Hello, I'm going to fly out to Cedar Key for the very first time this coming weekend. Do you guys have any tips on where to go and what to do? Thanks!
I've been meaning to stop in there just for the bragging rights, but I haven't gotten around to it yet.
The taxi lady will most likely contact you on CTAF when you announce your intention to land. She will be able to tell you what's available. The area you will be interested in is fairly small and once you get there, you can walk anywhere else.
OK! Here we go: - runway is short but not problematic; when resurfaced last year they made BOTH ends displaced thresholds:23 - OK there's a road there, 05 - no idea why. - parking is at approach end 05, only 4 or 5 tiedowns, ropes are there, please use them / winds get gusty and I've seen planes move about a bit - there are no taxiways, must back taxi - if all tie downs taken park across the runway in the grass, avoid obviously sandy spots for fear of bogging down. Sand spurs over there are awful, wear substantial shoes (I also killed a 3 foot rattlesnake over there a few weeks back, but I digress) - Judy will likely ask on CTAF if you need transportation to town. Don't wait to respond, she generally can't receive once you're on the ground. Her mobile is (352)949-2127. - Another ride to town is Randy Avery's Bike Taxi at (352)-694-9099 - either would also give tour of island. (I would but don't think I'll be there this weekend) - Restaurants: we like Steamers for dinner, Away From the World for lunch; The Island Hotel has a quieter but pricier dining room; Tony's Clam Chowder is good but dining room can be backed up - try carry out. Locals like a place called Annie's but I've never figured out their hours. - couple of museums in town, places to rent kayaks (will deliver), a place that rents golf carts. A lot of artsy places on 2nd street. Have fun, staying long?
Thank you, I will be flying in the morning. Have you ever been to Kona Joe's? I heard they have Breakfast all day and it's really good! Will do, the weather has been really windy these days hopefully that will transfer over to Saturday. No problem, I'm meeting up with a buddy So I'm sure we will take some photos along the way.
Have fun..it's a sweet flight. Here are some pictures from my last trip up there in April of 2016, right after they repaved and right BEFORE the hurricane that pretty much totaled the area.
Great place to visit, just nail the approach, if in doubt go around, it does look shorter from the air when you first see the runway, but its a bit of an illusion,it's okay you'll do just fine. Here is a photo from back in 2012 before the runway was repaved.
As long as you are proficient in short field ops you will be fine. I go there in the cirrus all the time and it's no biggie. But if you can't hit the first line or two - go around.
It's not that short (like 2100') depending on what you're flying. Probably won't get a 737 in there. But as I posted above, there was a Pilatus or TBM doing T&Gs for my entire lunch once when I was there.
That a couple/three weeks ago? - yeah he/she was very impressive. Tight/low patterns, short field landings. I saw a bunch of landings and back taxis by a Pilatus.
Rwy 23 is 2017' (338' displaced threshold), Runway 5 is 2355'. However, the runway IS wide (100') so it looks a lot shorter than it really is. I used to fly into KSPG which is about 2870' on rwy 18/36 and is also wide (150'). I know a few pilots that got freaked on short final because water is at both ends of the runway. One belly landed the plane because he forced it down (collapsed the gear) and a couple others have overrun the runway and gone into the drink. Personally I love flying into that field. KCDK is just plain fun to fly into..one day in the future I plan to go back, hopefully with my own plane.
With the recent resurfacing they (who makes these calls?) put a displaced threshold on 05 also....no idea why.
Ah yeah, that's right, wonder how much it is? Can't be more than 100-200 feet (at most). The one on 23 is definitely longer.
sometimes a aircraft just decides to stop flying before those big white lines. gusty winds and all .best course of action is just roll out. I wonder if a nasa form would be a good idea?
Maybe I don't understand the question, but a displaced threshold allows for longer rollout when landing from the other way, but they don't have to do as much work as it would take to support landing aircraft weights outside the threshold.
Yeah but they didn't change the foundation of the runway, just moved the threshold. Although the new pavement looks nice.
I guess I did misunderstand. I thought they added to the displaced threshold. Which way did they move the threshold?
No, 05 didn't previously have a displaced threshold, 23 did due to the public road that crosses at the threshold. No one seems to know why a displacement was added at 05 at resurfacing - ? Proximity to ramp?
I'm assuming they displaced just to make sure nobody landed short on that end either. Probably just did it as a precaution.
That would be my best guess. There's certainly no obstructions at that end. And I doubt they did any sort of load capacity test or they might've flunked the whole runway. (before paving)
Sorry guys didn't go yesterday. The winds were too bad yesterday. I will get there and update this post.
CDK is awesome! I went there on my long solo cross country during my PPL training. It's really not that short. Plenty long enough for any trainer provided you don't carry too much speed. When I landed the ramp was over full and my school doesn't allow grass operations with the wheel pants attached. So I just back taxied and left. Have fun!
I was over at my vacation home Florida for most of March & April, and I can't ever recall so much gusty wind like it's been this Spring ! I pulled the plug on a few planned trips because of it. I'm back over in July then it will be dodging the pop up summer storms I suppose ! A friend of mine does tailwheel training out of KGIF and the winds have really been screwing up his schedules.
Good decision, I'm fairly close at BKV and the wind was nasty Saturday. I'm careful about going to CDK on a windy day. There is no weather reporting, the wind flags are not in good shape, and I have noticed a fair amount of mechanical turbulence on short final for 23 on occasion. Be well prepared to do a go around there, as there are multiple reasons that may be the most prudent thing to do. Another nice thing about the area is, both Williston-X60 and Dunellon-X35 have some of the cheapest self serve fuel in the country, and neither is very far away!
Did you hear about that Cirrus that crashed at Clear water on Friday? Don't know if it's been posted or not: http://www.wtsp.com/news/pilot-dies-in-clearwater-plane-crash/437265402
....and be advised that, finally, for the first time in many months, there is now a Pilot Lounge (read: port-a-potty) in place - although it was misplaced at the wrong end of the runway (23app - where apron is 05app end) - I'm promised it will be relocated properly soon. ...and remember: this is the full extent of services at KCDK.
