Best GA airport for downtown Minneapolis?

[nddons]

I always fly commercial to MSP when I do business in downtown Minneapolis, and take the light rail or a cab to and from downtown.

However, I have a call in north central Wisconsin before needing to get to Minneapolis, and may have a need (OK, actually desire) to fly myself vs driving.

Is there a concensus on the best airport to use with some transportation (rail, cab, rental car) to Minneapolis? Type is a C-172.

Thanks.

 

[jesse]

I'd go with KFCM. Several decent FBOs there. Good facilities. (Lance Fisher is based there as well).

 

[Clark1961]

I overnighted at MIC and picked up passenger at STP. MIC was cheap. St. Paul Flight Center waived their fees at STP since it was a charity flight but they weren't bad if I'd had to pay'em. I'd use either airport again. STP is handy for downtown.

 

[gismo]

I always fly commercial to MSP when I do business in downtown Minneapolis, and take the light rail or a cab to and from downtown.

However, I have a call in north central Wisconsin before needing to get to Minneapolis, and may have a need (OK, actually desire) to fly myself vs driving.

Is there a concensus on the best airport to use with some transportation (rail, cab, rental car) to Minneapolis? Type is a C-172.

Thanks.

Your choices are MSP, ANE, STP, SGS, FCM, and MIC. MSP is the only one with direct access to downtown via public transportation. At STP (10-15 minutes from Mpls) you can catch a bus and get to downtown MSP via a transfer or two but IIRC the bus stop is a pretty good hike from the GA terminal (you might get a ride to the bus from the FBO). MIC is also about 15 minutes from downtown but there's no readily accessible bus AFaIK. Some of the FBOs there have failed so call ahead WRT parking and rental cars. SGS is a nice one runway airport but it's not near any major roads. Wipaire is the only FBO and they might have a crew car you could borrow. I think SGS (watch out for the Class B in the pattern!) would be 20-30 minutes from downtown Mpls. FCM (20-30 mins from downtown) has the greatest number of FBOs and all have at least some tiedown space. Some have had crew cars and several have rental cars. If you want to skimp on the car (and downtown parking) you can probably arrange to get dropped at the nearby (2 miles away) bus terminal and ride the SW Metro express to Mpls. ASI, Elliot Beech, and Executive are the biggest operations there and Thunderbird, Hummingbird, and Modern Avionics are the budget conscious places. Modern has SS fuel for $3.80 (cheapest on the field) and limited parking. TBird is probably the most transient friendly of the low budget group but all are OK.