Comments 2,376 to 2,425 of 2,562
Fly Boys Cafe
Fly Boys Cafe will officially open on August 3, 2007 at 10 am
For me too, only further back in time
Remember riding my bike to LP Airport in 1946. Too young to drive, I had a wad of money earned during the week as an auto mechanic (yes I was doing engine overhauls at that age and being paid the magnificent sum of something like $20.00 a week during summer vacation ).
My thought was to take a ride. When I asked the pilot signing off someone's log book how old you had to be to take lessons I was rocked to my ACE Sneakers when he said "no age limit". "You mean I could take a lesson?" the answer yes, brought the next logical question, "How much?" Think it was something like $14.00 an hour, maybe a half hour, that's what I wound up buying anyway.
"Hold on though" says the FI, "you can't just hop in and start flying" "You have to know all about aeroplanes"
"Oh, I do!" (I spent my nights and weekends building balsa models)
"OK" he smiled "Go over to that yellow plane over there (a J-3) and I'll be over to see what you know"
I passed the test so my first ride in an airplane was my first lesson in piloting.
When we landed he told me I needed a logbook available from the front office. That was when I met Mr. Gorski a fine looking older man whose friendly smile never let you forget that flying was important and serious.
There was another young pilot back than a year or two older who also soloed on his 16th birthday. His name was Breeziano or something like that we all called him Breezy. We became kind of friends but kind of competitors too. He certainly built better models than me, but I think I had the edge on Stick and Rudder.
It would be wonderful if the Gorskis were still alive they were the best of an age before the `white knuckles' took over.
Good self serve fuel prices.
Good fuel prices.
There's a good bit of IFR training here. They stack in the hold at the Stanfield VOR 5-miles to the West & than shoot approaches into CGZ.
It's near boats
Visited here many times when my son was stationed at the )verY0 nearby MCRD, San Diego. Very crowed airport, runways is too short and approaches cluttered but it is quick and convenient to the downtown and the bay and if you have to go to California this is one of the better places.
A Great Place to Visit ... Not
Let me count the times I've been through here ... let me count the ways the airport has disappointed me. A great case study in how _not_ to build an airport.
One bright spot for me, this is where my wife first entered the US back in 2001 so it will always hold a warm spot in our hearts as the true beginning of our life together.
Many should add this after 8 Sep 2007
haven't had the pleasure of visiting here yet but there's a great show scheduled for 8 Sep 2007 .. classic radials, fancy cars and lots of fun.
LNY
A pleasant short flight from Honolulu.
HNL
A great airport to fly into.
Flyboys Cafe
I was just at the terminal yesterday and there was a handwritten sign on the door saying that they hoped to be open by July 30th.
Comair 5191
This is the airport where Comair 5191 overshot the runway on takeoff and crashed on August 27 2006. The regional jet was cleared to take off on runway 22 (7,000 ft) in the early morning darkness, but the flight crew mistakenly used runway 26 (3,500 ft) instead, and the jet was not able to get airborne and clear the trees at the far end.
Strange juxtaposition
First time I ever saw tumbleweed caught in a snowbank.
New Market
No ATIS/AWOS,and the wind sock is hard to see from the air. Caution for rising terrain around the runway. Otherwise just a sleepy rural airport.
Nice FBO
Diverted here due to weather in 2004. My spouse said this was the nicest FBO, cleanest bathrooms she had ever seen.
Great Cowboy Town
Diverted here due to weather in 2004. Friendly place. It is a long drive into town, they have a courtesy car and they let us keep it overnight. If you like trains, it is a great place, the freight trains pass through town every five minutes all night long. Several large stores specialize in cowboy/horse/western gear. You can buy anything here for your horse, or get some good deals on cowboy boots. We had a lot of fun here, and bought some really neat (tacky) stuff too. Fuel was relatively inexpensive.
Minor correction
Hmmm should have looked that up first ... I was in japan when that incident happened, 1998, and only heard the news second-hand. I note that several sources say the Air Force One that got stuck was a 707 not a 747. The president (Clinton) was carried away by a back-up aircraft, AF 26000, the same 707 that carried Kennedy to Dallas and his body home to Washington ... making Clinton the last sitting president ever to board that historic aircraft. Interesting.
HND
A good choice to avoid the Vegas Class B and the run around getting into North Vegas.
ABQ
Busy but usually accommodating to GA. With runways 03/21, 08/26, 12/30 & 17/35 and all 150 feet wide this could make for a good alternate due to high winds. Cutter & Seven Bar on the field.
End of the road
Manley Hot Springs is at the end of the road and quite a trek from Fairbanks if driving, but only 38 minutes from Fairbanks by C-185. The Manley Roadhouse has great food and an interesting local clientele. Eat at the bar for maximum entertainment. Camping is available either at the airport (next to the Roadhouse) or at the Roadhouse.
The nearby hot spring is just a short walk away and only $5.00/hour per person for private use (no one else will use the facility when you do). The Roadhouse will have the info on the hot spring, which is at a private residence. If you fly north, Manley is a must see.
Airpark
Reasonably priced airpark being developed here with fishing in nearby Silver Salmon Creek to the southeast. The airport is only a 30 minute drive to Homer.
Deer
Watch out for the deer when landing early in the morning, especially on runway 05.
Fuel
Less expensive than McCall, but unreliable. Call first to verify that fuel is available.
Breakfast
Breakfast is back and good. Friendly folks with cabins available.
Cheap Fuel
Cheap fuel. Dirt runway can be rough. Avoid overflying the homes if possible (very noise sensitive), but watch the wind for sinkers when landing south.
Good Food
Try Ketch Joanne near the fishing boats past downtown from the airport. It's where the locals eat.
Flying Turtle
The Flying Turtle closed, alas. There were plans to open a new restaurant in the same spot (named "Flyboys Care") but I don't know if it has opened yet. End of July was what I'd heard, so it might be open now.
I flew into Mansfield in January or February specifically to have lunch and the restaurant had closed its doors the day before! I had a Twix from the FBO vending machine.
Great Manhattan Access Point
Been here many times and first off make sure you print off the VOR A approach if the weather is VFR and you are going in IFR. They give that one all the time to sequence the traffic inbound IFR for visual approaches.
There are many hotels close by but the Holiday Inn Hasbrouck Heights is literally behind the airport and can be walked too in about 15 minutes (that includes waiting 10 minutes to cross the highway:). There is shuttle service from Atlantic and also crew cars available for short term use.
When I stayed at the Holiday Inn I asked the driver to take me to the bus stop to go into Manhattan. It is also pretty close and is only a 30 minute ride. 6 bucks gives you a round trip bus ticket to downtown and back.
Close to the Holiday inn within 10 mins walking distance are Subway, Starbucks, Fast Food joints (to the west), to the east are a grocery store, mcdonalds, and a liqour store (important stuff for last :).
Lots of traffic so be prepared...IFR make sure you go over the departure procedure in your head many times to make sure you know what your doing once you are unleashed into some of the worlds busiest airspace.
Enjoy.
Not A Bad Alternative To Oakland
I'm based here and at Oakland (KOAK, just up the freeway), and Hayward's not a bad alternative to Oakland for GA visits. But note that it's not a 24 hour operation like Oakland; public transport (e.g. BART) is not nearly as easy to get to from here; transient parking has been problematic lately; and there are fewer IFR options, even with the new RNAV LPV approach.
Beware The Crosswinds!
I did a large part of my tailwheel training here, for good reason: this field has some notorious crosswinds, often enough varying 180 degrees sharply from one part of the runway to the next. Good for practice and for keeping current, but not so much fun when you're not expecting it....
Plagued By Weather...
Arcata airport is plagued year-round by coastal stratus, even sometimes going below ILS minimums for relatively long stretches. But the airport cafe -- Silver Lining, in the main terminal building -- is pretty good for an airport cafe (their fish and chips worked for me, and I'm British), and the Arcata / Eureka area is a lovely place to stay (there's a good selection of Bed and Breakfast places in Arcata).
Note that smaller GA planes might find Eureka (Murray Field) just down the coast cheaper and more convenient if the weather's VFR or above Eureka's approach minimums, but Arcata's a good all-round choice in any case.
A Good Stopover for SF / LA Flights
A nice towered airport that's an almost perfect fuel / food / exercise break for GA flights between the San Francisco Bay Area and the LA area. You can get pretty good American Diner fare at the airport cafe, the Spirit Of San Luis (breakfast, lunch, and dinner), and there are scheduled commuter airline connections from here to the usual LA, SF, and Central Valley destinations. The area itself is growing rapdily and getting something of a name as a new wine country destination.
Note that like most of coastal California, the coastal stratus can come in quickly in the evenings, so if you're flying VFR, keep a good eye out for the weather.
A Great GA Alternative To KLAX or KVNY
A great GA alternative to LAX or Van Nuys, convenient to the Westside, Santa Monica / Venice, Pacific Pallisades, Malibu, and (at a stretch) Downtown.
If you arrive IFR, note that the VOR / GPS approach (the only approach) is sometimes nicknamed the "Santa Monica Slam" with good reason: SoCal Approach will often vector you inside DARTS (the IAF) at 6,000' to keep you above opposing traffic going into Van Nuys, meaning you are some 4,000' above the minimum altitude for that segment with only a few miles to lose it at the inevitable "best forward speed" with a bunch of business jets in trail...
Note that transient parking here is minimal, and sometimes non-existent: if you're planning an overnight stay, best book it with one of the FBO's (I used Supermarine, who were friendly and competent, even though I was in a lowly 172 surrounded by the Citations and Hawkers to the stars, etc.).
Note also that with a few exceptions there are no defined runway exit points here -- you get off the runway wherever you can on the continuous apron (try not to hit a runway light...), and taxi past the continuous hold short line as fast as you can (otherwise tower will get rather unpleasant).
Oh, and this is a busy airport, with a very diverse mixture of aircraft and pilots. (there's a lot of training being done here), and some stringent noise abatement procedures.
Home Of The Castle Air Museum
Home of the excellent Castle Air Museum (http://www.castleairmuseum.org), and previously Catsle AFB (so it has the sort of runway you can almost land a 172 *across*...). Castle's got a good ILS approach and recently got a part-time tower, so it's also becoming something of a Central Valley training destination -- watch out for the students in the (huge) pattern!
A Surprisingly Large and Busy Towered Airport...
A surprisingly large and busy towered airport, Camarillo's location (basically Oxnard) is good for Outer LA destinations like Simi Valley, and it's an interesting destination in its own right, with the SoCal Commemorative Air Force hangars and museum on-field.
The airport cafe -- Waypoints -- is kinda famous for its tri-tip (look it up -- I didn't know what it was either) Wednesdays, and ain't bad for other standard fare either. The transient parking area is right in front of the cafe, which is only open until 6pm, unfortunately.
I've dealt with both Channel Islands Aviation and Skyblue Air at Camarillo, and have been pleased by both businesses. There's currently (7/07) relatively cheap fuel available at the self-serve pumps, but I don't know how long that will last...
Not An Easy Airport To Get In To...
Ruth's a nice little airport in the middle of nowhere. There's really nothing next to or at the airport itself -- no services, no stores or shops, just a few huts and sheds and a (mostly-closed) ranch off to the side. And in summer it gets HOT, so bring a lot of water...
But it's a good place for a BBQ or a picnic on the tables next to the "ramp", and then for a long hike in the hills or along the river (but it's rugged and sparsely-inhabited country around here).
The airport itself quite a challenge to get into and back out of -- it's at the bottom of a long(ish) narrow valley, and the runway is out of sight for a significant segment of final approaches from either end. There is no easy way to do a normal pattern (you have to keep high and pretty much over the runway itself on downwind), and the downdrafts from the surrounding ridges can be fierce. The turns to base and final if you're landing to the northwest are done within a few hundred metres -- and at a lower altitude -- than the surrounding ridges. And then you dogleg up over the Mad River and finally see the runway.... The runway itself is long and wide enough, and it's a nice location.
Home Sweet home!!!!!!!!!
This is my home airport, not to busy and not so empty that it makes you sad. There is flight training on the field and also a jump school. Avg as only, but who would lad a jet on 2300' of runway anyway? Come on down to 3fk and see us sometime.
Ice Cream
Apparently there's an ice cream stand just off the field. I plan on checking it out the next time I'm there.
Restaurant
There's a very inexpensive greasy spoon just out the gate and up the hill.
Nice airport
Another good airport to practice instrument approaches as the folks working the tower are great.
Attractions
If you have time when you stop here, there's a great aviation museum within walking distance.
Good diner
There's a good little diner on the field here. Angelina County is also a good place to work on ILS and VOR approaches.
Booming small airport
In 2004, there wasn't much here, but a few years later, this small airport looks a lot different. Say hi to Gary if you stop in.
Good place to...
practice NDB approaches, as it's usually not too busy.
Friendly crew
This is a great airport for training. The folks in the tower are very great. They're very accustomed to students, and will be very helpful (and patient). Well, at least they were every time I (or all my friends) flew there.
Pickett House
There's usually not much going on at this (small) airport, but once you land here (if you have time), call the Pickett House restaurant. They'll come pick you up; then I hope you're hungry, as they offer some of the best homestyle (southern) cooking you can ask for. After you're done eating, they'll drive you back to the airport. You'll need to check your weight and balance though, as you may have added a few pounds :-)
Cheap Gas and a VOR on Field!
Usually the best gas prices in South GA!
Nice airport
My former base of operations in Texas. Very friendly service at the newest FBO there, Galaxy Air. And, as David mentioned, Johnny (at Avionics Unlimited) does excellent work.
Diner
I second David's remarks. The 50s diner here is excellent. The menu is simple, but the food is great, and the decor takes you back in time, complete with poodle skirts on the girls.
Rio Concho has good burgers
Get the bonanza and leave with AV Gas. I don't think they do the free burger with Avgas purchase anymore.
International airport in his own mind.
🔗 Thu, 02 Aug 2007
— Anonymous Flyer at Gorden E Bellah International Airport, United States
Too much time on his hands and a good bulldozer