KISM to KEYW in a 172

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eventualpilot

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eventualpilot
I will be in the Orlando area for about a week in October. I plan [weather permitting] to rent a Cessna 172 on Open Airplane and fly down to Key West for the day. The plan is to depart KISM early in the morning, explore the area, grab a meal or two, and then fly bac.

I was planning on navigating using VORs and VFR waypoints, but at this point I don’t have a specific route in mind. Any suggestions?

Any restaurant to try or avoid?

If not Key West, are there any other airports in Florida I should consider?
 
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Avoid the teathered radar balloon and the Naval Air Station! ;)

For a quick bite during a walk around Old Town, B-O's Fishwagon is a great little stop http://www.bosfishwagon.com/

The Conch Republic http://www.conchrepublicseafood.com/ has great steaks and seafood, if you go there, look cornerwise across the square towards the Schooner Warph Bar and Grill at the little white windowless ice house, that's Jimmy Buffet's KW recording studio.

When it's not packed, Sloppy Joes has fairly good bar food.

If you get there in time for breakfast, http://www.blueheavenkw.com/ is a MUST. Lobster omelettes with banana pancakes... and live chickens.

Plenty of places to grab a typical 1/2 lb burger along Duval St.

Seek out Kelly's http://www.kellyskeywest.com/ Formerly owned by Kelly McGillis and her former husband, Kelly's is located in the original Pan Am Airlines office.

That should keep you busy :)
 
October is great flying in fla. .i would go GPS direct. From kism heading south ,no problem. If your not dedicated to key west,marathon key is good. I like x01 Everglades,nice little airport,rent a bike to town ,good restaurants. Friendly crew.cheap gas compared to key west. Key west is great if your looking for the tourist attraction. Watch out for the big blimp.
 
Louie's Back Yard -- unforgettable food and view.

As for routing, if you carry the right overwater gear, you can go straight line (mind the W-area though -- get flight following for sure), but it's a lot more scenic if you head southeast towards Key Largo and fly the whole chain low level.
 
Following US-1 from Homestead to Key Largo and down the Keys will add about 60 nm to your trip but is a pleasant flight and keeps you over land. Rent scooters and save the taxi ride from the airport and have easy parking.
 
I have done both the direct routing over water and following the keys. Much more to see following the keys. Enjoy Key West. We were on foot and were only there for the day but still saw all the main stuff and enjoyed some good meals.
 
Passed the OpenAirplane UPC last weekend. Just waiting for my paperwork to be processed and will be reserving a plane for the flight.
 
eventualpilot said:
I will be in the Orlando area for about a week in October. I plan [weather permitting] to rent a Cessna 172 on Open Airplane and fly down to Key West for the day. The plan is to depart KISM early in the morning, explore the area, grab a meal or two, and then fly bac.

I was planning on navigating using VORs and VFR waypoints, but at this point I don’t have a specific route in mind. Any suggestions?

Any restaurant to try or avoid?

If not Key West, are there any other airports in Florida I should consider?
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Yup.. Head due west and visit Ceder Key...
 
I like to take the short way from Central Florida to Cape Sabal then Key West, of course watching out for those things that the above posters say you should watch out for.
 
If you are going down to KEYW the last week in October, be aware that it's a bit off the hook for Halloween/Fantasy Fest. If that's what you want, not to be missed. If not, do something else.
 
Bill Watson said:
If you are going down to KEYW the last week in October, be aware that it's a bit off the hook for Halloween/Fantasy Fest. If that's what you want, not to be missed. If not, do something else.
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Agreed... Someone either hates it.. or loves it.....;)....:D
 
Bill Watson said:
If you are going down to KEYW the last week in October, be aware that it's a bit off the hook for Halloween/Fantasy Fest. If that's what you want, not to be missed. If not, do something else.
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It appears that my planned trip will overlap the Fest. Hopefully its not too crazy during the day.

Still waiting on OpenAirplane to finish processing my paperwork.
 
Oh it's just terrible having to fight your way through crowds of naked chicks.
 
I was informed earlier today by the flight school I had been planning on renting the 172 from that (contrary to their Open Airplane page) they no longer allow flights to Key West.

If I am unable to resolve the issue, I'm going to have to look for some alternate airports.
 
James331 said:
+100

One of my all time favorites.

Go into town and get some chowder.

Really cool spot.
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Cedar Key is another prohibited locaiton for their aircraft.

I have been told that the airport must have at least a 3000 foot paved runway and services available on field.

Anything other locations worth visiting or should I rent a car and drive 90 miles to the next nearest Open Airplane location?
 
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How about Marathon KMTH,,, down in the keys ??? Is that off limits too..:dunno:
 
I have no idea why Marathon (or Key West for that matter) would be off limits? Marathon has full service FBO on the field and plenty of runway. (I've been there!)

Any explanation from the school?

Cedar Key I sort of get. It's a shorter, narrower strip that points into the Gulf of Mexico. Although the last time I was there, somebody in a TBM 700 was doing touch & goes while I was eating lunch. (I assume they were doing touch and goes. I suppose they might have just been trying to land and being very persistent about it...)

John
 
jsstevens said:
I have no idea why Marathon (or Key West for that matter) would be off limits? Marathon has full service FBO on the field and plenty of runway. (I've been there!)

Any explanation from the school?

Cedar Key I sort of get. It's a shorter, narrower strip that points into the Gulf of Mexico. Although the last time I was there, somebody in a TBM 700 was doing touch & goes while I was eating lunch. (I assume they were doing touch and goes. I suppose they might have just been trying to land and being very persistent about it...)

John
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:rofl:....:lol:....

Great deduction..... and plausable too...:eek:
 
jsstevens said:
I have no idea why Marathon (or Key West for that matter) would be off limits? Marathon has full service FBO on the field and plenty of runway. (I've been there!)

Any explanation from the school?

Cedar Key I sort of get. It's a shorter, narrower strip that points into the Gulf of Mexico. Although the last time I was there, somebody in a TBM 700 was doing touch & goes while I was eating lunch. (I assume they were doing touch and goes. I suppose they might have just been trying to land and being very persistent about it...)

John
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No detailed explanation. They said they are a 141 school that primarily provides accelerated training and only do rentals as a sideline. I was told they have experienced issues in the past with renters taking planes to the Keys (and other “distant” destinations) and not returning them within the schedule timeframe.

A few months ago (information that is not reflected on Open Airplane) the owner made the decision to restrict rentals to mainland FL and southern GA.
 
Ah. So it has more to do with distance (and probably weather) keeping the planes out longer. Not operational safety concerns. That actually makes some sense. Essentially "We rent if it's convenient for us."

I fly out of KORL and the club I belong two has 2 C-172s. But you'd have to get a checkout from the chief instructor before renting. I'm not sure where else to send you either.

John
 
I suddenly have the image of the old remote control airplanes that were on a string which you could only fly around in a circle in my head. :)


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
Who's the operator? I can see a business reason, but not an operational reason to restrict flights to the keys. Cedar Key I can see where they might be a bit squeamish.

While not Open Airplane, VanAnda Aviation has a C-172 out of North Orlando Airpark. www.vaaviation.com

I would say something to Open Airplane about the unpublished restriction.
 
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jonnyjetprop said:
Who's the operator? I can see a business reason, but not an operational reason to restrict flights to the keys. Cedar Key I can see where they might be a bit squeamish.

While not Open Airplane, VanAnda Aviation has a C-172 out of North Orlando Airpark. www.vaaviation.com

I would say something to Open Airplane about the unpublished restriction.
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The operator is Sunstate Aviation. I have spoken to Open Airplane and they said that the Sunstate page would be updated with their current policies.

The reason I went with Open Airplane is that I don't have the time to get a rental checkout while I am down in FL.
 
I was able to find a 172M on Open Airplane. Did not get to fly down Key West, but I did fly up and down the coast and landed at Cedar Key for lunch.
 
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