Ft. Walton/Destin, FL area

CJones

CJones

Final Approach
Joined
Mar 14, 2005
Messages
5,797
Location
Jawjuh
Display Name
Display name:
uHaveNoIdea
Going down to Ft. Walton/Destin area week of 4th of July. Looked at the sectional for the area last night and it looks like a box of crayons melted on it or something with all the different colors down there.

Any tips/tricks for navigating the area without getting an 'unfriendly' F16 escort through the area?
 
If you're not IFR call up Eglin Approach 124.05 as you reach Crestview and they'll work with you. Basically there's a north south IFR/VFR corridor south of CEW. Often the R areas are cold, particularly on holidays and weekends, and you might get a direct vector from the NE if you're on FF or IFR. I've had it happen on more than one occasion.
 
Last edited:
It's a place you really need to coordinate with approach. Do what Steve suggests and you should be fine. I come from the west and they often put me off the shore to the south and bring me in from there. Wonderful views. Make sure you look at the restricted areas. Alert areas should be fine when talking to approach.

Best,

Dave
 
The only tip I can give is don't go in July. Too damn hot. I flew over it, though, and don't recall any problems.
 
Fuel prices at DTS are higher than giraffe nuts.
 
Call Eglin approach on the ground before you depart Destin on the way home as well. Flying is the easy part, car traffic on the main drag is the worst.
 
FYI for anyone going into the area - There is a web 'course' on FAASafety.com website specifically for flying into and out of the Destin area. It's pretty good about explaining all of the visual checkpoints and general 'flow' of the area. It's a good read!

Now another question -- Anyone have a recommendation for FBO? According to AirNav, looks like three of them on the field. Fuel all within $.05 of each other and all of them have at least a few raving reviews. Any suggestions from the peanut gallery here? We'll be parking 2 planes there for 2-3 nights and will need rental car when we get there.
 
Destin jet hands down. No fees even if you don't buy fuel. At least when I was there A few months ago. Very nice people. I've heard bad stories about the other place.
 
I can't help you as far as flying in and out of the area but, if you need some advice on anything about the area let me know. I have lived here my entire life (25 years)! They're right though traffic can be a B!@ch sometimes.
 
All I know is it must be nice down there. My son "borrows" my plane all the time to fly to DTS.

Maybe I'll get a nice postcard some time.
 
Lance F said:
All I know is it must be nice down there. My son "borrows" my plane all the time to fly to DTS.

Maybe I'll get a nice postcard some time.
Click to expand...

Haha.. That's funny, because I'm the one on the 'son' side - this time mom and dad are coming along, though.

Send me your address and I'll send you a postcard if that makes you feel better. At least you'll have an idea of what you're missing. ;)
 
Got back from DTS yesterday afternoon. Quick and easy 1.5hr flight from Atlanta area. Parked at Destin Jet and they had the rental vehicle ready for us quickly. Eglin approach was very easy to deal with. I got the GPS coords for the visual checkpoints for the N-S corridor and put them into the 430 as user waypoints which helped out a lot. On the way back out of there, we had a couple of F-16's go under us to land at Eglin. Also saw a couple of Osprey's out cruising the coast.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top