Comments 801 to 850 of 5,167
Spanair Flight 5022 destination
Gran Canaria Airport was the destination of Spanair Flight 5022, the flight that crashed right after takeoff from Madrid Barajas Airport (MAD) on August 20, 2008:
Spanair Flight 5022
On August 20, 2008, an MD-82 jet crashed immediately after takeoff from runway 36L and caught fire, killing at least 153 of the 172 people on board. It was bound for Gran Canaria Airport (LPA):
re: A little information about Beja airport
Thanks for the update, Marcela. The Ryanair web site is not yet listing Beja as a destination, but as soon as they add it, we can change the airport's status to show scheduled airline service.
Two ICAO codes
This airport has two ICAO codes: LEVS as a military airport, and LECU as a civilian airport.
re: FAA duplicate
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.
FAA duplicate
The FAA has a duplicate entry in their database, listing this airport as both WA58 and WA93.
Construction in summer 2008
Gatineau is having its runway resurfaced during the summer of 2008. It's going to be shut down completely overnight from 00z (8:00 pm local) until 10z (6:00 am local) starting on Tuesday 19 August 2008, and has only about 2,700 ft available during the rest of the day.
Be careful scud running
I landed here a few years ago. It's a very nice airport, but I would not recommend coming in VFR in marginal conditions unless you know the area well -- there's a high cable crossing across the Strait of Canso just to the west of the airport.
Other runway at Chevak?
Is that another runway NW of the airport, or some kind of resource-based industry?
Former RAF station
Wadi Seidna (or Wadi Saidna) was an RAF station before Sudanese independence. I believe that this is still an active military base for Sudan's air force.
Busy GA airport, rude controller
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.
Talk about closing
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:
Ottawa's mystery airport
This has been a mystery airport for me for a while. I heard it mentioned on the radio a few months ago (a pilot said he was landing at "Pontiac Airpark" east of Arnprior). A search on the web turned up almost nothing, aside from a mention in some town council minutes for Pontiac, Quebec:
http://www.munpontiac.com/documents%20pdf/rapp-mtgs/angl-reg/MN070911.pdf
The only information in that document is the fact is that the airport is by Chemin River (River Road). Nothing shows up in the Google Maps satellite view, but I flew along River Road on Wednesday 6 August 2008 at 1,000 ft above ground level and found what looked like a large dirt runway (with no planes) at this location -- it was the only possible candidate. Maybe the airpark is still under construction.
re: $100 Hamburger or Breakfast
Conk: the $100 hamburger is an old aviation joke: $5 for the hamburger, and $95 for the gas to fly to the airport and back. Nowadays, it's more like a $300 hamburger.
Landing on the beach
This airport has scheduled service from Twin Otters that land on the beach.
re: Under construction
The airport opened on May 18, 2008.
History
There was an airfield here from 1917 until the 1980s. It's still an active (non-flying) airbase belonging to the RAF and used by the U.S.
re: Update: Landing Fee
That's good news about the fee. Sault Ste. Marie (CYAM) abandoned its landing fee for small aircraft a couple of years ago, and I think traffic has increased as a result.
re: this is a cool airport
I've moved it to the correct lat/lon.
re: Not cheap, but OK service
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.
re: Heliport
Thanks for the link -- I've updated the heliport using the information in it.
Lindbergh's departure point
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.
re: departed aircraft
According to Wikipedia, Air Philippines, Cebu Pacific, and Philippine Airlines offer flights between Bacolod City and Manila, while Cebu Pacific and PAL Express offer flights between Bacolod City and Cebu.
Now the Ontario Police College
This air base closed after World War II, and the grounds eventually became the Ontario Police College. The old BCATP triangular runway pattern is still clearly visible.
Spotted behind Maxville fair grounds
I was at the highland games in Maxville a few years ago, when I suddenly saw a Mooney take off from behind the trees on the north side of the fair grounds. When I peeked, I found a private, unlisted grass strip with a few airplanes. I don't know if the field is still operational.
Chinese-operated airport
China operates this airport to try to assert a claim over the disputed Paracel Islands.
World's highest airport
At an elevation of 14,219 feet AMSL, this is the world's highest airport with scheduled airline service, nearly 1,000 feet higher than El Alto Airport (SLLP) in Bolivia.
re: Airport now PPR.
Thanks for checking, Blake -- I'm glad that my fears were unfounded. Maybe the PPR is just an insurance thing, in case someone lands without checking runway conditions and tears off a strut.
re: Airport now PPR.
Blake: that might be bad news about the change in ownership. I wonder if they're planning to close the airport and build a development.
re: A little run down.
Thanks for the info, Blake. Until recently, at least, there was an active flying school here:
http://www.fnti.net/modules.php?op=modload&name=PagEd&file=index&topic_id=0&page_id=1
Easy airport
I visited Schiphol for the second time in 2006. It was simple, fast, and well-organized, with virtually no waiting time for customs. Easy and inexpensive to get into Amsterdam (or to other parts of Holland) by rail. Coming from North America, you're far better connecting here than Heathrow for visiting the continent.
Opened in 1999
This airport opened in 1999, taking over scheduled passenger service (and the IATA identifier COK) from Willingdon Island (VOCC).
Former COK
This airport also served as Cochin's main civil airport until Cochin International (VOCI) took over in the mid 1990s, and also took over the COK IATA code.
Closed January 2008
This airport closed January 2008, replaced by the new Bacolod-Silay City International Airport, which took over its IATA and ICAO airport codes.
Opened January 2008
This airport opened in January 2008, replacing the old Bacolod Domestic Airport, which had the same ICAO and IATA identifiers.
re: Change of designator
For the identifier, I'm sticking with Wikipedia and using LEPA as the primary one. The Wikipedia article also mentions that Son San Joan Airport is the previous name. I have the other code and the older name in keywords, so that they'll still show up for searches.
re: Change of designator
Thanks for the corrections, bru25l. We actually had two copies of this airport in the database, one under LESJ and one under LEPA. I removed the old copy and updated the proper one to show that it's a major airport.
Contact info for Bex
An anonymous OurAirports visitor who wanted to book a sightseeing flight from Bex airport sent in this information:
"Just in case you ever want to know the number for Bex Airport, it's 024 463 24 40, and when you call that, they give another number: 078 607 97 22 and when you ring that, there's a message that he's flying and he'll get back to me ..."
Landing fee for transient aircraft
The Clark Regional Airport's board has voted to levy a landing fee on all transient aircraft -- the story says it will be about $25 (!!), but does not mention if different fees will apply to different sizes of planes:
http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080523/NEWS02/805230474
Runway overrun and closure
A cargo Boeing 727 overran the runway on Friday 16 May 2008 and ended up with its nose in a Lagoon. The airport -- the only one serving the island -- was still closed as of Thursday 22 May 2008.
New airport
This is a newly-built airport which opened in 2007, to replace nearby Tappahannock Municipal Airport (W79).
IFR clearance
Plattsburgh is uncontrolled, but for an IFR clearance before taking offyou can call Burlington Clearance Delivery on 121.7 MHz.
Fees and cookies
I came into the airport on a diversion to get out of icing. For a piston single, Sheltair collects a $7.50 landing fee and a $4.50 parking fee on behalf of Clinton County (the airport owner), and they can't be waived (the parking fee was for a one-hour stop). On the bright side, they gave me a fuel discount that amounted to over $12, which is pretty-much the same as waiving the fee.
The FBO staff is extremely friendly -- asked if I needed a ride into town, drove me to and from my plane, and had free bakery-quality chocolate cookies ready and waiting. If you don't object to the fees (which aren't the FBO's fault), it's a nice place to stop.
Taxi to Boston
The cost for a cab into Boston (Back Bay) was $55 + tolls (none on our route); however, we had to wait about 40 minutes for the cab after North Atlantic called it, so it would be a good idea to radio them before you land (123.3 MHz) and ask them to order it for you. Make sure you have the street address of your destination, because the cabbies may be relying on their GPS to navigate.
Another alternative is to take a short cab ride to North Beverly Station and catch an MBTA train into Boston.
Free parking; fuel
There is free parking here by the control tower. Alternatively, you can park on the other side of the field at North Atlantic for $5/day (piston single).
North Atlantic makes three trips a day with their truck to fuel planes in this area, so you can still get fuel without taxiing across, as long as you plane is there long enough.
Customs fee dispute
The airport currently pays the government $1,000 per visit for customs services. It owes $95,000 to the federal government in back fees and is unable or unwilling to pay:
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/ottawa/story/2008/05/15/qc-tremblantairport0515.html
FBO and airport fees
I think this is the only FBO at Capital City Airport. They've blocked comments on AirNav, but here's what I got from a phone call today for a light piston aircraft:
Facility fee: $25.00 (waived with 5 gallon fuel purchase).
Ramp fee: $15.00
Landing fee: $8.00 (she wasn't sure about the exact amount)
It doesn't make sense for a quick fuel or lunch stop. Nearby Harrisburg International (KMDT) also has the landing fee, but not the ramp fee at the FBO.
Landing fee
The airport has an $8 landing fee for light piston aircraft, but the FBO has reasonably good gas prices ($5.20/gallon on 12 May 2008).
Flying in as pilot
I came to Dulles for the first time as pilot yesterday. The ADIZ was a total non-issue when I was IFR (just like any IFR flight). Potomoc approach and Dulles tower were friendly and co-operative, fitting me into the jet traffic in bad weather without any delays and giving me the runway I asked for. It was about a 3-minute taxi to Signature. They had a follow-me van waiting on their apron, and then a shuttle to take me about 50 meters to the FBO (in the rain). I waited 8 minutes for a Washington Flyer taxi to arrive from the terminal. All prices as quoted in a previous message -- cheap for a big airport (except for the fuel, of course).
New international airport
🔗 Sat, 23 Aug 2008
— @david at Palmerola International Airport, Honduras
The Honduras government wants to convert this base to be Tegucigalpa's new international airport (it already served that role temporarily earlier in 2008), while Toncontín (TGU) will server only smaller aircraft and domestic flights.