Getting into PHL VFR?

Fearless Tower

Fearless Tower

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Anyone with experience in the Philly Bravo care to comment on how accommodating they are with VFR traffic?

I may need to fly my 170 into PHL to catch a commercial flight. Philly is one Class B I haven't done a lot of flying through.
 
Are you planning on landing at PHL or a surrounding airport? It is very busy so fitting a plane like a 170 will be a challenge, especially regarding wake turbulence.

Only GA FBO there will be very expensive.

Flew in there in a Baron and it was very busy as expected, I was IFR but it was a VMC day. Controllers very helpful.
 
AcroBoy said:
Are you planning on landing at PHL or a surrounding airport? It is very busy so fitting a plane like a 170 will be a challenge, especially regarding wake turbulence.

Only GA FBO there will be very expensive.

Flew in there in a Baron and it was very busy as expected, I was IFR but it was a VMC day. Controllers very helpful.
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I'd be going into PHL actual.

Do they use 8/26 exclusively for GA or do they use it for airlines as well?

Fuel is high, but the 170 doesn't burn al that much.
 
Depending on where you're coming from I'd pick up flight following from approach and let them know you're intentions, that way they'll have plenty of time to plan your route and how to squeeze you in.
 
You might want to go into Wings field ,the home of the first aopa. Transit to phl is available.much cheaper and friendlier. If you insist on going into PHL ,they will fit you in with no problems.
 
I've been there many times. You'll get 26 or 27R most of the time. Every time I've gone it's been dead and they didn't have me fly at max forward speed. Very easy taxi to the FBO from the runways.
 
Tarheelpilot said:
Airline as well. No heavys but 737 a320 and regional jet/turboprop
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You might be thinking of 35/17. I don't think I've seen anything but turboprops on 8/26. There's not a lot of reason to shoehorn a jet into 5000' when you have almost twice that right next door.
 
frfly172 said:
You might want to go into Wings field ,the home of the first aopa. Transit to phl is available.much cheaper and friendlier. If you insist on going into PHL ,they will fit you in with no problems.
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Wings is on the other side of PHL. I'll be coming back to Flying W (N14) on the east side. PNE might work better. How hard ($?) is it to get from PNE to PHL?
 
Always did wings,my son was at Haverford.
 
1) 8/26 is all GA the majors and regionals will use 17/35 or 9/27 R & L
2) If you come in during a non push time you probably won't have problem.
3) It is easier to get to PHL from the suburban airports on the PA side, NJ is a bit harder just due to transportation options all though I suspect Uber might be an option.
3) You need to get a taxi from PNE to PHL and its all the way across the city but you could get there.
4) Wings is actually a decent option because there is a train that goes right to the PHL just a few miles away and Uber is easy to get.
5) I'll do you one better. If schedules permit I'll drive you from LOM to PHL just shoot me a PM.
 
wings ftw. and go to the restaurant just outside the gates near the rail road tracks .best philly cheese steak in philly .would love to see photo of old narco plant that was knocked down and run over by super sized roller with all the contents still in the building ,than swept up and carted away.just a cement slab i guess
 
hotprops said:
wings ftw. and go to the restaurant just outside the gates near the rail road tracks .best philly cheese steak in philly .would love to see photo of old narco plant that was knocked down and run over by super sized roller with all the contents still in the building ,than swept up and carted away.just a cement slab i guess
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Not sure how long it's been since you were there but there hasn't been a restaurant "just out side the gates" in at least the past 20 years and the rail road tracks are about 3 miles away LOL. Memory is a funny thing I suffer from the same thing sometime. The old NARCO hangar was used to house a plane long before it was knocked down. NARCO had moved to a town away long ago. That old hangar would have collapsed if you sneezed.
 
I used to fly into PHL all the time.

You either get 8/26 or 17/35. I've been put on either depending on the winds, traffic, etc. Of course, I was always flying a piston twin and so my speeds are a bit faster. Expect 8/26.

I never flew in VFR, always IFR, but it really is an easy Bravo to deal with. If you can go IFR I'd just do that, but I've seen people fly 172s in that I believe are probably flying VFR, so it seems to not be an issue.

I wouldn't mess around with flying into Wings or the like. Adding ground transport will be a pain and end up negating any cost savings. The FBO there isn't cheap, but like you said shouldn't be bad in a 170. Call ahead, you might be able to work out a deal. One friend of mine worked a good deal when he had to fly overseas and parked his Aztec there for a few weeks for a reasonable price.
 
PNE is also atlantic aviation,either way you will pay around $40 in fees. I would make sure the overnight parking isn't too expensive and try PHL. Wings to PHL is still a 45 minute ride and they will charge you to park.
 
I can't imagine how that would be any cheaper than Uber. Especially after you consider ramp fees and waiting around for the FBO to get you over to the pax terminal. Likely will be a really long wait on the flip side.
 
kayoh190 said:
You might be thinking of 35/17. I don't think I've seen anything but turboprops on 8/26. There's not a lot of reason to shoehorn a jet into 5000' when you have almost twice that right next door.
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YES you are indeed correct. I was thinking about 35. Sorry OP been a few years since I was based there with the airline.
 
Tarheelpilot said:
YES you are indeed correct. I was thinking about 35. Sorry OP been a few years since I was based there with the airline.
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No problem. Right now, I'm on the fence. I finally got the Twin Beech back up after the prop issue, so I may fly it up there.

I've got two options: I can fly the 170 into Flying W and the owner of the airplane I'm delivering will take me to PHL or I can fly the Beech 18 IFR into PHL, which, will of course be more expensive, but I need to put some hours on it. I need to call Atlantic and see how much they'll charge me to leave it on the ramp two nights.
 
I've flown into PHL several times, never had an issue. I don't recall what I paid in fees for my 182, but it was consistent with other big city FBOs. I've been given both GA and "airline" runways, with very little delay on arrival or departure. A georeferenced taxi chart is real nice to have.

Wings is a great airport too if that works for you, but I wouldn't let the class B aspect of PHL scare you off from flying there. We fly for convienence, not to save money, so use PHL if it makes your life easier.
 
Art VanDelay said:
I can't imagine how that would be any cheaper than Uber. Especially after you consider ramp fees and waiting around for the FBO to get you over to the pax terminal. Likely will be a really long wait on the flip side.
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Yup Uber is your friend !
 
Tarheelpilot said:
YES you are indeed correct. I was thinking about 35. Sorry OP been a few years since I was based there with the airline.
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Heh - trust me, I'm not at all happy that I'm in and out of PHL as much as I am. ;)
 
Fearless Tower said:
No problem. Right now, I'm on the fence. I finally got the Twin Beech back up after the prop issue, so I may fly it up there.
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Hmmmm...take the 170 or the Twin Beech...I wish I had your problems!
 
Art VanDelay said:
I can't imagine how that would be any cheaper than Uber. Especially after you consider ramp fees and waiting around for the FBO to get you over to the pax terminal. Likely will be a really long wait on the flip side.
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I'd certainly agree not cheaper. But whenever I flew into Atlantic, it seemed that they were always pretty speedy about getting the pax to and from the terminal. That said, when flying in at peak hours it was a drop off (sometimes we wouldn't even shut down the engines), so my perspective may be skewed.

I generally found them to be one of the easier to deal with "big airport" FBOs. The ladies at the desk were also typically pretty good about reducing my ramp fee to "piston single" from "piston twin".
 
adam, thanks for the update seams like yesterday but indeed it was over 20 years ago.
 
Flew in there a little while ago, arrived IFR, think I departed VFR due to some crazy routing, it was in the evening but wasn't one of my super late/early flights.

Nothing seemed that special about the airport or airspace as far as Bravo field goes. I'd say if you're comfy with most any bravo field you'll be fine.

I'd probably take the 170, FBO will probably charge more for a twin, I've also noticed a good trend of having folks waive/forget line fees and such when I'm in a vintage tailwheel or a amphib.

You can also get on flightaware and see when they are less busy.
 
Thanks for the inputs all.

I decided to take the 170 and fly to Flying W and have the customer drive me to PHL.

In the end, it was the forecasted 80% chance of T-storms in Philly tomorrow night that did it. Don't feel like leaving the Twin Beech out on the ramp in that if I don't have to.
 
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