Flying into DFW

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joelrothschild

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Joel
Please forgive me if this post is in the wrong forum. Not sure where to ask about flying into DFW VFR.

I'm based in CA and would like to pick up a friend at DFW in my SEL. Approach speed is not an issue. Is there anyone who flies in/out of DFW regularly who can give me an idea of what to expect? I'm aware of how busy the airspace is (I'm close to LAX). Just curious about anything unusual. I have also heard that taxiway markers can be difficult to see. What should I expect when departing?

Any and all insights would be greatly appreciated.

Joel
 
Going to be way cheaper for your buddy to uber over to Grand Prairie or Arlington or Meachum vs you going to DFW....Depending on your arrival time, you could be looking at up to several hundred bucks in ramp fees on top of fuel and time costs.
 
Just... don't. Go to Arl or GPM. I doubt many here have landed at DFW as GA. Its been 25 years for me, and I was runaround like a rabbit in the air and ground.
 
Wow - thanks for the heads up. It won't be after-hours and I would not refuel, but it still looks pretty pricey.

What about departure delays? It looks like most GA traffic is out of the way of commercial, but does GA end up holding short for extended periods??
 
I landed there GA this past week, but I doubt the OP is flying a Falcon 8X like I was. :)

We didn’t need fuel, and the bill was only 400 something dollars, which is bargain for that airplane.
 
I’ve been in Southern Airway’s Caravan to and from DFW a number of times. I swear I remember we taxied for 20 minutes one time just to get to the hold-short. It was the distance from the FBO and waiting for other planes to cross paths, not a conga line to take off.

Busy is not an issue. Annoying and time consuming is an issue.
 
I fly into DFW routinely but in wide body so not great info source ...but there's a couple of our pilots that fly SE in and out ....it's not cheap, especially if not buying their $8-9 gal gas.....the taxi times can be long with newer system where you don't cross runways and taxi aaround them. be sure to call FBO for feed prior for sure , even better email so you have something in writing...I flew small ga into big airplanes and it's more trouble than it's worth ....plenty of near by airports. . let us know how it went and final costs if you go
 
I've done it, but not for ego reasons, and don't recommend it. And yes, you definitely will get a bill. Most likely you get sent to the GA ramp on the north end of the field, and it's not exactly close or in walking distance to the terminals - or anything, really. If you're coming in from the west, go to Texas Jet at Meacham and impress your friend with the best FBO out there.
 
Another experience that I had flying into DFW was in a Pilatus PC-12. As much as we tried to discourage him, the customer insisted on going to DFW. We ended up landing on 13R. We calculated our taxi route to the FBO as around five miles, which took us 20 to 30 minutes. The customer apologized profusely for not taking our advice and swore we would never do that again.
 
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Thank you all for the sound advice. I will tell my friends that they will have to make their way to a nearby field.

Greatly appreciate the feedback.
 
I go in to Arlington Municipal (right next to Grand Prarie) when I have meetings at DFW. It's an easy 15 minute uber between the two, if not during rush hour. Friendly FBO.
 
JVerb said:
I go in to Arlington Municipal (right next to Grand Prarie) when I have meetings at DFW. It's an easy 15 minute uber between the two, if not during rush hour. Friendly FBO.
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Texas Jet is better... ;)
 
JVerb said:
At Mecham? That's so far away from DFW in traffic!! And so much more Bravo to navigate coming from HTX.
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Yeah, but he was having his people meet him at DFW, we have no idea what part of the Metroplex they live in. Also, less Bravo coming from the west... not HTX. He said Cali.
 
joelrothschild said:
Please forgive me if this post is in the wrong forum. Not sure where to ask about flying into DFW VFR.

I'm based in CA and would like to pick up a friend at DFW in my SEL. Approach speed is not an issue. Is there anyone who flies in/out of DFW regularly who can give me an idea of what to expect? I'm aware of how busy the airspace is (I'm close to LAX). Just curious about anything unusual. I have also heard that taxiway markers can be difficult to see. What should I expect when departing?

Any and all insights would be greatly appreciated.

Joel
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Haven't been to DFW in a long time, but regard all the primary Bravo fields the same - if you can talk on the radio and read a chart, you're fine. Expect potentially long taxi, especially on way out, and high handling, parking, and fuel prices. If from SoCal have to assume your radio work is decent, and DFW is less crazy IMHO and have flown extensively in SoCal. Have landed spam cans at JFK, PHL, BOS, SAN, and LAS in past two years, mostly IFR with no issue. If FBO at DFW will get your pax and bring over, it's probably not horrible. If not, they are ubering anyhow, so go somewhere else.
 
Review standard taxi routes. They just say "Bridge route" or "Echo Sierra" route.
Know those or where to find them quickly. Or do what I do and just ask for progressive taxi. They get a kick out of that.
 
Was just there again yesterday to drop some passengers off. Amazingly, it was a pretty quick turn. Took off again only 30 minutes after we landed.
 
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Dave Theisen said:
Was just there again yesterday to drop some passengers of. Amazingly, it was a pretty quick turn. Took off again only 30 minutes after we landed.
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I am biased but DFW has a pretty efficient system.
Unless the rampers are on lunch break.
 
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