Anyone familiar with Joliet Regional? Not much on Airnav. I am thinking about flying up there.
That's where I got my PP-ASEL and AMEL, where I grew up, and it's where I used to ride my bike 20 years ago to talk pilots into taking me up in their plane.
That said, it's 13/31 paved at about 2700' in good condition with a little bit of a slope towards the departure end of 13. The grass rwy (4/22) is well kept when there's no snow, I've landed my apache on it many times. There is a tree-line that goes around the airport, minor obstacles just be aware they're there.
The local mechanic (Bob of JF Aviation) also owns the field's rental aircraft. He is quite good and very fair with prices -- I'm now 45 minutes of flying away and I still will use him for all maintenance I can.
The FBO is good and the linemen are great. Gas is I think $5.70/gal. They recently redid their runway lighting system, you can finally see them at night. There's a hotel that may as well be on field (it's less than a block away) and they have a courtesy car for short local trips.
There are some interesting aircraft based at KJOT. My two favorites are a TBM Avenger (everyone in the area knows Tom's Avenger) and Bob built a Beechcraft Baron "Harpoon Conversion" that's really cool.
Anyways, Joliet is my grass roots airport. It's a 2-star airport in appearance that's 4-star in service. Send me a PM if you need any other info (or ask here).
