunday during the summer. Lots of ultralights in the area, and watch for gliders from Mountainview. No fuel at Picton, you will have to go to Tyendinaga (Mohawk) CPU6 for fuel.
a.k.a. KARS - A Nice Grass Strip
Lots of gliders here - but you can fly your powered aircraft in here with prior permission - check your CFS for the phone number. Go early in the morning, before the gliders get busy. Sit and watch the glider action, or join in for some dual instruction with the Rideau Valley Soaring Club http://www.rideauvalleysoaring.com/
Thunder Bay Shell
The service here was great... quick and friendly service. Thanks for your help!
Chino airport
Nice GA airport. It can get busy during the weekends.
Great Fly-in Destination
Sheter Cove's a great fly-in destination, either for lunch or for the weekend. The airport is close to the shoreline, right in the middle of the village (it's part of the local golf course...), and there are beaches, walking trails, picnic tables, cheap camping, reasonable food, and OK hotels within easy walking distance. The location is beautiful -- part of the rugged Lost Coast, it's surrounded by mountains and cliffs on one side, the Pacific on the other -- and while it's a long, arduous, and unpleasant drive from almost anywhere else in California, it's an easy flight up the coast from the San Francisco Bay Area.
But watch out for the fog, which can close in almost without notice and make VFR flying impossible for hours if not days at a time (and there's no IFR approaches here...), and be aware that there are no aviation services (fuel, repairs, etc.) here at all.
Ganado, AZ 85V
Dirt strip in the middle of not much. Be careful! Soft at north end and power lines at south end. Did this in an A36.
General Aviation at Oakland
Oakland's a good choice for GA visitors to the San Francisco Bay Area -- it's actually almost as close to downtown San Francisco as KSFO but it's usually quite a bit cheaper, it has a good selection of IFR approaches and a well-controlled airspace, it has a very large GA base with a 24 hour FBO (Kaiser), and it's close to BART and other transport options. I've been based here for years...
YKF
Very nice field, excellent and friendly controllers.
Hudson/Columbia
Nice little airport with usually cheap self-serve fuel. Adjacent golf club has Sunday brunch. Shuttle service available to Old Rheinbeck for the summer airshow.
Farmville
Unexpected visit due to prop breakage when the spinner came off. Folks helped out and got me fed, nice place. Met the Virginia Aviation Ambassador, she has been flying for 58 years.!!
Burke
Great, great, great airport. Just like Meigs, except it's open. Walking distance to Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Brown's Stadium (check TFRs) and the Science Museum. Hornblowers restaurant is closed (as of 7/21/07). $5.00 ramp fee
Andover/Aeroflex
One of the sleepy little airports that mostly locals use. It's short with water on both ends of the runway, like landing on an aircraft carrier. The airport is hidden by a hill when approached from the east. Being in a valley, the wind sock just does circles. Polish up your short-field technique before going here.
Ithaca
I fly here often and it's been a pleasant experience each time. Taughannock Aviation (pronounced T'gay-nuk) staff are friendly, although I was surprised to see the fuel prices as high as they were ($5.22 on 7/21/07). This airport is very busy during races at Watkins Glen, so check for overnight tiedown availability before you go.
Harv's Air
Visit Harv's Air Flight Training on apron 2. harvsair .com
EWB Restaurant
Great restaurant on the field. Worth the trip from anywhere.
Block Island
One of my favorite places to visit. Single runway, approx 2500ft long. no fuel. limited parking. one mile downhill walk to town. great restaurants and shopping.
Always a crosswind. Runway 10/28 has a southwest wind all summer and a
northwest wind all winter.
Cayman Airways
Our base for now...great new job on the 737.
FEX Base
Main FEX base....good company brings back good memories and some great trips.
re: I hope it stays
Brantford makes a big deal out of being the one-time home of Alexander Graham Bell -- in addition to his work on the phone, Bell was one of Canada's earliest and most important aviation pioneers and advocates, so it would be especially sad if Brantford's airport closed. How about renaming it to Brantford/Alexander Graham Bell Airport?
the best
Last time I was here the water came up to the edge of the runway. As I was backtracking to takeoff (closer to the edge) I pulled up beside a new family of ducks who didn't mind me at all!
Great hotel and a fun weekend diner both on the field!
Highly recommended!
International Falls
Even if no on is making calls or intending to land at Fort Frances, keep a good eye out for traffic flying in to International Falls just across the border. There is also the floatplane traffic flying from the town to keep an eye out for.
Busy Area, Good Fuel Stop
This is one of the fields Harv's Air operates out of (they own this one). The area around Steinbach can be quite busy during the days. If you are passing through I would consider stopping at Harv's for fuel - the staff are great. This is a prior permission field, but I received it with no problems.
I hope it stays
There is a petition circulating to put down efforts by the city to close the airport. I hope the city develops some long-range thinking about their short-sighted problems.
Great strip
Great grass strip, and there is also a floatbase just north of the field on the Kaministiqua River.
Home base on the island
We built a waterfront home on Manitoulin, and it was so beautiful we decided we wanted to spend more time up there. This was the reason my wife and I took up flying. Robbie Colwell is the airport manager, and a wonderful guy. Laura works the radio, and the fuel. We were able to lease a hangar on a yearly basis, but a few people tie down off the ramp.
Gravel
Parts of the runway are used by vehicles. When I landed there earlier this year the centre of the runway looked fine, but not far from it the gravel looked to be several inches deep and loose. The worst area was the turn around at the west end, where the gravel was very loose and had some ruts from vehicles. As long as you watch for and avoid the worst looking areas the runway should be fine when taxiing. On take off and landing be sure to stay on the centreline where the gravel isn't as loose. My opinions may also be due to my limited experience flying from gravel strips.
Great place to learn to fly.
A busy airport with lots of new things happening given the change in ownership. Good improvements.
Wow!
Greenbank looked to be very well maintained when I stopped in this spring.
Runway Info
The main runway has a very noticeable upslope to the north. If the wind favours a northward take off don't forget to consider the slope. I would estimate (taking off to the north) the first 700-1000' is slightly downhill or level, followed by the upslope for about 1000' before it levels off again and makes a slight bend to the right.
When I landed here the wind was from the north. I was comfortable with and knew the performance of the aircraft I was flying. I chose to take off uphill into the wind, with a plan to abort and take off downhill if not airborne and climbing halfway up the hill (it would also make backtracking to the far end quicker if I had to take of downhill and downwind). The first part of the runway that was relatively flat made all the difference and I was airborne just after the upslope began. Aircraft type and power effects whether you should take off downhill/downwind or uphill/upwind. Consider your aircraft's performance and definitely have a go/no-go point in this situation.
Additionally, the buildings at the southwest corner are 30-50' above the runway, and some gravel looked to have been put/shifted onto the crosswind strip. I only took a quick look while taxiing, but I recall that the runway looked fairly unusable. Hopefully a local pilot can correct me if I am wrong. If you are planning to use the crosswind strip I would call the operator to ensure it is usable or make a low pass or two to check the runway condition.
My most beloved airport
I love the Friendly airport staff that are so helpful unload your bags. The meals in the terminal are great.
Awesome Aiport terminal
The Best place to hold.... the restaurant was amazing, i enjoyed my time there. I will visit again!
Approach
A house with a yard full of trees is right at the south end of the runway. There are a couple large trees (80' AGL from the CFS) on the centreline. Rather than approach over the trees, I flew my approach just west of the runway and slipped over to the runway once past the trees. This worked very well and I am fairly certain I landed much earlier than I would have if I had flown over the trees. If taking off to the south I would definitely turn slightly right once airborne to avoid the trees and the home.
Great Service
The airport staff were very friendly and helpful. The grass strip was well-maintained and the terminal was very nice - full of expertly crafted models. There is also a small museum covering the airport's contribution to flight training in the Second World War.
General Info
This was a nice grass strip at a farm, quite literally with a barn/silo/farmhouse at the north end of the runway. Trees at the south end should not pose any problem for take off or landing. There is a small pond at the south end that the CFS advises geese roost in. When I visited this airfield there was a smudge pot or similar by the pond, presumably to keep the geese away from the runway.
General Info
The windsock is quite small, and mounted on top of the small building north of the runway. The field looked like it was well maintained despite the countless dandelions when I landed here. There is a very slight downslope towards the east end and the trees that should not be a problem for most any aircraft.
Expensive Ride into Town
I stayed at the Holiday Inn 22 July 06, however there was NO airport pick up available and the taxi fare was $22 each way! Landing fees too!
There is a COPA discount for fuel, but remember to bring your membership card.
Good Fuel Stop
Marathon has self-serve fuel and is a convenient place to stop for fuel when flying around the top of Superior. I stopped here travelling both East and West in 2006, didn't see anyone else around. The fuel pump is fussy, you may have to restart it a couple of times before it pumps at a good rate. There is a phone in the terminal for flight planning, but no internet (summer 06).
You May Get Held Up Here By Fog
Flown into, out of and over Marathon several times - there is usually fog in the bay which can move over the airport just after you land. Be prepared to spend several days there if you get fogged in.
Training Airport
I did some IFR training at Mirabel. It's almost a shame that such a large, sprawling airport is largely closed (many taxiways, one runway, no passenger service, etc). At least it provides the local flight schools with a great place to train for ILS approaches and not worry about all sorts of commercial flights coming and going.
Great Airport
My plane is hangared here :) !
C-FAKQ a 1976 Cessna Cardinal RG
Nice Restaurant
🔗 Mon, 23 Jul 2007
— @Tony at Bromont (Roland Désourdy) Airport, Canada
There is a very nice restaurant here - but lots of traffic on the weekend. It gets busy with departures waiting to backtrack, cadets trying to launch gliders, inbound traffic joining the circuit, and lots of radio traffic in both official languages.