Hi PoA,
I just got back into flying after a 10 year break, and am interested in making day trips (eventually overnight as well) to new places. Somehow in my initial PP training, we never stopped anywhere and parked aside from when I did my checkride at KSTS.
Fast forward to 10 years later and I'd like to actually stop places. The plan is to start with some simple lunch/brunch XCs to gradually build experience and XC time towards a possible/eventual IFR.
So the question is: How do you visit new fields when you plan to stay for lunch, or a half day, or overnight? I've looked on airnav, PoA, and reddit/flying, and the answers seem to be (a) call the airport manager, (b) call an FBO and ask for rates which never seem to be posted online, or (c) look on Google earth and try to get a sense for the layout.
Several of the fields I'm interested in (e.g. O69 Petaluma, or KWVI Watsonville) seem to have large tie-down areas with no aircraft. Can you just park there? Do I need to bring ropes? For fields with restaurants on-field (e.g. O69's 29er diner), is there typically parking close-by/obvious?
Thanks much for any advice. For now, I'm renting, so prefer easy/safe options, and ideally not carrying around ropes. Thx!
I just got back into flying after a 10 year break, and am interested in making day trips (eventually overnight as well) to new places. Somehow in my initial PP training, we never stopped anywhere and parked aside from when I did my checkride at KSTS.
Fast forward to 10 years later and I'd like to actually stop places. The plan is to start with some simple lunch/brunch XCs to gradually build experience and XC time towards a possible/eventual IFR.
So the question is: How do you visit new fields when you plan to stay for lunch, or a half day, or overnight? I've looked on airnav, PoA, and reddit/flying, and the answers seem to be (a) call the airport manager, (b) call an FBO and ask for rates which never seem to be posted online, or (c) look on Google earth and try to get a sense for the layout.
Several of the fields I'm interested in (e.g. O69 Petaluma, or KWVI Watsonville) seem to have large tie-down areas with no aircraft. Can you just park there? Do I need to bring ropes? For fields with restaurants on-field (e.g. O69's 29er diner), is there typically parking close-by/obvious?
Thanks much for any advice. For now, I'm renting, so prefer easy/safe options, and ideally not carrying around ropes. Thx!