Nastiest airports you've flown in...

I think GA is just down everywhere. It'll come back I hope.

FTG is definitely more busier (snark) than it was last year...the line guy even commented on it last Saturday. It didn't help that the self-serv pump was down.
 
FTG is definitely more busier (snark) than it was last year...the line guy even commented on it last Saturday. It didn't help that the self-serv pump was down.

I haven't noticed any increase in GA at bjc since they got self serv back what, 2 years ago?

I've only been into ftg once or twice
 
There's also the fact that KAPA is expensive and many small GA owners base out of Front Range instead, even though it's further from where they live.
avgas is, jet is a lot cheaper at apa strangely.
 
I haven't noticed any increase in GA at bjc since they got self serv back what, 2 years ago?

I've only been into ftg once or twice

BJC just needs to build some hangars. Years long waitlists and high prices keep me away even though its closer to my house than FTG.
 
avgas is, jet is a lot cheaper at apa strangely.
I wasn't necessarily talking about the fuel prices, more like the hangar/tiedown prices.

Jet is cheap at KAPA because there are 4 FBOs in competition as opposed to only one at KFTG and KBJC (since Stevens is not an FBO any more).
 
I wasn't necessarily talking about the fuel prices, more like the hangar/tiedown prices.

Jet is cheap at KAPA because there are 4 FBOs in competition as opposed to only one at KFTG and KBJC (since Stevens is not an FBO any more).
gotcha.
and now it's landmark..... no more free cookies.
perfect landing > blue sky bistro > runway grill though.
 
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BJC just needs to build some hangars. Years long waitlists and high prices keep me away even though its closer to my house than FTG.
I wish BJC had covered like apa, that always seemed like a fair trade off.

but bjc needs to replace some of the ones they have that are falling down before building new! Everywhere up north is full, EIK is a year+ for a t, longmont is full I believe...
 
North Little Rock (ORK): Situated in-between Little Rock Air Force Base, Little Rock National Airport and a restricted area that starts at the edge of the field. Plus it's full of weekend flyers that will literally fight over who's landing, while landing head-on! :hairraise:

Wilson (4F8): Private owned public use airport. It has a 3000'x50' runway that has grass, normally hay height, growing on it. It's within a pine farm with the trees maybe 20' on each side of the runway. It use to have a deer feeder on the runway! It was actually NOTAM'd and located in the AF/D. :yikes: A local highway crosses the approach end and is elevated enough that a good size truck would be missing its roof if you met.

Old Conway Airport (CWS): A perfect example of city expansion. It had two great runways but with almost no useable length because of the displaced thresholds. If you lost your engine on takeoff you'd either hit a grain silo, a Home Depot, I-40, or houses depending on your direction. The said grain silo required a s-turn on final because it jutted into the approach path. The airport manager was an a$$ and hated anyone who wasn't based on the field.

The new Conway airport (CXW) is extremely nice and is located in river bottoms away from the city. The new airport manager is great, the fuel prices are awesome, and the terminal is one of the best in the state! The only better terminal, in my opinion, is at XNA because they have free hot dogs and ice cream!
 
North Little Rock (ORK): Situated in-between Little Rock Air Force Base, Little Rock National Airport and a restricted area that starts at the edge of the field. Plus it's full of weekend flyers that will literally fight over who's landing, while landing head-on! :hairraise:

Wilson (4F8): Private owned public use airport. It has a 3000'x50' runway that has grass, normally hay height, growing on it. It's within a pine farm with the trees maybe 20' on each side of the runway. It use to have a deer feeder on the runway! It was actually NOTAM'd and located in the AF/D. :yikes: A local highway crosses the approach end and is elevated enough that a good size truck would be missing its roof if you met.

Old Conway Airport (CWS): A perfect example of city expansion. It had two great runways but with almost no useable length because of the displaced thresholds. If you lost your engine on takeoff you'd either hit a grain silo, a Home Depot, I-40, or houses depending on your direction. The said grain silo required a s-turn on final because it jutted into the approach path. The airport manager was an a$$ and hated anyone who wasn't based on the field.

The new Conway airport (CXW) is extremely nice and is located in river bottoms away from the city. The new airport manager is great, the fuel prices are awesome, and the terminal is one of the best in the state! The only better terminal, in my opinion, is at XNA because they have free hot dogs and ice cream!

I could be forced into basing there....;)
 
So you're saying I should re-think my idea of doing one of my student cross-countries into DXR, in the hopes that I would get the through-the-valley approach?

YouTube makes everything look like so much fun, though!

It is, do it, but go with the instructor first and do a couple of landings on 35 before you go solo, just in case...
 
North Little Rock (ORK): Situated in-between Little Rock Air Force Base, Little Rock National Airport and a restricted area that starts at the edge of the field. Plus it's full of weekend flyers that will literally fight over who's landing, while landing head-on! :hairraise:

Yea, you are right about kork. Lot of people I like to talk to a over there (good people) . But flying into kork can definitely be a hair raising event.

To be clear, I could have done better a couple of times myself. But I've been surprised after being vectored and I've discovered new traffic at the last minute even after calling 10 miles out.

With class c, d and those restricted areas, it's best to keep your eyes outside...
 
Wow, talk about thread explosion, but I'll add Jaffery NH at night, in the winter.
 
The only time I've really been annoyed and upset about an airport was VFR to Ibiza, LEIB.
Approaching from the north, getting radio reception is almost impossible before way late, and it is the only place where ATC has actively tried to kill me (I was given a "radar vector" straight towards a mountain, then given an earful when I didn't comply...)
 
So you're saying I should re-think my idea of doing one of my student cross-countries into DXR, in the hopes that I would get the through-the-valley approach?

YouTube makes everything look like so much fun, though!

I took much of my early training at DXR. My plane was based there for part of my training. It has two crossing runways.

Runway 35 is the most notorious. You must come in on a two mile final because of the hills and noise abatement avoiding the lake below the hill to the east. Tower cannot see you once you pass behind the hills. Notice TPA is 1700 feet and elevation is 450 feet. Maintain your altitude at about 1000 feet until the peaks of both hills. You will be below both peaks. Then continue your descent, keeping in mind that once you clear the hills, you may be pushed sideways by any crosswind. You will also be drawn downward as you cross the swampland and you will be pushed upward as you cross the road. It takes concentration. Remember, go-arounds are allowed. I love this approach.

Runway 26 is the next-most interesting approach. Once again, notice the TPA is 1700 feet. As you approach the ridge, notice that there is a high pole (tower marked on sectional) right at the high edge of the ridge that is aligned with the runway centerline. Maintain 1000 feet until you have cleared that pole, then you will find yourself a little high (or fast) for the landing and you get to practice your landing skills in that configuration. Getting low and slow is fun. I love this approach, too.

Runway 17 comes in over the shopping mall and parking lot. It is fairly flat and easy to handle if you don't find the parking lot distracting. They don't use that runway very often.

Runway 8 used to have a 50' (or 60') tree aligned with the centerline near the schoolyard. Somehow, they finally got that cut down, so other than trying to keep the noise down over the school, there isn't much to say about that approach, now. This is the only runway with an instrument approach.
 
I think the nastiest *runway* I've ever seen was the one at Lake Lawn, WI. There's nothing difficult about the approach or landing, but the pavement was worse than at Sebewaing. I haven't been there in over 10 years now and don't even know if the airport is still open, now that the resort has closed (or was it just the restaurant?).

Nothing's closed at Lake Lawn - All under new management since 4-5 years ago. The "terminal" is still locked, the ramp, taxiways and runways still have huge cracks with weeds 5 feet tall growing through them, etc. It's a sad airport. It just hasn't been maintained in years. It could be an asset to them, but they don't care.
 
No one has mentioned the scuz-hole in Detroit. DET. The neighbors will have your plane stripped within ten minutes of landing.
 
I thought Auburn, CA (KAUN) was pretty scary landing on 25 - terrain and non-flat runway, for a student at 30 hours.

Try Cameron Park (o61), even more fun than Auburn!

Troutdale, OR has a bluff pretty close to the runway (less than a mile away) and it seems to be right at the down to base turn on 25 (left traffic). It is just 400 ft below the pattern altitude. I was pretty surprised by that. This was what I was assigned on a circle to land from the RNAV approach. The airport notes fortunately recommends flying the right pattern to 25 (assuming tower approves).
 
No one has mentioned the scuz-hole in Detroit. DET. The neighbors will have your plane stripped within ten minutes of landing.
Utter BS, as long as you land inside the fence. Land on Conner or Gratiot, then sure, they'll definitely strip your plane before the FAA gets there, probably before the police have a chance to close off the street. :rofl:

BTW that used to actually be a fairly nice neighborhood... a girl I carpooled with as a kid lived there, and I actually biked down there once for a visit. (Yes, I grew up about a mile from the airport.)
 
The nastiest ? Have to be Lagos Nigeria. With Delhi being a close second.

Mumbai ain't pretty with the smell of human feces overwhelming as soon as the aircraft door is open...
 
I took much of my early training at DXR. My plane was based there for part of my training. It has two crossing runways.

Runway 35 is the most notorious. You must come in on a two mile final because of the hills and noise abatement avoiding the lake below the hill to the east. Tower cannot see you once you pass behind the hills. Notice TPA is 1700 feet and elevation is 450 feet. Maintain your altitude at about 1000 feet until the peaks of both hills. You will be below both peaks. Then continue your descent, keeping in mind that once you clear the hills, you may be pushed sideways by any crosswind. You will also be drawn downward as you cross the swampland and you will be pushed upward as you cross the road. It takes concentration. Remember, go-arounds are allowed. I love this approach.

Runway 26 is the next-most interesting approach. Once again, notice the TPA is 1700 feet. As you approach the ridge, notice that there is a high pole (tower marked on sectional) right at the high edge of the ridge that is aligned with the runway centerline. Maintain 1000 feet until you have cleared that pole, then you will find yourself a little high (or fast) for the landing and you get to practice your landing skills in that configuration. Getting low and slow is fun. I love this approach, too.

Runway 17 comes in over the shopping mall and parking lot. It is fairly flat and easy to handle if you don't find the parking lot distracting. They don't use that runway very often.

Runway 8 used to have a 50' (or 60') tree aligned with the centerline near the schoolyard. Somehow, they finally got that cut down, so other than trying to keep the noise down over the school, there isn't much to say about that approach, now. This is the only runway with an instrument approach.
I second what you said about Danbury (DXR). As a student pilot, it was the first time that I literally broke a sweat. On my first attempt on 26, I went around since we were way high. On the second, I did much better but only you get down to about 100 feet, the winds start throwing you left to right and up and down like a rag doll. I did too T&G's and then on the last one, my CFI wanted to show me how it's done. The plane was dancing almost as much as my landings. He told me that he was impressed with the way I handled it considering the winds in between the hills on all sides.

You didn't mention that you have to climb out at Vx (I'm in a Cherokee) to clear the hill on the departure end of the runway so you don't end up there permanently. Short field takeoff on each T&G.
 
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Anybody ever fly into N89 (Resnick) or N82 (Wurtsboro). Both are smaller airports in sullivan county. At Resnick your are in the valley next to the shawangunks mountains you have to fly at angles on final because you cant fly over the school or prision thats on each end of the runaway. At wurstboro you descend over the mountain and have to hug it to not over shoot final, you end up what feels like 100 ft off the ground when your turning downwind to base.
 
Utter BS, as long as you land inside the fence. Land on Conner or Gratiot, then sure, they'll definitely strip your plane before the FAA gets there, probably before the police have a chance to close off the street. :rofl:

BTW that used to actually be a fairly nice neighborhood... a girl I carpooled with as a kid lived there, and I actually biked down there once for a visit. (Yes, I grew up about a mile from the airport.)

It was said somewhat "tongue-in-cheek" but I couldn't find an appropriate smilie. :lol:
 
The nastiest ? Have to be Lagos Nigeria. With Delhi being a close second.

I just connected through Lagos (don't ask) back in August during the height of the Ebola scare. **** that - never again.
 
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