How's the flying in Knoxville or Raleigh?

TheCowGod

TheCowGod

Filing Flight Plan
Joined
Jul 6, 2007
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23
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Knoxville, TN
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TheCowGod
Hey guys. I'm new to the board. My name is Dan, and I'm a student pilot with about 15 hours so far. I've got a question, and t0r0nad0 (PJ Gustafson) suggested I come check out this forum and see if any of you guys had any input for me. I currently live near New Orleans, but in about three months, when the lease on my apartment is up, I plan to move east, most likely to Knoxville, or possibly Raleigh. Just out of curiosity, does anyone have any experience flying GA in either of the two regions? How are the airports, sightseeing from the air, what does the weather tend to look like, etc? I've looked at the various airports near each city on AirNav, but I was just curious if anyone has any personal experience in either city. Thanks.
 
Welcome to the board, Dan. I'm not from that area, but Brook is in the Raleigh, NC area and is very friendly--I'm sure she'll give you some pointers on GA in that neck of the woods. There's also some TN folks on here, but I can't recall names at the moment...

EDIT: I could be wrong about Brook; her profile indicates Port Chester, NY, but I could have sworn she's been posting flying reports from the Raleigh area and areas east of there.
 
Not just Brook, thankyouverymuch!! Myself, NC Pilot (Mark), Skipp, Rush ... there's a few of us around here!

Dan, I fly out of RDU - I've never had much in the way of delays in or out of there (other than an 8 minute trip out in the boonies when I wanted the big boys' runway and it was busy as hell. Flying is pretty good around here. We have our normal summertime pop up t-storms, and it can be hazy in the summer. But most days are flyable and there are a lot of interesting places to go and things to see. You're only an hour or two away from lots of beach or mountain airports and there are airports with restaurants on the field, as well. There's a pretty strong EAA presence in the area, as well, so there's a lot of opportunity to talk airplanes with folks. There's also an active WINGS program running in the state with regular WINGS weekends. You can get tailwheel, multi and seaplane training in NC, if you are interested in that.

It's a good place to live and fly. The economy is going well, and there are a fair number of jobs in the triangle area. Come on down! :)
 
etsisk said:
Not just Brook, thankyouverymuch!! Myself, NC Pilot (Mark), Skipp, Rush ... there's a few of us around here!
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Thanks, Tom... didn't mean to leave you all out! I need to connect more names with places. I was looking for that map somebody put together that let us POA folks push-pin where we live/fly.

I'm interested in your reply, too, Tom, as the company I work for is opening a new data center in the Triangle, and there's a small possibility I'll be sent out that way...
 
etsisk said:
Dan, I fly out of RDU - I've never had much in the way of delays in or out of there (other than an 8 minute trip out in the boonies when I wanted the big boys' runway and it was busy as hell. Flying is pretty good around here. We have our normal summertime pop up t-storms, and it can be hazy in the summer. But most days are flyable and there are a lot of interesting places to go and things to see. You're only an hour or two away from lots of beach or mountain airports and there are airports with restaurants on the field, as well. There's a pretty strong EAA presence in the area, as well, so there's a lot of opportunity to talk airplanes with folks. There's also an active WINGS program running in the state with regular WINGS weekends. You can get tailwheel, multi and seaplane training in NC, if you are interested in that.

It's a good place to live and fly. The economy is going well, and there are a fair number of jobs in the triangle area. Come on down! :)
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Thanks for the responses. That sounds like a pretty cool environment. And it's good to hear about the various types of training you can get there, because I actually plan to get all three of those eventually. I love tailwheel airplanes, and I've always wanted to have a cabin out in the woods by a lake, accessible only by seaplane :)

I'm actually planning on taking a roadtrip out to check out both Knoxville and Raleigh around mid-August to help decide where I want to move, so I'll see if I can check out some of the things you mentioned. Maybe I'll try taking a discovery flight at an FBO there.

Do you (or anyone) have any recommendations for things I should be sure to see or do (aviation-related or not) in either Knoxville or Raleigh? I'm planning to spend about a week in each city, so I should have some time to get a feel for each area. Thanks.
 
TheCowGod said:
Maybe I'll try taking a discovery flight at an FBO there.
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Try JNX Flight at Johnston County Airport - about 20 miles SE of RDU. (919) 938-4569 Good flight school and good airport.

thecowgod said:
Do you (or anyone) have any recommendations for things I should be sure to see or do (aviation-related or not) in either Knoxville or Raleigh? I'm planning to spend about a week in each city, so I should have some time to get a feel for each area. Thanks.
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There is an aviation museum at the Asheboro Airport about 1 hour drive west of Raleigh. Great little museum with their showpiece being a B-25. Other than that, just get a long introductory flight and see the area.

To answer other questions, the coast is about 1 hour away and the mountains are about 1-1/4 hours away (if you have a decent airplane).:) Knoxville is about 1.5 hours from RDU in the same decent airplane.
 
Mark, do you know what Angel Flight chapter serves the area, and what states they cover? Is it Angel Flight SE?
 
Troy Whistman said:
Mark, do you know what Angel Flight chapter serves the area, and what states they cover? Is it Angel Flight SE?
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I am a member of Angel Flight of Georgia. Looks like they cover NC, SC, GA, FL, LA, KY, MS, AL and TN.
 
HPNFlyGirl said:
Oh yeah there is also a seaplane base in Morganton. :D
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Hey Brook, lets fly up there to check out the seaplane base!! (I can be ready to go in about 20 minutes!!!!){jusskiddin gotta go work for a few hours today}
I REALLLLLLLLLLY want to add on the SES!! You up for it??
 
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TheCowGod said:
Wow, that's not too bad. If I end up moving to Raleigh I think I'll definitely have to do that.
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Note that you can't rent the plane afterwards, as far as I can tell, so other than just getting the rating for the sake of getting it, staying current or gaining experience (unless you own a float plane) will be tough.

Bill, I'd be interested in what you have to say (re: "PM me before spending any money there").

I've always wanted to go to Jack Brown's in Winter Haven for a SES rating ($995, Piper J3's on floats). They do MES too, if I recall. Depending on how many instructors/planes they have, this would be a fun 4-day weekend fly-in for a group of us from POA.
 
TheCowGod said:
H I plan to move east, most likely to Knoxville, or possibly Raleigh. Just out of curiosity, does anyone have any experience flying GA in either of the two regions?.
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Skyranch, TN98, in Knoxville is a nice 2200ft grass strip on an island in the Tennessee river. I did my tailwheel and intro aerobatics with John Burt there. Nice place where grassroots GA lives.

http://www.skyranchairport.org/
 
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Bill Jennings said:
Skyranch, TN98, in Knoxville is a nice 2200ft grass strip on an island in the Tennessee river. I did my tailwheel and intro aerobatics with John Burt there. Nice place were grassroots GA lives.

http://www.skyranchairport.org/
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That's good to know. It does look like a really pleasant place to fly, and aerobatics is something else I'll be wanting to do eventually. Thanks.
 
as a transient, I've always been treated exceptionally well at both Knoxville and Raleigh. I'm typing this from a Cracker Barrel near Knoxville right now - beautiful country up here.
 
some folks I know just got their seaplane rating from Jack Brown's school and enjoyed doing it - they said they were too busy to take pictures, so apparently you get your moneys worth!

I wouldn't mind that - I also want to get tailwheel before too long.
 
Are there any FBO's at Johnson County in Smithfield? Looks like a nice airport from Airnav's picture, with an ILS approach, but no FBO's are listed...

I'm trying to figure out what the best FBO's with good rental fleets are in the RDU area. I appreciate all reports, would like phone numbers or websites (preferred) so I can check them out.

Also, any flying clubs?
 
There's an FBO at JNX, but I'm seriously blanking on the name of it - dunno what they have to rent, but I'm thinking that they have NC Pilot's old (but drop dead gorgeous) 172.

RDU, TTA, BUY all have planes to rent and whatnot.

TTA has a LARGE flying club (Wings of Carolina), as well as the FBO (Sanford Air Service, I think). There are also several clubs around RDU, including the club to which I belong (around a cherokee 180).
 
etsisk said:
There's an FBO at JNX, but I'm seriously blanking on the name of it - dunno what they have to rent, but I'm thinking that they have NC Pilot's old (but drop dead gorgeous) 172.

RDU, TTA, BUY all have planes to rent and whatnot.

TTA has a LARGE flying club (Wings of Carolina), as well as the FBO (Sanford Air Service, I think). There are also several clubs around RDU, including the club to which I belong (around a cherokee 180).
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Thanks Tom. I might be headed that way (permanently) within a year... have to know what my flying options are.
 
wsuffa said:
as a transient, I've always been treated exceptionally well at both Knoxville and Raleigh. I'm typing this from a Cracker Barrel near Knoxville right now - beautiful country up here.
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Bill... Cracker Barrel? Are we going to have to do a food intervention?

Cheers,

-Andrew
with cornichons, some Oka and a bottle of wine ready to deploy
 
astanley said:
Bill... Cracker Barrel? Are we going to have to do a food intervention?

Cheers,

-Andrew
with cornichons, some Oka and a bottle of wine ready to deploy
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Cracker Barrel, ya. Pit-stop city. If all you're having is a salad, it's OK. Beats the crap out of the alternatives when you're doing....

1500 miles in 2 days. In a Penske truck.

Rest assured I'd rather have eaten elsewhere - at least I got ribs in Memphis. But highway food? Sometimes one has to pick the best of bad options....
 
HEY!! Ain't nothin' wrong with Cracker Barrel!! One of my best memories of that place is , after getting the heck scared out of me on the harley, going in to Cracker Barrel for blackberry cobbler a la mode and coffee. Serious comfort food!! :D
 
wsuffa said:
Cracker Barrel, ya. Pit-stop city. If all you're having is a salad, it's OK. Beats the crap out of the alternatives when you're doing....

1500 miles in 2 days. In a Penske truck.

Rest assured I'd rather have eaten elsewhere - at least I got ribs in Memphis. But highway food? Sometimes one has to pick the best of bad options....
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Dang Bill, had I known you were doing the I-40 x-c I would have met you in Nashville and taken you out for supper.
 
kevin47881 said:
Dang Bill, had I known you were doing the I-40 x-c I would have met you in Nashville and taken you out for supper.
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Thanks, will let folks know when I make the trip to bring the car up. I spent the night in Memphis (got in around 9 PM), lunch east of Nashville, and dinner north of Harrisonburg, VA. Got into DC area around 11... long day.
 
etsisk said:
One of my best memories of that place is , after getting the heck scared out of me on the harley, going in to Cracker Barrel for blackberry cobbler a la mode and coffee. Serious comfort food!! :D
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Well, I would have preferred the arms of a beautiful woman for comfort, but if a blackberry cobbler does it for you, so be it.:D :goofy:
 
I would have taken either with equal alacrity, thankyouverymuch, but the cobbler was what they had, so I went with that. :yes: :D
 
hey, blackberry cobbler is blackberry cobbler ... even when it's bad, it's good.
 
My younger brother used to work with an African-American woman who would drop the "race card" constantly. It was as bad as if you asked her to hand you the black magic marker, she would say, "What did you call me? That's so racist!" So one day, my brother asked her where she was going for lunch. She said that she was going to Cracker Barrel. My brother (who shows our Scandinavian descent with his pale white skin, really blonde hair, and blue eyes) replies, "What did you call me? That's so racist!" He always could get away with saying crap like that...
 
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