Fly-in Cabela's, Bass Pros, nice Hotel in the eastern US?

German guy

German guy

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Oliver
Hi everybody,

my wife and I will do a round trip through the eastern part of the US at the end of this April.

Plan A is to start in St. Augustine, FL fly all the way up to Bar Harbor Airport BHB in Maine and then back to St. Augustine.
On the way up north, we want to fly right along the coastline, on the way back we want to take a more upcountry route, passing the Great Lakes.

Plan B would be, in case of bad weather along the east coast, to take a route towards Texas and stay in the southern part of the US.

- are there any Cabela's, Bass Pro or similar shops with landing strips next to the store or withing walking distance?

- are there airports with motels directly on site or within walking distance? Is there a website where I can search for such airports? I already know adventurepilot.com, however there the number of motels is very limited.

Of course I also appreciate any hints for nice places and beautiful landscapes to fly along the planned routes. :smile:

I am looking forward to your answers.

Cheers,

Oliver
 
Wow sounds like one heck of a trip. If you are going to be here at the end of July beginning of august, there's a place in Wisconsin that encourages camping with your airplane. :)


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Look at the cabelas website for store location information. Under hours and ammenities many list airport info. Most cableas stores have van service that will pick you up and take you back to the local airport. However, they don't list any airport info for the main location. You could call the Maine store and ask though. The Reading, PA location shows van service. You could visit the Dundee, MI store around labor day weekend and join us @ 6Y9.
 
Oliver, many of the smaller airports in the US will have either a courtesy car available to transient pilots, or will have someone available to drive you into town. A couple of great resources are Airnav.com and Skyvector.com. Airnav has all of he US AFD info on it as well as contact numbers for the local FBO, and in many cases nearby hotels.

If you do make it up to IL/WI the Waukegan airport (KUGN) is close to the Chicago Bass Pro, and the FBO should be able to give you a ride, or you can visit the Prairie du Chien (KPDC) and likely get a ride to the Cabela's just north of town.
 
If you are flying as far as WI you could come to MN too. Fly to Owatonna KOWA and Cabella's will send a shuttle to pick up.
 
Sounds like you are planning a great trip...

There is a Cabelas a few miles from the Hartford , CT airport ( khfd ). It would be a long walk but the only way to get over the river is via a big highway that I don't think you can walk over. I would say that walking or bicycling is not possible. But taxi cabs are readily availible and cost about $12 each way and would only take about 15 minutes to get there. I have done this before and it was no problem.

Have a great time..

Jon
 
vontresc said:
Oliver, many of the smaller airports in the US will have either a courtesy car available to transient pilots, or will have someone available to drive you into town. A couple of great resources are Airnav.com and Skyvector.com. Airnav has all of he US AFD info on it as well as contact numbers for the local FBO, and in many cases nearby hotels.

If you do make it up to IL/WI the Waukegan airport (KUGN) is close to the Chicago Bass Pro, and the FBO should be able to give you a ride, or you can visit the Prairie du Chien (KPDC) and likely get a ride to the Cabela's just north of town.
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And southwest of Chicago we have a Bass Pro in Bolingbrook and have a courtesy car at Clow (1C5) for the short drive.
 
There's a Bass Pro Shop in Hampton, VA - it's a couple of exits down I64 from the Newport News airport.

There's another Bass Pro Shop very close to BWI (Arundel Mills) - no way it's walking distance from the GA side of BWI, but you might see about a loaner car. That's also further - but not too far - from Tipton/Ft. Meade airport, which is a MUCH better choice for GA.

The Ashland (Virginia) Bass Pro shop is quite close to Hanover County/Ashland airport, but it's on the opposite side of I95. Again, not walking distance, but very close (were it not for I95, you could walk it).

There's a Cabela's in Wheeling, WV, but it's a fair distance from the airport - no chance of walking that.
 
I was told that Toledo Suburban, KDUH, has a courtesy car and many people use it to go to the Dundee, MI Cabelas about 12-15 miles away.

Lee Bottom, Indiana, 64I, is a nice grass strip with a cabin for rent, I think Diana stayed there when she visited. The owners of the strip are really nice.
 
If you head west, plan on going to the home of Cabela's in Sidney, Nebraska. Call the FBO a few miles out to get the Cabella's van headed over to the airport.

When you arrive, the lineman will have you tied down before you can even get out of the plane. It's western Nebraska so being tied down is a really good idea even for a short stay. Plan on lunch in the store - lot's of game on the menu.

Ok, it's really fly-over country but other than that it's hard to tell the difference between Texas and Nebraska. I suppose there are a few more trees in some parts of Texas than in Nebraska but otherwise it's the same.:D
 
I don't think you can say this...

German guy said:
Of course I also appreciate any hints for nice places and beautiful landscapes to fly along the planned routes. :smile:
Click to expand...

Clark1961 said:
If you head west, plan on going to the home of Cabela's in Sidney, Nebraska.
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...about Sidney, Nebraska. :D

But yes, the Cabela's van will come out to get you. That was my transportation into town for lunch back when I would occasionally have to spend the whole day in Sidney.
 
Clark1961 said:
If you head west, plan on going to the home of Cabela's in Sidney, Nebraska. Call the FBO a few miles out to get the Cabella's van headed over to the airport.

When you arrive, the lineman will have you tied down before you can even get out of the plane. It's western Nebraska so being tied down is a really good idea even for a short stay. Plan on lunch in the store - lot's of game on the menu.

Ok, it's really fly-over country but other than that it's hard to tell the difference between Texas and Nebraska. I suppose there are a few more trees in some parts of Texas than in Nebraska but otherwise it's the same.:D
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You can stop in Millard, NE (KMLE) just west of Omaha. There is a new Cabella's about a mile away also. You'll fly right over it entering from the south. You could land on I80 and walk, but there will be some paperwork for you to fill out when you get back.

http://www.airnav.com/airport/KMLE
 
If you are OK with landing at a grass airstrip, the Reading (Hamburg), Pennsylvania Cabela's fits your mission almost exactly. PA92 is a private airport, so prior permission is required to use it, but I know the airport manager, and he is a pretty reasonable guy! Short final for Rwy 26 takes you right over the Cabela's parking lot. They do have van service. There is a Microtel right across the street from Cabela's, definitely within walking distance from the store.

There is no fuel available at PA92, and it is a daytime only VFR airport. But if you need an IAP, if the runway is soggy, or if you will arrive after dark, RDG is only 12 nm away, and I hear the Cabela's vans may run there as well. I don't know how much you have to promise to spend for them to come pick you up!

PM me for more information. Same to any other POAers.
 
Erice said:
If you are OK with landing at a grass airstrip, the Reading (Hamburg), Pennsylvania Cabela's fits your mission almost exactly. PA92 is a private airport, so prior permission is required to use it, but I know the airport manager, and he is a pretty reasonable guy!
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Sounds like a great field to fly into! I'll definitely keep that one in mind this spring!!

:yesnod:
 
Hi

and thank you very much for all your great and very helpful answers.

My questions might sound a little bit strange to you, but all my flying experience is based on flying in Europe, mostly Germany.
Flying in Germany is a totally different world than flying in the US - we have much less airfields, most of them are very remote and except of the large international airports you can't get a rental car. Things like courtesy cars or a pick up service by a local store :eek: are totally unknown. Many of the airfields are so remote that it is even hard to get a taxi.

So - I know that all this luxury is quite common in the US, however I don't know how common it is. That's the reason why I thought that it might be a good idea not to rely on the availability of any transport except of our rented air plane. :redface:

Sadly I'm not allowed to land with the rented plane on grass, so the only Cabela's with a landing strip in the direct neighbourhood is no option for me. As there are some other stores not too far away from a airfield with transport available, I will simply pick on of these.
Thanks again for all your suggestions. :smile:

Let me ask the hotel question in a different way - how do you US-guys plan a trip? What are your steps in making the decision on where you're going to stay for the night?
As the amount of airports in the US is just overwhelming, I find it very difficult to decide which might be a nice airport to stay for the night, with a restaurant and a motel not too far away and uncomplicated transport availabe (walking distance, courtesy car, taxi).

One last question - what are your favourite spots to watch from the air, but also for hiking, in the eastern US?

As we have already booked our flights and as we're going to rent the plane at the flight school in St. Augustine, where we'll do the conversion to the US-PPL, the date and the origin of our flight are fixed.

Cheers,

Oliver
 
German guy said:
Let me ask the hotel question in a different way - how do you US-guys plan a trip? What are your steps in making the decision on where you're going to stay for the night?
As the amount of airports in the US is just overwhelming, I find it very difficult to decide which might be a nice airport to stay for the night, with a restaurant and a motel not too far away and uncomplicated transport availabe (walking distance, courtesy car, taxi).
Click to expand...
I'll try to answer the hotel question. If we are going to an unfamiliar place we usually ask the FBO for a hotel recommendation and sometimes even make the arrangements through the FBO. They will know if the hotel has an airport shuttle and if restaurants are close by. Taxis are sometimes hard to come by in small towns but FBOs sometimes have courtesy cars. However, it's better not to take the courtesy car for long periods of time, like overnight.
 
German guy said:
Let me ask the hotel question in a different way - how do you US-guys plan a trip? What are your steps in making the decision on where you're going to stay for the night?
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Somebody's got to say it, might as well be me:

Frequent Guest Programs. Where will I earn points for my stay?

OK, got that out of my system.

Seriously, I would call the FBOs at potential stops. Some have negotiated rates with local hotels.

I also look at fuel costs - airnav.com is great for searching lower cost fuel. By planning your trip with an eye to fuel costs, you can sometimes save enough to pay the difference in hotel costs for the night.

So, my choice of stops is predicated on where I have business, what the fuel (cost) situation looks like, whether I need instrument approaches, whether there is something interesting around the airport, transportation to the hotel, and so forth.

For example, if I go to Cincinnati on personal business or to visit friends, I have a choice of four airports that are "close enough": CVG, ISZ, LUK, or HAO. CVG is the big air carrier airport, it's expensive, but it has hotels nearby, rental cars, and ILS instrument approaches. ISZ is a small(er) GA field, with a hotel literally across the street (walking distance), OK fuel prices, GPS & VOR instrument approaches and rental cars available. LUK has an ILS, rental cars, but is a drive to hotels... gas is usually more expensive than ISZ, but the FBOs are open much longer hours (if you come in at night). HAO is OK on fuel price, has an ILS and rental cars, but it's a bit further out and a bit of a distance to the nearest hotel.
 
German guy said:
One last question - what are your favourite spots to watch from the air, but also for hiking, in the eastern US?
Click to expand...

You can combine your interests by flying to Harrisburg, PA (Capital City Airport). You can shop at Bass pro Shops, then drive about 20 minutes and hike a portion of the Appalachian trail.

After hiking, you can rent canoes or kayaks and run the Dauphin narrow Class 2/3 rapids on the Susquehanna.
 
Just thought of this. If you fly up the east coast stop at KFFA where it all started. Visiting Kitty Hawk is on my to do list but I've never had a chance to visit yet. IIRC you can camp there over night as well.
 
Everskyward said:
I'll try to answer the hotel question. If we are going to an unfamiliar place we usually ask the FBO for a hotel recommendation and sometimes even make the arrangements through the FBO. They will know if the hotel has an airport shuttle and if restaurants are close by. Taxis are sometimes hard to come by in small towns but FBOs sometimes have courtesy cars. However, it's better not to take the courtesy car for long periods of time, like overnight.
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What Mari said... But another technique I've used is to fly until dusk, and just look around for a friendly-looking town with an airport beacon, fly towards it while I double-check the AOPA directory on the Garmin 496 to make sure it has a hotel with a shuttle nearby, land, call the hotel. It won't always work and you might have to fly to the next little town with an airport, but I've had really good luck with the last-minute thing too! That's what really makes it an adventure. :yes:

But, I've definitely found what Mari says to be true - If you talk to the FBO, they can sometimes get you some sweet deals. For example, the FBO at KEFD got me a suite (king bed, couch, kitchen, etc) for $55/night which is a real steal in a major metro area! They'll also know which places to go, and which to avoid. They want to keep you happy, after all. :yes:

Enjoy your trip, and keep us posted along the way! You might even find some lodging offered by members here if you tell us where you're going.
 
Wow, what a huge amount of great answers! I thank you so much! :smile:

This is roughly how the tour should look like:




  • follow the coastline to the north
  • stop at Kitty Hawk
  • fly along the Chesapeake Bay towards Baltimore
  • fly through New York City
  • stop at Rhode Island (I have some relatives there who I never met before)
  • stop at Bar Harbor Airport, do some hiking on the Bar Island
  • fly over the Niagara Falls
  • stop at Harrisburg, PA, get a rental car, visit Bass Pro, go for a hike
  • follow the Appalachian mountains to the south
  • follow the Chattahoochee River, passing Columbus, GA
  • back to St. Augustine
This will be around 28 hours of flying. If we're running out of time, we might abbreviate the northern part of the trip, as well as the southern. In this case we could fly from New York or Rhode Island directly to the Niagara Falls and from Knoxvile or Chattanooga directly back to St. Augustine.

I think we should stay for the night at the Flying W Airport in Medford, NJ, the Bar Harbor Airport in Ellsworth, ME and the Capital City Airport in Harrisburg, PA.

It will probably be the best to make all other decisions when we're on the way, using Google Earth and airnav (for the fuel prices) to narrow the search down. I'll then call the FBO to make sure that we'll get a hotel and a transport or, if it's not too late, simply drop in, as suggested by flyingcheesehead. :D

What do you think?
Is this a nice routing? The Appalachian Mountains should look beautiful from above!?


Cheers,

Oliver
 
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If you are stopping in Harrisburg and getting a car, there is also a Cabela's near by (about 1 hr by car)

100 Cabela Drive
Hamburg, PA 19526

There is also an airport really close to Cabela's if you like grass => PA92 It's private but you may be able to get permission to land there.

Be warned, I believe capital city airport has a $50 landing fee. 58N - Palmyra Reigle Feild is a nice alternative, would have to get an entrprise car to come pick you up tho.

 
For sure the Cabela's in Prairie du Chien, WI (PDC) will pick you up at the airport and drop you aff as well (been there done that). There's a pretty good steak house across the street from the airport (Black Angus) as well. The driver of the van was really nice, and gave a ride through town on the way back, and showed us the sights. She refused a tip, saying it was their policy. PDC airport was also pretty nice, with helpful folks in the FBO.
 
Missa said:
If you are stopping in Harrisburg and getting a car, there is also a Cabela's near by (about 1 hr by car)

100 Cabela Drive
Hamburg, PA 19526

There is also an airport really close to Cabela's if you like grass => PA92 It's private but you may be able to get permission to land there.

Be warned, I believe capital city airport has a $50 landing fee. 58N - Palmyra Reigle Feild is a nice alternative, would have to get an entrprise car to come pick you up tho.
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Hmmm....

The comments on AirNav all mention a $10 landing fee (which is news to me -- I was there last year, twice) (http://www.airnav.com/airport/KCXY/CXY_AV#c)

A good, full service alternate for Harrisburg would be LNS -- sure, it's a 25 minute drive to Bass pro, but there's a full service pilot shop, no landing fee, a decent restaurant, and Amish country is all around.

N71 - Donegal Springs Airpark is only 15 miles from Harrisburg, but you'd have to call ahead to Enterprise and make sure they know when you'll be there cuz it's a long walk to downtown Mt Joy.
 
Wow that looks like a real fun routing. Just remember to properly deal with the ADIZ/SFRA area around Washington DC. There is an FAA course that goes over the procedures. I think there's also more info on the new Hudson river cooridor rules on the same FAA site.
 
Can't help you in the east, but I've flown here several times. The Cabelas van will be there when you arrive if you let the FBO know your coming. :smile:

http://www.airnav.com/airport/KSNY

For the Hamburg, PA Cabelas it looks like Reading (KRDG) or Deck (9D4) are the closest. Kutztown is closed, right?
 
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dmccormack said:
Hmmm....

The comments on AirNav all mention a $10 landing fee (which is news to me -- I was there last year, twice) (http://www.airnav.com/airport/KCXY/CXY_AV#c)
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It was a pirep from one of our club members whom almost got socked with it but managed to talk her way out of it. There was a management change and it was very un GA friendly. Shipoke use to be based there before they significantly raise the hanger rates.
 
Missa said:
It was a pirep from one of our club members whom almost got socked with it but managed to talk her way out of it. There was a management change and it was very un GA friendly. Shipoke use to be based there before they significantly raise the hanger rates.
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That's downright insane -- is there that much corporate iron landing in that band-box?

Or -- is it all "government" traffic these days?
 
50 $ landing fee!? :eek: OK - I've just changed my plans. :rolleyes:
However, as there some other airports near by, it might still be a nice area for a stop.

vontresc said:
[...] remember to properly deal with the ADIZ/SFRA area around Washington DC. There is an FAA course that goes over the procedures. I think there's also more info on the new Hudson river cooridor rules on the same FAA site.
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Thanks for the hint - I have already watched the (very good) FAA course for the new regulation regarding the Hudson corridor. However, I wasn't aware that there is such a large restricted area around Washington DC. I'll also check that FAA course.

As there seems to be no Cabela's or Bass Pro with a concrete runway next to it, I will simply pick a overnight stay which is not too far away from one one of the stores and take a rental car. There are especially quite a few Bass Pros on our way, so that it should be possible to combine everything without wasting too much time on shopping in 'men's world'. :wink2:

Cheers,

Oliver
 
It looks like you are planning a stop near Roanoke VA. Blue Ridge KMTV is about 30 miles south of there. It is a nice airport with reasonable fuel prices and a decent little resturaunt in the terminal. Also if you are passing through east Tennessee, you have to stop at Morristown TN, KMOR and meet the airport manager--Evelyn Johnson. She is 100 years old and has more flying hours than any currently living pilot. She is a real piece of aviation history and a very cool lady. She doesn't work on Saturday and Sunday, only because she can't get anyone to drive her in on those days.

Barb
 
I thought of another potential stop for you. Don't know if you are into Sailplanes or not, but it looks like your route will take you past Elmira, NY. Elmira is the US equivalent of the Wasserkuppe, and also is the site of the National Soaring Museum at Harris Hill. If the weather is good you may even be able to get a Sailplane flight in.
 
I just googled for Evelyn Johnson and found this:
http://www.avweb.com/news/profiles/182968-1.html

I would absolutely love to meet her. Sounds like if she is a friendly lady with lots of stories to tell.

As my wife and I also fly paragliders, and tow hanggliders with a microlight in our club, we are very interested in all kinds of soaring stuff even if none of us ever flew in a soaring plane. So - having a look at the glider museum sounds like another great idea.
Btw.: we also launchend our paragliders a couple of times from the Wasserkuppe in Germany. :D

Cheers,

Oliver
 
German guy said:
50 $ landing fee!? :eek: OK - I've just changed my plans. :rolleyes:
However, as there some other airports near by, it might still be a nice area for a stop.
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Harrisburg is a nice place to stop. Reigal feild in Palmyra is one of those really nice homey strips (with concrete). It's not too far from the Bass Pro in Harrisburg or the Cabeles in Hamburg, Kinda in the middle and right next to Hershey.... a good treat for the wife. There are several nice places to stay in Hershey and on a good day it still smells of chocolate. There is a GREAT place for breakfast called the Hershey Pantry.

Feel free to call and verify the landing fee at Capital City... it was a prirep from a club memeber but maybe they got realistic lately. I don't mind spending $10 for a landing if I'm staying overnight... I have problems with $50.
 
I wouldn't set too many plans in stone. One never knows what the weather will be in the Eastern part of the US. As far as Cabela's and hiking, West Virginia is a good stop on your route. There is a Cabelas just outside Wheeling as someone else pointed out (I always think of Cabelas as REI from hell) and you can then make the short flight to WV62 and stay at the Winwood resort. Based in the scenic Canaan Valley, it has many hiking opportunities.
 
steingar said:
I wouldn't set too many plans in stone. One never knows what the weather will be in the Eastern part of the US. As far as Cabela's and hiking, West Virginia is a good stop on your route. There is a Cabelas just outside Wheeling as someone else pointed out (I always think of Cabelas as REI from hell) and you can then make the short flight to WV62 and stay at the Winwood resort. Based in the scenic Canaan Valley, it has many hiking opportunities.
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Not a bad plan, especailly if Eastern PA is blanketed by Convective activity (Lee side of the westerlies helps build some nice big CB east of the Alleghenies)
 
steingar said:
I wouldn't set too many plans in stone. One never knows what the weather will be in the Eastern part of the US. As far as Cabela's and hiking, West Virginia is a good stop on your route. There is a Cabelas just outside Wheeling as someone else pointed out (I always think of Cabelas as REI from hell) and you can then make the short flight to WV62 and stay at the Winwood resort. Based in the scenic Canaan Valley, it has many hiking opportunities.
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I'm a member of the REI co-op and have bought a lot of backpacking and camping stuff there. Its become way overpriced though as is Cabelas. Many better places to actually buy the stuff, but its sure fun to look in both places.

The nice thing about Cabelas is you can look at guns and hunting/fishing equipment also and not feel like a Neanderthal. Mention guns/hunting in REI and be prepared for a bunch of guys/gals in dreadlocks to pee their pants.
 
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