Best GA airport near Dallas

I have only ever flown into/out of Arlington (GKY) and Fort Worth Spinks (FWS), but I would say FWS is a pretty nice place.

I would avoid GKY at all costs... a TON of foreign student pilots that jam the pattern and you have a hard time understanding those pilots on the radio.
 
Where will you be staying? For how long? Is location important?
 
Staying at Embassy Suites and will need some sort of transportation to the hotel..don't necessarily want the hassle of renting a car (but will if necessary), since I'll only be there for one night. It seems to be really close to DFW, but I wouldn't mind avoiding the landing and handling fees involved with that, if I'm understanding the Airnav comments correctly.

http://www.embassysuites.com/en/es/hotels/index.jhtml?ctyhocn=DALEMES
 
Addison, Love, Meacham, Alliance & some others are all about 20 minutes from your hotel and much better for GA than DFW.

Embassy at DFW South? or the one near Love Field?
Challenged said:
Staying at Embassy Suites and will need some sort of transportation to the hotel..don't necessarily want the hassle of renting a car (but will if necessary), since I'll only be there for one night. It seems to be really close to DFW, but I wouldn't mind avoiding the landing and handling fees involved with that, if I'm understanding the Airnav comments correctly.

http://www.embassysuites.com/en/es/hotels/index.jhtml?ctyhocn=DALEMES
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I believe it's the Embassy Suites that is 2 miles from DFW and 20 miles from Dallas Love Field.
 
Sorry, I missed the hotel link the first time. It's the one by Bass Pro, and your mileage estimate is pretty close. But DFW is smack-dab in the middle of the metro area, so you have a number of options. Coming from Louisiana, I'd be tempted to use Exec (RBD) and rent a car. It's closer, probably cheaper (including fuel cost differential) and much easier access in and out with fewer ATC hassles.

On game days, many private planes use that airport and drive to Arlington to watch the Cowboys lose.

Challenged said:
I believe it's the Embassy Suites that is 2 miles from DFW and 20 miles from Dallas Love Field.
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Challenged said:
I believe it's the Embassy Suites that is 2 miles from DFW and 20 miles from Dallas Love Field.
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Sounds like the one near Grapevine Mills mall (north of DFW). And the event planner put ya right in the middle of our metromess.

If that's the one, KAFW is not a bad choice. But I'll bow to Wayne's greater experience. Just about any way you go, travel to and from your hotel is a major pain during most hours of the day.

IIWIYS, I'd take the commercial ticket, relax with a beverage in flight, and another on the shuttle to the hotel.


Wayne's post came in while I was typing. So I'll agree that alliance doesn't make much sense when you coming from the east.
 
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P.S. When are you here? Us Dallas folk have been known to come find transient pilots and go to dinner. A real good BBQ ain't that far from ya.

Might even talk Spike into giving you a ride in his convertible zip code on wheels he calls an Eldorado.
 
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yea, your best bet would probably be RBD or ADS. for price I'd go to RBD, its also a little easier to get in and out of if you're not as comfortable in busy airports. ADS is busier, but not too bad if you just get flight following and ATIS early.
 
I just completed my research and flight plan for CHS-RBD-SAT. I have business in Dallas next week T-W then down to San Antonio for a meeting on Th. Then the long haul back home to CHS Th night. I've flown into Dallas about five times. This will be my second time into Executive/RedBird. I considered flying into DFW. They advertise avgas at $5.50 where its over $7 in the nearby airports. However, they want a couple hundred for landing and parking fees!

Anybody fly GA in DFW? Do they really whack you for those fees and how much hassle is it to get in and out?
 
$4.39 @ Greenville-Majors.

It's a known that the closer in you are to the center of Dallas, the more insane the fuel prices. Frequent occurrence for the locals to fuel at the perimeter airports and then short hop home.

And when I was at Cleburne in the Spring, I met 2 pilots doing just that. Both hangared at FTW-Spinks, just 15miles north and reported fuel 40-50cents more.
 
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This is just the sort of information that I was looking for, so thanks for the input so far. I'll be there August 4th and leaving August 5th, and I'll have my good friend and his 9 year old son in tow.

I'm finding that sometimes it takes a good bit of planning to make a GA trip go smoothly, but I really enjoy that portion of it too..doing location research, looking at the weather, planning fuel stops; it makes the trip more of an experience for me than just a simple flight from point A to B.
 
AggieMike88 said:
$4.39 @ Greenville-Majors.

It's a known that the closer in you are to the center of Dallas, the more insane the fuel prices. Frequent occurrence for the locals to fuel at the perimeter airports and then short hop home.

And when I was at Cleburne in the Spring, I met 2 pilots doing just that. Both hangared at FTW-Spinks, just 15miles north and reported fuel 40-50cents more.
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Apparently Delta Qualiflight out of Meacham has some "credit" system with the folks at Cleburne, so the students/instructors out of Delta Qualiflight always fuel up at Cleburne.
 
Baron2PG said:
Anybody fly GA in DFW? Do they really whack you for those fees and how much hassle is it to get in and out?
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We usually fly into ADS but we had the occasion to go to DFW a couple weeks ago. The new facility is much nicer than the old one. It's also in a completely different location, on the northeast side of the airport. Here are the facility fees and the website.

Landing and facility fees
Landing and facility fees are not waived with fuel purchases. Landing fees are $3.89 for each 1000 pounds of max gross landing weight.

Facility fees are charged for each 24 hour period or part thereof and are based on max gross landing weight as follows:

0-12,500 pounds-$65
12,501-25,000-$85
25,001-50,000-$105
50,001 – 100,000-$125
100,001 – 200,000-$145
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http://www.dfwairport.com/corporateaviation/index.php
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I didn't think it was that much of a hassle to get in and out although taxiing is always a challenge at a big airport. I'm also not sure how they handle small GA airplanes. We were IFR, and in a airplane which can keep up with the flow of traffic so I wouldn't be a good judge of that. However I'm sure I would opt for ADS if I had a choice between the two.
 
Nothing about KDFW is good for GA. Arlington has become another popular destination for visitors, due to quick access to baseball, football and theme parks.

Baron2PG said:
I just completed my research and flight plan for CHS-RBD-SAT. I have business in Dallas next week T-W then down to San Antonio for a meeting on Th. Then the long haul back home to CHS Th night. I've flown into Dallas about five times. This will be my second time into Executive/RedBird. I considered flying into DFW. They advertise avgas at $5.50 where its over $7 in the nearby airports. However, they want a couple hundred for landing and parking fees!

Anybody fly GA in DFW? Do they really whack you for those fees and how much hassle is it to get in and out?
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Baron2PG said:
I just completed my research and flight plan for CHS-RBD-SAT. I have business in Dallas next week T-W then down to San Antonio for a meeting on Th. Then the long haul back home to CHS Th night. I've flown into Dallas about five times. This will be my second time into Executive/RedBird. I considered flying into DFW. They advertise avgas at $5.50 where its over $7 in the nearby airports. However, they want a couple hundred for landing and parking fees!

Anybody fly GA in DFW? Do they really whack you for those fees and how much hassle is it to get in and out?
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D/FW simply isn't geared to GA. Sometimes you may not get in GA. Flying two weeks ago, I heard them deny a touch and go by a military aircraft. It can be extremely busy and confusing to taxi. I've had airline pilots with me that land there that didn't want to land GA because It's busy, confusing, can take forever to taxi and WHY?
If you really have to be there it's one thing; if not, much better to use one of the many other choices.
I'll be in your neck of the woods early August; going to Kiawah Island.

Best,

Dave
 
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Sounds like I'll be headed to my Redbird/Executive per my original plan. Fuel is reasonable but I'll have to rent a car and drive 30 mins North. However, it puts me on the south side of the class B and a little closer for my jump down to San Antonio. I figured the landing/parking fee at DFW would be a wash as I wouldn't need a rental car but based on the feedback I think I'll steer clear.
 
Another vote here for RBD. Especially if you're heading to/from SAT. Easy in and out.

When I lived in San Amtonio, I used pretty much every airport around Dallas, except DFW. I foud RBD to be one of the easiest.

If you're doing SAT, consider Stinson (SSF) as an alternative. Among other things, it has self-serve fuel.

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One of the pilots here in Alpine got his multi rating at GKY - he said that the students referred to it as "Go Kill Yourself". because it's so busy and crazy there. I have flown into Meacham and parked at Sandpiper - think that's what it's called - and they were friendly helpful etc etc... So, I know Meacham is OK but have never flown into the others as I was visiting a friend in Ft Worth.
 
Mesquite Metro (KHQZ) is just on the east side of Dallas and has always had really cheap fuel. It is a nice and quiet airport with a 6000' runway. McKinney is also great (KTKI) and Addison is nice but a little more hectic (KADS). I spent 8 years in Dallas and these were my favorites, but aren't quite as close to DFW or Grapevine as you may want.
 
Jeanie said:
One of the pilots here in Alpine got his multi rating at GKY - he said that the students referred to it as "Go Kill Yourself". because it's so busy and crazy there.
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Oh my, that's SO funny! I've not heard that before, but it's accurate.

Jeanie said:
I have flown into Meacham and parked at Sandpiper - think that's what it's called - and they were friendly helpful etc etc... So, I know Meacham is OK but have never flown into the others as I was visiting a friend in Ft Worth.
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Meacham and Alliance are both great options on the west side of the metroplex. Spinks, too. And yes, you remembered the name correctly (Sandpiper). Texas Jet takes good care of people, too, and there's another outfit just north of them whose name I can't recall that Dr. Dave uses and likes.
 
TangoWhiskey said:
Another option, same driving distance, would be McKinney (TKI)

http://www.aopa.org/airports/KTKI

I bet you can get an Enterprise rental there.
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There are on-site rental cars at RBD. It's Texas - everyone drives ;)

I ended up at Lancaster one time when a squall line came in shutting down arrivals to all the Metroplex airports including RBD (never good when ATC says "airspace closed, state your intentions"). It's a little further south, but had Enterprise on site w/easy access to the interstate.
 
Rockwall (F46) isn't a bad place to stop on the east side. It has some of the cheapest fuel ($4.85 right now) on this side of the metromess. Of course, that means a rental car. But Mesquite and McKinney (HQZ and TKI) also mean a little bit of a drive.

Once I'm permanently out at my place (T14), I plan on having a courtesy car for pilots who want to stop before they fly into the Bravo. That's about a year off, however.

Either way, you have lots of options. If you want cheap fuel and not much hassle, HQZ or F46 are decent options. You'll just have to drive a little further. The fbo at Rockwall closes at 6:30pm, but they can arrange for a rental car for you.
 
TangoWhiskey said:
Another option, same driving distance, would be McKinney (TKI)

http://www.aopa.org/airports/KTKI

I bet you can get an Enterprise rental there.
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Yeah, Mckinney wouldn't be bad. You could rent a car and take the Sam Rayburn tollway straight to the Bass Pro area. Denton would be roughly the same drive without the toll except a lot more traffic.

It's too bad you're staying right at DFW airport. Most anywhere else in the Metromess you could find a GA airport nearby.

Doc
 
AFW would be ur closest bet to grapevine, but watch out for ramp fees an fuel prices. Ross Perot is pretty proud of that piece of real-estate. FTW would be ok. RBD would be a bad choice due to location. U would be driving almost completely across the metroplex. Another possibility would be coming to c me at DTO (Denton, TX). I work in the ATC Tower here. I'm pretty sure the fuel prices are more than competitive, I'd recommend business air center who also keeps a nice selection of rental cars in stock. I don't think there's a ramp fee.

We do have radar and our runway was just completed this week, a brand new 7000' asphalt. The only problem might be traffic load. At times there's flight training in excess, but we usually can build a hole for ya before u get there, especially if ur inbound IFR, w VFR flight following or just give us a call 10-15 out initially. Most of my coworkers are good about giving priority to GA pilots over the academy students. Good luck and enjoy ur trip.
Zack

If u do come to Denton, do not take I-35E towards Dallas. The traffic and construction near DFW at 121 is ridiculous. Go the back way on I-35W towards Fort Worth and skip over to grapevine via hwy 114.
 
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