Comments 1,001 to 1,050 of 5,167
Southwest end of runway in poor shape
The southwest 600 feet of the runway (the first 600 of rwy 06 or the last 600 of 24) is in pretty bad shape, and has now officially been NOTAM'ed closed. The rest of the runway is a bit bumpy, but generally OK. The apron is at the northeast end.
U.S. Customs
U.S. Customs and Border Patrol is willing to meet aircraft at Maxson -- it's not officially listed as an airport of entry, but it's much closer to the Thousand Islands Bridge where the CBP officers are based than Watertown (KART), so it saves them driving.
One quirk (for both Maxson and Watertown), is that they won't accept arrival notices before the day of arrival because so many pilots don't show up, so you have to get up early to call two hours before arrival for a morning flight. They also couldn't meet me at 7:45 am because it was too close to shift change, but 8:00 am was fine.
Here are the phone numbers:
Voice: (315) 482-2472
Fax: (315) 428-5436
re: Just had to get this one in while it is still on the map
Yes, sadly the field closed almost a year ago, on September 30, 2006. According to the Wikipedia article, it was built in 1910, was the first aerodrome to be described as an "air-port" (in 1919), and was the founding location of the U.S. Civil Air Patrol (1941).
Closed to itinerant aircraft
This airport is now closed to itinerant aircraft, according to the Burlington approach controller I talked with today while overflying Plattsburgh -- visitors are supposed to go to Plattsburgh International (KPBG) nearby, an old military strip with a very long runway. The controller said that they were still using Clinton Co. for paradrops, and that there were still some local planes there (possibly including a DC-3 I once saw take off), waiting for hangar space at KPBG.
re: Customs ramp
So it was -- right beside the Heritage Hangar on the south ramp (near taxiway C). Quick and friendly customs.
re: Busy GA airport, expensive gas, fees.
Here's the web page with the fees -- read 'em and weep:
http://www.massport.com/hansc/hansc_operating.html
If you landed at 11:05pm and met customs, you'd be out $235 in fees before you even taxied to the FBO. The after-hours fee for customs applies all weekend, so this isn't a great place to clear coming from Canada ($175 customs charge on a Saturday).
Signature's fees aren't quite as bad -- in December 2006, they were asking $12.75/night for parking, and a $25 handling fee (waived with fuel purchase).
Customs ramp
According to the woman I talked to at the Atlantic FBO, US Customs does *not* meet planes at the FBO; instead, you have to taxi to the customs ramp. She said that it was on the west side of the airport, but the airport diagram shows it on the south end, near the National Guard buildings.
Atlantic FBO
Atlantic has taken over the AvCenter FBO at Burlington. When I called on September 13 2007, there were no landing or ramp fees for a single-engine piston, and a US $10/night parking fee. 100LL was $5.07/us gallon, including taxes.
Hills
There are lots of hills surrounding the airport -- there's nothing scary, but you do have to be on top of things. The grass runway was in fairly good shape (a little bumpy, but no holes), and there are nosewheel planes based at the airport, so they obviously maintain things (taildraggers can handle much rougher ground than nosewheel planes). I like the airport, and I plan to stop there again, though I might not want to try outclimbing the hills with my family on board on a hot summer day. The runway is good and long (over 3,000 feet), so that's not an issue.
Fuel from Air Killarney
I called Air Killarney (705-287-2242) -- they're not based at the airport, but they advised me to call when I land. According to the woman I talked to, it takes only five minutes for them to get out to the airport to fuel a plane.
Fuel and maintenance
Available from Almaguin Aero Maintenance (Ron and Vera Cooper), 705-386-0011.
Douglas Aircraft
This airport was long the home of Douglas Aircraft, later merged into McDonnell-Douglas, later acquired by Boeing. There's not much manufacturing going on here now, but this is where classic planes like the DC-9 and DC-10 launched.
re: Wrong name
This is still the name listed by the FAA. Does anyone have a source showing the new name? If so, I'll be happy to change it.
Hard to find
For some reason, I always find this airport hard to see from low altitude when I'm a couple of miles away. There are buildings around it and a low hill on one side. When I first visited here I was a fairly new pilot, and I wonder if my not seeing it now is just a throwback to that first visit.
JFK Jr.'s last departure
This is a nice airport for visiting northern New Jersey (a bit too far for Manhattan) -- I've stopped here a few times to visit a customer almost within walking distance. Unfortunately, the airport is most famous as the one John F. Kennedy Jr. departed from in his Saratogo on his last flight.
re: Rockcliffe Flying Club visit, 25-27 August 2007
Unfortunately, the big low-pressure system canceled the trip, especially since most of the pilots were VFR-only.
Car rental
The car rental company/companies in Stratford are closed Saturday afternoon and all day Sunday, so if you need to rent a car on the weekend, you might be better flying to the bigger airports at London (YXU) or Waterloo (YKF), and then driving 30-40 minutes.
Hotels hard to get in the summer
With the Stratford Festival (Shakespeare, etc.), we were unable to book hotel rooms two days before for a club flight from Rockcliffe.
FBO information
The FBO is Huron Flight Centre, 519-542-6599. I was unable to reach anyone by phone on a Saturday afternoon, despite several tries.
Famous raid
This airport was made famous by Operation Entebbe in 1976, with the rescue of a hijacked Air France airliner:
re: Nice Grass Runway
Thanks for the info -- I've moved the longitude a bit to the west, to the other side of the road.
Riots (August 2007)
There were riots at this airport on August 22, 2007, with four protesters shot by police, and the airport was temporarily closed:
http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/asiapcf/08/22/airport.riot.ap/index.html
re: This airport has a new identifier.
Thanks FLUNKN -- I've updated the code.
World's highest landing fees
This is the world's expensive airport -- http://www.cbc.ca/money/story/2005/11/15/gtaa-051115.html
If you're a private pilot, you can get dinged with a landing fee close to CA $200 even in a light plane, and that's before ramp fees, parking, etc. If you're an airline passenger, your share of the obscene landing fee (over $13,000 to land a 747, vs around $3,000 at other Canadian airports) is tacked onto your ticket price.
The high fees have nothing to do with the fact that the airport's busy -- it has about the same traffic as Philadelphia Intl (PHL), which had no landing fee for light aircraft when I visited in 2003 and charges around US $2,000 for a 747 to land. Something's just broken somewhere, and nobody will take responsibility for the problem.
If you're coming to Toronto, use CYTZ (downtown), CYKZ (northeast), CYOO (east), CNC3 (northwest), or CZBA (west). CYTZ has a landing fee of around $10 for a light plane (watch the ramp fees at Porter, though!), and the others have no landing fee at all.
Event: Gathering of Mustangs and Legends, 27-30 September 20
There's a huge gathering of P-51s and other vintage warbirds coming up here next month:
Videos
Here are some videos of landing, takeoff, and the nearby town from private pilot Rori Stumpf, who flew in on 11 August 2007:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=qeryfLZ-DOM
http://youtube.com/watch?v=WS5q9qAmAbw
http://youtube.com/watch?v=B9NghYyBEA0
The first one includes taxi into parking, and gives a good overview of the airport.
Rockcliffe Flying Club visit, 25-27 August 2007
The Rockcliffe Flying Club from Ottawa to PEI on the weekend of 25-27 August 2007. I expect that everyone will be planning to land here at YYG.
Taxi
The airport is a short taxi ride north of downtown Charlottetown -- it's been a few years, but I don't remember it being too expensive.
Rates and fees
Here's the schedule of rates and fees for the airport:
Not currently in use
While this airport isn't officially closed, it hasn't been used since 1995, and has been controlled by the Israeli Defense Force since 2001. The airport has two ICAO codes: OJJR for Jordan (who originally controlled the territory), and LLJR for Israel.
re: A better, but less interesting place
XingR: Kai Tak is in the system now:
Closed in 1998
This airport closed in 1998 and was replaced by the new Hong Kong Intl (HKG). Because it was close to skyscrapers and hills, pilots had to do an irregular approach to runway 13, turning just before a hill covered in a checkered pattern, hence the name "checkerboard approach". Here's a video of a 747 following the approach, taken from the checkered hillside:
Not open to public
This airport is in an ideal location, right in the middle of metro Toronto near the end of a subway line, but unfortunately it's not normally open to the public. It's a former military field, long used by Bombardier for flight testing. The closest public airports are Buttonville (YKZ) to the northeast, City Centre (YTZ) to the south (right by downtown), and the very busy and expensive Pearson (YYZ) to the west. Oshawa (YOO) and Brampton (CNC3) can also be useful for the extreme ends of Toronto.
Fees and fuel costs
On Saturday 4 August 2007, at Flite Line Services:
Landing fee (airport): CA $7.00 + tax
Parking: CA $8.14/night + tax
100LL: CA $1.47/litre + tax
Tax is 7% GST. Flite Line collects the landing fee on behalf of the airport, so you have to pay it no matter where you park. Flite Line has a ramp fee that it waives when you take fuel, but you still have to pay the first night's parking.
Best airport for Blue Jays baseball
This airport is a short walk from Skydome (now the Rogers Centre), where the Toronto Blue Jays play -- you could probably watch a bit of a game from your plane on short final when the roof's open (check out the satellite picture).
re: Car rental
Don't worry about the car rental hours (see my previous comment). National was happy to leave the keys and contract for me at the Flite Line FBO, so my arrival time didn't matter. Flite Line itself rents Hertz, but they'll handle keys for the other companies as well.
Busy
This is a busy GA airport. Arriving on Saturday morning on a nice VFR day, tower sent me several miles on a downwind -- all the way over the city -- and then turned me number 4 for landing. Be ready to get off the runway quickly so that you don't hold up other traffic. My past two visits were during the week, when it wasn't quite so busy.
Car rental
Hertz rents out of Buttonville, and the rates are reasonable (make sure you use your COPA or AOPA discount if you have one). After hours is no problem -- I called earlier then arrived Sunday night long after the desk was closed, and my contract and keys were waiting for me at the FBO with no fuss. Renting a car is the only realistic way into Toronto from Buttonville, but it's easy since the airport is right beside the 404, which turns into the Don Valley Parkway and leads straight into downtown Toronto. Outside of rush hour, you can expect to be downtown in about 25 minutes. I still prefer City Centre (YTZ) for downtown, since it's in walking distance, but Buttonville is better for the 905 area code or anywhere else you might need to drive.
Car rental
National and Avis rent through the public terminal, while Hertz rents through the Flite Line FBO. It was hard to get a car on the August Civic Holiday weekend -- Hertz and Avis had nothing available, and I had to guarantee a car (which is unusual) through National.
For an economy car, National charged $40/day before taxes+fees including the COPA discount. It's worth noting that the opening hours are unusual, so plan your arrival carefully (for example, National is closed from 12pm-2pm on Saturday).
FBOs
There are two FBOs on the field:
Flite Line: http://www.fliteline.ca/ (off taxiway B, if I recall correctly)
Waterloo-Wellington Flight Centre: http://www.wwflightcentre.com/ (end of taxiway C)
Flite Line usually has the cheaper gas.
Tim Horton's at north field
To add to Tony's comment, there's also a Tim Horton's (like Dunkin Donuts in the U.S.) about a 5-minute walk from the Ottawa Flying Club, so it's easy to walk over and grab a coffee or a bagel.
Airport closes at night
The airport closes some time around 11:00 pm (no takeoffs or landings allowed except medevac) and the ferry across the channel stops, so unless you can track down a water taxi you're stuck for the night. A few years ago I talked to one pilot who landed late, didn't get away in time, and ended up sleeping in his plane.
Scheduled to close
Along with Berlin-Tempelhof (THF), Tegel is scheduled to be replaced by an expanded Berlin-Schönefeld (SXF -- to be renamed "Berlin-Brandenburg International" around 2011). Tegel and Tempelhof are actually in Berlin, while Schönefeld is further out of town, in the former East Germany.
Expansion
This airport (formerly in East Germany) is expanding to replace Berlin's other two principal airports. In 2011, when its new terminal is scheduled to open, it will be renamed "Berlin-Brandenburg International Airport". The historic Berlin-Tempelhof Airport (THF) is scheduled to close once the new terminal construction is underway, and Berlin-Tegel Airport (TXL) will close six months after the new terminal is complete and the airport is renamed.
Closing
Tempelhof is scheduled to be closed in October 2008.
Car rental
Car rentals are available through the Brampton Flying Club (http://www.bramfly.com/). You have to prearrange them, and a local agency (not one of the big chains) will leave the car in the parking lot for you. You drop off at the airport as well, and someone comes out from Brampton to pick up the car.
Gas pumps
The last time I was there, the pumps at Brampton were set up like an automobile gas station -- they were on an island, with a little booth in the middle for the attendant. You taxi to either side of the pumps, get a fill up, then taxi on. The Brampton Flying Club (one of Canada's biggest) is the FBO, and has a slick operation running inside.
re: Can't find this airport
🔗 Sun, 30 Sep 2007
— @david at Sliker Strip, United States
Yes, I don't see anything in the satellite photo either. According to the FAA database, there's supposed to be a private 1,400 foot turf runway there (not listed in the AFD). Does anyone have more information?