Scottsdale or Deer Valley?

txflyer

txflyer

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Fly it like you STOL it ♦
I'm sure this has been asked before, but maybe not lately.

I see SDL charges a landing fee whereas DVL I don't see it ...

How much does is cost to park at Scottsdale for two or three days?
 
Lots of foreign students a deer valley
 
Personally if I had a choice between a valley with deer and a dale with Scotts, I'd go for the valley.
 
I stayed 3 nights, bought 30 gal of fuel,at cutter DVT and paid only for the fuel
 
teejayevans said:
Why do you care? If coming in for full stop, you'll be on the main runway anyway away from the traffic.
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Tower has no radar (they get a feed from Phoenix which doesn't cover the traffic pattern) and I've seen it get downright stoopid trying to get in to land on either runway. Students getting confused while tower controller freaks out.

Not my favorite place.

That said, it is considerably cheaper (fuel and fees) than SDL.

I don't recall Cutter charging a ramp fee (or they waived it with fuel which is much cheaper).

At SDL, I believe it was something like $15 per day ramp fee for a piston twin. They might have waived one night with fuel which is the highest in the valley: 50 cents per gallon more than PHX. Plus you have to either deal with the Landmark zombies or get gouged by Signature.
 
txflyer said:
I'm sure this has been asked before, but maybe not lately.

I see SDL charges a landing fee whereas DVL I don't see it ...

How much does is cost to park at Scottsdale for two or three days?
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Where in the valley are you going?

I'm from the Phoenix area and you picked my two least favorite airports.

I usually fly into PHX or if I want class D, I go to FFZ.
 
Fearless Tower said:
Where in the valley are you going?

I'm from the Phoenix area and you picked my two least favorite airports.

I usually fly into PHX or if I want class D, I go to FFZ.
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Im assuming north Phoenix as I did, never thought of falcon, why them?



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teejayevans said:
Im assuming north Phoenix as I did, never thought of falcon, why them?
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It has always seemed a little less crazy than DVT. Better controllers and they don't have the radar coverage problem that DVT has. It used to be out in the boonies, but now that the loop goes past the airport, it isn't too bad a drive, depending on where you are heading.

I still like PHX the best, fuel is more expensive, but still cheaper than many places out here on the east coast. All of my family and business in on the east side, so I've never tried any of the west side airports.
 
SDL landing fee is for stuff over 12.5. You will be hit with an overnight fee on the transient ramp. I hope you're flying something that burns kerosene if you're going to SDL. Avgas is unreasonable there. Go to DVT if you're going to be putting 100LL into anything. DVT also let's you park for free (right at the terminal) for a night or two. Don't let people scare you about the training going on. Those trainers end up at every airport in phoenix so you better avoid all airports if thats your concern.
 
NJP_MAN said:
Don't let people scare you about the training going on. Those trainers end up at every airport in phoenix so you better avoid all airports if thats your concern.
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Yes and no. You won't see the students at PHX. You will see them at the other valley airports, but the lack of good radar coverage at DVT makes the student problem worse.

DVT has its pros and cons. Unless they get local radar, I prefer to avoid it.
 
Fearless Tower said:
Yes and no. You won't see the students at PHX. You will see them at the other valley airports, but the lack of good radar coverage at DVT makes the student problem worse.

DVT has its pros and cons. Unless they get local radar, I prefer to avoid it.
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I have never had a problem there. Maybe because I've only ever flown around Phoenix and I expect bozos in the traffic pattern. I trust the controllers and I also have eyeballs (seems many pilots lack them). Just fly the plane and you will be fine. Its the outlying areas beyond the class D where stuff gets interesting. Lots of traffic at similar altitudes.
 
SkyDog58 said:
Personally if I had a choice between a valley with deer and a dale with Scotts, I'd go for the valley.
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Having flown at 4 of the many airports in the area, given the choice, I'd go for Glendale.
 
Falcon Field KFFD or Chandler KCHD are pretty good.
Depends on where in Phoenix you are going. A lot of people come to "Phoenix" and end up having meetings in the Valley, staying in Scottsdale and never going to Phoenix. Plus KPHX is in Tempe.
 
Jason608 said:
Plus KPHX is in Tempe.
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Not really. PHX is City of Phoenix property. All airport businesses have Phoenix addresses and you won't see Tempe Police officers on the airport property - you will see City of Phoenix PD however.

That said, PHX is only about a mile or so from downtown Tempe and until the US Airways merger with American, the headquarters was in Tempe.
 
NJP_MAN said:
I have never had a problem there. Maybe because I've only ever flown around Phoenix and I expect bozos in the traffic pattern. I trust the controllers and I also have eyeballs (seems many pilots lack them). Just fly the plane and you will be fine. Its the outlying areas beyond the class D where stuff gets interesting. Lots of traffic at similar altitudes.
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I'd say it may be my bad luck there, but many others have expressed similar feelings and experiences with the place as well.

My experiences involved controllers literally freaking out because they couldn't figure out what the students were doing and directing people in the pattern to do 360s while they tried to sort things out. I think I have had one good/smooth arrival there and that was in the evening. When the controller sounds stressed on the radio, that doesn't give me a good feeling. I've also had the unpleasant experience a few times of waiting 20-30 minutes for a VFR departure.

My dad used to keep his Turbo Lance there and hated it until he was able to get the hangar at FFZ.
 
Thanks guys. I'll probably go to SDL because it's right where we need to be.

I can go in with enough fuel to not need it with my extended tanks. $15 bucks a night tiedown, I think I can handle that.

I'll let Garmin pilot pick a fuel price stop before the last leg. I'll go in VFR on FF, so maybe they can vector me around any wild and crazy students. :goofy:


wild_crazy_guys.jpg
 
DVT has a very inexpensive SS pump. The _day_ it opened the other two FBOs dropped their gas prices by a full $1.00.
 
SDL is a good choice. Just don't taxi on to the FBO ramps on accident. You will get a handling fee. And if Signature is going to charge me a handling fee, I'm going to give them something to handle .
 
Flew into the 'megaplex' 2 years ago and landed at Scottsdale because that's where I was going. Enjoyed the first class handling and facilities.

I tend to land where I'm trying to go. Premium spots generally charge premium prices.

I wouldn't be afraid of Deer Valley but it did sound like a real goat rodeo. Actually it sounded like a very busy training operation.
 
DVT is one of the few places I've heard the controller say "all inbound traffic, remain clear of the Class D, and call back in 5 minutes"
 
I've been in and out of DVT a few times. I've never had a problem, but I consider myself a better pilot than all the trainees out flying. Just pay attention and don't expect anyone else to do it for you. Easy.
 
We will be staying near old town Scottdale and running around up to Lincoln and Scottsdale road and back. So KSDL makes the most sense.

We want to take the wagon up to Sedona and fly around one day while we're out there.

Maybe check out Prescott.
 
txflyer said:
We will be staying near old town Scottdale and running around up to Lincoln and Scottsdale road and back. So KSDL makes the most sense.

We want to take the wagon up to Sedona and fly around one day while we're out there.

Maybe check out Prescott.
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FWIW, old town Scottsdale is actually closer to PHX although PHX may not be all that fun in the Skywagon. FFZ really isn't that much farther from old town than SDL (traffic in north Scottsdale has gotten pretty ugly over the years).
 
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Fearless Tower said:
FWIW, old town Scottsdale is actually closer to PHX although PHX may not be all that fun in the Skywagon. FFZ really isn't that much farther from old town than SDL (traffic in north Scottsdale has gotten pretty ugly over the years).
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Thanks but we try to stay up and down Scottsdale road and not go West into PHX if we can help it.

They built a loop East of Hayden that makes KSDL easier / faster to get to I hope. But distances in Scottsdale are nothing for us really. Houston is a monster compared to it.

The wife is going commercial because it's a wedding and she doesn't like long x-country's in ours, and I'm going only if the weather allows me to take the wagon and make it a flying trip for me. So it's all weather dependent for me. I was just wondering what the fee's were or if KSDL was a bad experience. :redface:
 
txflyer said:
Thanks but we try to stay up and down Scottsdale road and not go West into PHX if we can help it.



They built a loop East of Hayden that makes KSDL easier / faster to get to I hope. But distances in Scottsdale are nothing for us really. Houston is a monster compared to it.



The wife is going commercial because it's a wedding and she doesn't like long x-country's in ours, and I'm going only if the weather allows me to take the wagon and make it a flying trip for me. So it's all weather dependent for me. I was just wondering what the fee's were or if KSDL was a bad experience. :redface:
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If you're instrument rated, have XM and a few hours of flexibility, weather will not keep you from going in the summer...
 
Fearless Tower said:
FWIW, old town Scottsdale is actually closer to PHX although PHX may not be all that fun in the Skywagon. FFZ really isn't that much farther from old town than SDL (traffic in north Scottsdale has gotten pretty ugly over the years).
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As you know Cutter and Swift are on the SW of the field. While phx is closer, I think the FBOs' locations make it nearly negligible. I love flying into PHX though.
 
dans2992 said:
If you're instrument rated, have XM and a few hours of flexibility, weather will not keep you from going in the summer...
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VFR SEL here with ADS/B. I don't want an IR but thanks.

If the weather's that bad, I don't want to be flying anyway.

It'll be late October, so I'm hoping the boomers won't be around. :redface:
 
dans2992 said:
DVT is one of the few places I've heard the controller say "all inbound traffic, remain clear of the Class D, and call back in 5 minutes"
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That doesn't happen if on a IFR flight plan unless there is an emergency because the approach controller won't put up with it



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NJP_MAN said:
As you know Cutter and Swift are on the SW of the field. While phx is closer, I think the FBOs' locations make it nearly negligible. I love flying into PHX though.
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Yes, but it is still pretty quick to get on the 202 east bound and then get off on
Rural/Scottsdale Rd. My dad's shop is in old town so I go there frequently. Last trip we went to SDL since we were staying at Kierland, and I was surprised at how bad the traffic has gotten up there. I love my home state, but I am glad I moved out of the Phoenix area.
 
txflyer said:
It'll be late October, so I'm hoping the boomers won't be around. :redface:
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Go early. You probably already know this from flying in TX, but the key to pleasant flying in AZ is flying in the morning before the heat/storms build up.
 
txflyer said:
I was just wondering what the fee's were or if KSDL was a bad experience. :redface:
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They aren't bad. Just the fuel, but unless you are a gas guzzling twin, even that isn't going to kill you.

One thing worth looking into- if you go to SDL and aren't needing FBO services, you can park on the ramp in front of the terminal/restaurant and the fee is cheaper. It is on the north side next to Landmark.
 
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Fearless Tower said:
Tower has no radar (they get a feed from Phoenix which doesn't cover the traffic pattern)
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Not entirely correct. KDVT's radar system is a "mosaic" system that takes feeds from all radars in the area, cleaned and overlaid to create one system. They have excellent coverage in the pattern, and all the way down to about 500 feet AGL (and below, depending). There is a radar facility just two miles south of the airport.

KDVT does not have ASDE-x, so they do not have "ground surveillance" and do not require transponders to be activated while on the ground.

Nonetheless... it's a busy place, but not that bad.
 
CT4ME said:
Not entirely correct. KDVT's radar system is a "mosaic" system that takes feeds from all radars in the area, cleaned and overlaid to create one system. They have excellent coverage in the pattern, and all the way down to about 500 feet AGL (and below, depending). There is a radar facility just two miles south of the airport.

KDVT does not have ASDE-x, so they do not have "ground surveillance" and do not require transponders to be activated while on the ground.

Nonetheless... it's a busy place, but not that bad.
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I know they have a 'mosaic' feed from Phoenix, but when did they get coverage down to 500' AGL? They did not have it when I was there last (4 or 5 years ago). Either that or they have significant blocked coverage.
 
'not sure if there has been a change, but a controller and admin person both were adamant that they have excellent coverage throughout the Delta, and most certainly in the entire pattern. As they said... "by law, we have to". Also said they regularly pickup transponders at around 400 ft and have solid contact with the helos that crisscross the area below pattern.
 
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