Best route across Texas/Ark/Miss

cherring

Filing Flight Plan
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Cliff
Hi all, picking up a LSA aircraft in Albuquerque and flying it back to Eastern NC this weekend if weather allows. Can anyone offer advice on the best route across Texas, Arkansas Mississippi etc. in order to be able to find food and transportation to overnight lodging from the various small airports? We would stop for fuel/food every few hundred miles, and probably for the night perhaps halfway across TX. Most direct route would be along the TX-OK border, but we could take a more Southerly route if that is better to follow the population centers. Guess it's either North of DFW or South.
Thanks in advance!
Cliff
 
If you can make it to Greenville, Texas (KGVT, just east of Dallas and outside the Bravo), I'd be glad to drive you to and from the hotel. Send me a private message if you're interested.
 
This is a great group, with great people. Might just take you up on the offer if that route works out for us. Spending the night in an unattended airport terminal is not my idea of fun for this trip!
Thanks so much. Cliff


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If you can make it to Greenville, Texas (KGVT, just east of Dallas and outside the Bravo), I'd be glad to drive you to and from the hotel. Send me a private message if you're interested.
 
If you manage to make it to Pine Bluff, AR between 11 and 1, you will find one of the best soul food cafes on the field. Grider Fiiled KPBF. You can sleep in the two biiiig lazy boys in the quiet room. Has big screen TVs, shower, lounge..... It's a good stop. But, don't leVe the field. Pine Bluff city is a crap hole. The field is on the outskirts.

I flew to to KDYR in Tn today. Good restaurant for lunch and dinner. Come hungry.

Grand Prairie KGPM in DFW has Mixed Up Burgers on the field, pilot shop, MX. It's where I tie down when I fly into DFW.
 
When I do that trip, I like to overnight at Fort Worth Meacham (FTW). Get a courtesy car or rental and stay at the Stockyards. Lots of good places to eat....and there is the Ernest Tubb Record Store. As far as further east, I've done Montgomery AL and it was decent. Stayed at the Embassy Suites and the hotel picked us up.
 
Little Rock (KLIT)has a pretty view with the city in the background along the river. Crew car if you buy gas, lots of good place to eat. Not much in MS, but there is a nice FBO in Meridian (KMEI) with free hot dogs and waffles, free ice cream/coffee/soda/tea, free pizza on Fridays. From there I'd go to Knoxville (KTYS), again free crew car, nice FBO. From Knoxville you're on the home stretch...You could stop in Johnson City, TN (KTRI) f you had a mind to...then on to NC.

I've been to all of them...I'd highly recommend Johnson City if you want somewhere to grab a beer and spend the night. They're all ~ 300 miles from each other.
 
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If you can make it to Greenville, Texas (KGVT, just east of Dallas and outside the Bravo), I'd be glad to drive you to and from the hotel. Send me a private message if you're interested.


Not trying to discourage a POA meetup, but both my brothers-in-law work for L3 there. Not much excitement to be found unless you are willing to drive him to Rockwall.
 
If you really wanted an experience, you could try stopping at the a Hangar Hotel in Fredricksburg, TX.
 
Along the TX - OK border you can find some really cheap gas on the Oklahoma side. KAXS, the Altus general aviation airport, located under the shelf of the TRSA for Altus AFB, has a great price on gas, and they bend over backwards to make you feel welcome. When I stopped in to refuel recently they offered me a crew car without my asking. I almost felt guilty for turning the offer down, it was offered so nicely.
 
Your welcome to stop here in KADF in southwestern Arkansas. I'll be around this weekend. I can give you a lift to one of our local restaurants and/or the hotel. I don't mind as I'll either be at the airport or five minutes away at my house.

Our fuel also just went down to $4.something.

If you decide you might stop in just pm me and I'll give you my cell #.
 
Ardmore Downtown Executive is just north of the OK-TX border on I-35. I have never landed there actually, but I've heard real nice things about the FBO there. From what I hear, they might give just you the shirt off their back. Hotels within a few miles. Cheap fuel.

Ardmore Municipal is a towered, but eerily under utilized airport north of the city of Ardmore, OK. They have a really nice, new terminal there with comfy recliners, computers, vending, etc. It's about 16 miles from town, but I think they have rental cars. It's an old WWII bomber airport, which is why it's off the beaten path, but I kind of like it. Don't know if the bbq restaurant in the terminal is still in business. I think this field is on that historic airports site that has recently been the subject of a thread here on POA.

Eaker Feld in Durant, OK is east of Ardmore on the border. Good sized, non towered airport. There is a university aviation school based there. Only a couple miles from a large casino with a nice hotel, or maybe 5 miles to the usual lot of chain hotels. Hampton, Holiday Inn, Comfort, etc.

Just south of Durant is North Texas Regional Airport outside of Sherman, TX and Denison, TX Never landed there, but it's a fairly large field. I'm sure they have all the services you might need. The cities of Sherman and Denison make up a pretty good sized metro area. About 120,000 population, so you can find nearly anything you might need in town.

Hope this helps. I'd tell you to stop here in Lindsay, OK and I'd grill you a steak, but there's not anywhere good to stay unless an air mattress in my living room sounds appealing. You can tend to the baby in the middle of the night too if you want.
 
Not trying to discourage a POA meetup, but both my brothers-in-law work for L3 there. Not much excitement to be found unless you are willing to drive him to Rockwall.
I was there a few years ago for a job interview. The ONLY advantage of the job was being able to park my airplane right outside my office.
 
I went to ADM a couple months ago. The restaurant on the field was closed for the weekend but the guy at the FBO gave me a courtesy car. I'm still not sure whether it was his actual car or if it belonged to the FBO. It was a Lexus SUV with well over 200k miles on it. I took the guy's advice and went north to Davis for lunch at one of the best BBQ restaurants I've ever been to.
 
I went to ADM a couple months ago. The restaurant on the field was closed for the weekend but the guy at the FBO gave me a courtesy car. I'm still not sure whether it was his actual car or if it belonged to the FBO. It was a Lexus SUV with well over 200k miles on it. I took the guy's advice and went north to Davis for lunch at one of the best BBQ restaurants I've ever been to.

You must have eaten at Smokin' Joe's.
 
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Yeah. Folks always tell the newbies up stay south in the winter, but i was taking the northern route today to stay out of the ice.

Sounds like I may be repeating that route on the way home this weekend.

Yep, winter time you just play it by ear and take the route that works best the day you need to fly. The southern route is not free of icing hazard in the slightest, it's just less frequent.
 
100LL is now $3.00 at Sherman Municipal KSWI. Of course, you shouldn't need much of it, but it's a great fuel stop.
 
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