Experiences while flying GA in the past year

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Jakl15

Jakl15

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Jakl
My wife and I found a place that we’re going to start renting from between now and when we purchase something of our own. My biggest question, since I really haven’t done much lately except fly for work and do a checkout in the local rental Archer, is how is GA traveling currently? Or even the off-airport burger runs?

Previously I was used to crew cars being readily available (have not pressed to test that one yet) when you fly into an airport that has a notable near-field eatery. Or when flying into a smaller regional airport with an FBO having easy access to rental cars on-field and taking them to your hotel/Air BnB.

Basically, GA hands down beats the drivers on the streets of *insert city here* Texas (its ok, I’m Texan), and we want to get away while not flying commercial. But that seems like just one piece of the puzzle. No, we aren’t looking to live in a bubble, but what have your experiences been lately flying for that hamburger, or going for a long weekend trip somewhere close?
 
Oregon keeps flip-flopping on whether restaurants are forced closed, allowed to do open-air dining, allowed to do take-out, or allowed to do dine-in. It's been strange and really difficult to predict. Added to those challenges, operating hours seem random and unreliable. Some places update websites, some places post on facebook or insta (neither of which I use). Yelp and google are trying to keep up, and they're like 50% accurate for me so far.

We have a lot of businesses actively flaunting all of the social distancing and mask requirements -- showing up in a mask at certain airports has gotten me glared at. It's hard to keep up frankly.

Access to all of the normal crew cars I frequent have been totally unchanged throughout 2020. Sort of uncanny really. If our governor found out, those would likely be skooshed in a hot minute. :D

Hotels have also been about the same for me. They've just all canceled the free breakfast and daily housekeeping. Same familiar rate of course.

$0.02. I'd ask around at the airport honestly. it seems rather local here, I'd think Texas was similar.
 
I have done a few local and extended trips through the summer and fall. Courtesy cars and FBO shuttles to hotels were both available. And yeah, it’s a bit interesting flying between states with differing regulations. Utah (masks required) to fuel stop in Wyoming (no masks) to Denver (back to masks). Just do more homework ahead of time so you know what to expect and what is available.
 
For the most part, almost everything in California has been shut down for some time when it comes dining in or even dining outside nowadays. Closest I could get to having a place to sit down & eat is Nevada (approx. 1.5hrs one way to Vegas from where I am). & places there have been starting to get more restrictive. If I don’t feel like going that far, I end up taking an insulated bag to keep the takeout somewhat warm & fly it back to eat at home. & just use Uber to get around at the destination for that.
 
It depends heavily whether you're stopping at a rural airport or a more urban c/d. I've not been to any fbo that has really changed other than the more urban ones (like my home airport) have everyone wearing masks.

All indoor dining is verboten in my county, and our Communist (her words, not mine) public health director has been running around fining restaurants in small rural towns that defy her.

Meanwhile 30mi south my favorite on field restaurant is back to normal. The servers wear masks, kind of, but no one else does.

We flew to a small town in MO a couple weeks ago to visit a regionally famous restaurant, and asked the guy running the FBO if we needed our masks. He said "nope, no virus here".

So obviously opinions run from 'chicken little' to 'head in the sand', and track pretty reliably with population density, just like everything else these days. It takes a little more research than it used to, but I've had great experiences flying places in the last six months.
 
I flew quite a bit, for me, last year and things have been going well. I haven't flown much during the high points of the first or second peak, nor to locations with the most tyrant governors (CA, NY, MI, NJ) so that may have an impact on things. There was a line at Southern Soul BBQ back in November, not as long as I've experienced there pre-COVID, but they were open and people were there having lunch; their few indoor seats were closed.

From earlier in 2020 through the end of the year I saw more and more turboprop/bizjet traffic and later airliners as the year went on. Earlier on it was mostly small piston planes.

With the new spike I think more lockdowns will be back in place, especially after Biden is sworn in.
 
wayne said:
the most tyrant governors (CA, NY, MI, NJ)
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You forgot IL...

Our governor outweighs all those listed, literally and figuratively.
 
I did not fly much last year but here in New England, the hundred dollar hamburger has all but been killed by covid. Quite a few airport restaurants have closed permanently. The ones that managed to survive were shut down for most of the summer. Even though our infection rates are relatively low, all the FBO's have mask mandates. My avionics shop had its doors locked and we're not taking any in person appointments. The FBO that did my annual required even the mechanics to wear masks at all times although they did allow me in the hangar once to see my plane.
 
Flying GA in GA (Georgia) has been great. Places are open, etc. Good to see air traffic picking up.
 
Jim K said:
You forgot IL...

Our governor outweighs all those listed, literally and figuratively.
Click to expand...

Now thats a good combo of funny, sad and truthful.

I flew privately about the same amount last year, and the only changes at the airports I went to were lots of signs requiring masks. But not one employee wearing one. If I would walk in with one, they would see me and 50-50 dig up a mask from somewhere or just not wear one at all. Courtesy cars and rentals were the same availability for me. My usual MO is to fly to smaller airports, so YMMV.

Hotels were much more in line with the rules of that state.

Food was either take out and eat in the courtesy car or eat in the room type deals.

My mechanic was really relieved when I walked in without one. I truly forgot to put one on, and he was happy to not have to wear one because I was.
 
Here in Minnesota, you can't sit down and eat a hamburger at any price. Courtesy car availability is all over the board from "no way" to "that will be $100/day" to "help yourself". Masks are plus/minus. According the the governor, you're supposed to wear them at the FBO, but it's about 50/50 and nobody says anything. Avionics and maintenance are unaffected at my airport, although it's more common that my A&P does stuff on my airplane in my hangar after hours and weekends rather than on behalf of the FBO at the FBO's shop. Neither of us wears a mask in that setting.

It's winter in Minnesota, so it's hard to judge traffic but compared to two years ago, the numbers appear that volume is pretty much unaffected here. Sometimes this winter on a nice Saturday, I'll make a little flying tour of 2 or 3 small-town airports around the state. Never a shortage there of pilots sitting around drinking coffee and eating donuts, and doing the usual hangar flying that pilots in small town airports are prone to. Some are wearing masks, some aren't.
 
And the restaurant in Gov. Newsom's winery is still open. What a blessing!
 
Can’t help with airport restaurants but we flew approximately 80 hrs between April and Christmas last year from west Oklahoma to the east coast and only ran into one FBO in NC that was locked down and signs posted however the back door was open and had full service fuel. Mainly set up to keep the public out but were still there for the aviation folks. All others were business as usual. Some wore mask but most did not.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
wayne said:
the most tyrant governors (CA, NY, MI, NJ)
Click to expand...

Add NM to the list. Small businesses are starting to drop at a pretty steady rate.

At least the Bernalillo County Sheriff (Albuquerque) stated in public that he will not enforce any law forced in by the governor that is unconstitutional.

The Gallup airport is still open with SS fuel. Expect to pay full service price, but not sure about a crew car. Some restaurants still open for carry out, mask required by state law. Someone suggested opening up to inside dinning but you will need to wear the mask while chewing. :rolleyes:

IBTL
 
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There are a lot of places in IL where the governor is being ignored. St. Clair and Madison county were on that list until the local health dept got scared of the hospital utilization, but even that mostly covers the non-rural parts of the county based on my observations.

So, in IL, it depends . . .

Also been to MI and WI during the pandemic. MI had all of the mask requirements as you might expect, but nothing limiting. WI seem to be actively trying to ignore all of the CDC recommendations to the maximum extent possible. I felt despised for wearing a mask.
 
Here in California, near strict "sight seeing" from the sky is about it. There are a few restaurants open for take-out only. In some jurisdictions outdoor picnic tables for public use are cordoned off or turned upside down. GA flights are way down here. Yet our governor can open a restaurant and sit should-to-shoulder in doors with medical lobbyists without masks when he wants too.

Last week I drove from Bay Area to Sacramento. Every gas station and fast food place I stopped, had the restrooms locked and closed due to Covid. It's very locked down here, unless you're in power. Yet we have very high infection rates nearing 80% from personal residences. People are gathering privately instead of Covid compliant gather situations like outdoors with social separation.

Yet we can still take a commercial flight, eat without a mask sitting next to a stranger, eat in the terminal, but can't eat at the local airport outside with family members socially separated.
 
I have flown/worked/travelled as normal. I will be giving Triple Tree a pass as they want you to eat your boxed lunch at your airplane. I haven’t been to KRDU so I can’t talk about them but all the other small airports around me, no problem. Went to Lewisburg West Virginia some masks, but perfunctory. But no problem. just came back from Williamsburg, VA, masks, but no problem. Lancaster, PA mask but no problem.

Locally, the restaurants are open almost as normal. The wait staff wears a mask. All of our LEO have stated publicly that they are not the mask police. Heck the rural county next over they still have a buffet for breakfast. My observation is that the more urban/north you go the more seriously they take the mask thing. I haven’t been south last year but February is a planned trip to Jekyll Island, so we’ll see about that. My wife is a hospital RN. So she is dealing with an uptick in the number of people admitted for Covid. Some have been very/gravely ill. Most get tested and sent home. But I got to give her credit it has not made her neurotic. She goes to work and takes her precautions, does her job and comes home. She did get the vaccine.
 
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Morgan3820 said:
My observation is that the more urban/north you go the more seriously they take the mask thing. I haven’t been south last year but February is a planned trip to Jekyll Island, so we’ll see about that. My wife is a hospital RN. So she is dealing with an uptick in the number of people admitted for Covid. Some have been very/gravely ill. Most get tested and sent home. But I got to give her credit it has not made her neurotic. She goes to work and takes her precautions, does her job and comes home. She did get the vaccine.
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Unless things fall apart terribly or Biden locks the whole country down because many cities are having issues it should be fine at Jekyll. I did an Angel Flight mission to St Simons (next island north and close enough to see Jekyll from the southern shore of St Simons) and things were open. I had a great lunch at Southern Soul BBQ; a large part of why I picked that particular mission. They were wearing masks in the FBO (not every FBO I've been in has that been the case) and in line at Southern Soul BBQ.

Glad your wife is doing fine and got the vaccine. My niece is a nurse and got COVID during a rotation in the COVID wing. At 22 years old she had a fever and upset stomach for one day and lost her sense of smell and taste; haven't checked to see if that's starting coming back yet or not. She got the vaccine. Her brother is a fire fighter and he got the vaccine as well, but many of his co-workers are not getting it, which I don't understand.
 
wayne said:
Unless things fall apart terribly or Biden locks the whole country down because many cities are having issues it should be fine at Jekyll. I did an Angel Flight mission to St Simons (next island north and close enough to see Jekyll from the southern shore of St Simons) and things were open. I had a great lunch at Southern Soul BBQ; a large part of why I picked that particular mission. They were wearing masks in the FBO (not every FBO I've been in has that been the case) and in line at Southern Soul BBQ.

Glad your wife is doing fine and got the vaccine. My niece is a nurse and got COVID during a rotation in the COVID wing. At 22 years old she had a fever and upset stomach for one day and lost her sense of smell and taste; haven't checked to see if that's starting coming back yet or not. She got the vaccine. Her brother is a fire fighter and he got the vaccine as well, but many of his co-workers are not getting it, which I don't understand.
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Thanks. I will check out the bbq.
 
MacFly said:
Neither of us wears a mask in that setting.
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Always nice to see someone who makes a big deal about pointing out that he’s a doctor bragging about not wearing masks and spreading misinformation on “inflated” COVID deaths, as well as calling the disease an “upper respiratory infection.” I guess that’s like calling a AAA a “belly ache.”

For someone who made such a big deal about how doctors should behave in online forums you’re doing a stellar job of setting an example.

My apologies if you and your mechanic live in the same household, but I’m guessing that’s not the case.
 
A reminder for everyone, that replies to this thread need to stay on topic. Any further political commentary and spin-zone like innuendo will incur a thread lock and warnings / suspensions will be issued. Consider this as your warning.
 
Because of COVID, and the shutting down of GA airports, for the first time in decades I haven't flown over 100 hours in the year.
But I did have a bunch of great adventures, flew into some airports I'd never been to or hadn't been into in decades, and met a couple of Youtube aviators at an airport diner when we all turned up there randomly.
 
Here in Wisconsin, as long as you stay away from the big cities, you would hardly notice anything out of the ordinary. I've flown for lunch to several spots both on and off of the airports in the past few months. KSBM has a nice restaurant with dining inside right on the airport grounds, KEZS has two or three places withing walking distance of the FBO, and a few others in the northern part of WI were just like any other year as far as dining, service option, crew cars, etc. As long as you don't go to Madison or Milwaukee areas, it's pretty much do as you like and masks are mostly just optional. I even flew across Lake Michigan late this past summer to Ludington (Mason County Airport) and didn't have any problems there either. I think you will find a great deal of difference from region to region and state to state as far as what is being done and how restaurants are reacting. It is best to call ahead wherever you are thinking and see what your options are.
 
Kevin Eggert said:
Here in Wisconsin, as long as you stay away from the big cities, you would hardly notice anything out of the ordinary. I've flown for lunch to several spots both on and off of the airports in the past few months. KSBM has a nice restaurant with dining inside right on the airport grounds, KEZS has two or three places withing walking distance of the FBO, and a few others in the northern part of WI were just like any other year as far as dining, service option, crew cars, etc. As long as you don't go to Madison or Milwaukee areas, it's pretty much do as you like and masks are mostly just optional. I even flew across Lake Michigan late this past summer to Ludington (Mason County Airport) and didn't have any problems there either. I think you will find a great deal of difference from region to region and state to state as far as what is being done and how restaurants are reacting. It is best to call ahead wherever you are thinking and see what your options are.
Click to expand...

That's all changed on this side of the lake. The state's immediate goal is to see how many restauranteurs and bars they can put out of business and out on the streets by the end of the month. So I went and supported the bars in Wisconsin last month via the magic of GA.
 
Here in Idaho, we have mask rules but they are largely ignored. I guess that’s why the Southern Idaho hospitals have invoked their crisis management protocols and are now rationing health care like some parts of SoCal. My mother in law lives just over the state line in the Spokane Valley in an independent living facility. Washington has had some rather draconian rules. She had a friend fall the other night. Ambulance responded and stopped at 3 hospitals in the Spokane area. Similar to the Christmas story, no room at the inn. Fourth hospital took her in on a gurney in the hallway. Figured out her pacemaker was off, made an adjustment and sent her home via a cab at 0200 in the morning. Fortunately the cabbie was a real gentleman and instead of just dropping her off, he helped get her into her apartment. Another friend is stuck in the hospital with his second fractured hip in 2 months. Can’t go home, can’t go to a rehab facility and his wife is not allowed to see him. It is getting really tough out there, especially for the elderly.
 
Thread closed.

Some folks were able to discuss the subject and stay on topic without drifting into the spin zone, but many of you were not. As a result, the Management Council has determined to keep it closed.
 
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