Visiting Dallas/Fort Worth area

ArrowFlyer86

ArrowFlyer86

En-Route
PoA Supporter
Joined
Jul 17, 2019
Messages
3,285
Location
Around
Display Name
Flight
I'm going to be flying down to Dallas/Fort Worth area in mid October to meet up with a friend for a week.

Any suggestions on good airports to consider or equally useful: any to definitely avoid (I'll be flying the arrow in)? Location is not a significant concern, I intend to grab a rental car.

Separately:
I've only ever traveled to Dallas for work and pretty much lived out of the office there, so this is my first time actually going and doing stuff. Any suggestions? My friend is only in town for a conference and has no ideas what the area has to offer.

Only thing on the itinerary right now is they want to hit a comedy club and we're thinking (maybe) of flying to NOLA for a day or two. Thus I'm interested in any DFW entertainment/dining locals might recommend! Preferably things very Dallas/Texas-y that you can't get elsewhere. Any lodging areas you'd recommend where entertainment is plentiful? Any cool unique places to fly to?

Any suggestions appreciated, thanks!
 
Last edited:
The D/FW area is physically quite large and has lots of traffic on the ground, so it's definitely worth considering the proximity of an airport to where you're going. Also, be sure you're up on your SID and STAR procedures, as they do use them for pistons in this area. Last piston trip there (to GPM) I got the SASIE7 on the way in and the NANDR3 on the way out. It's not hard, but it's not something you see much, especially being based in the Midwest.

I don't think there are any "bad" airports, just more expensive ones. I've been to a bunch of the airports in the area:

I think my favorite might be Grand Prairie KGPM. Little restaurant on the field, very friendly, not too busy.

Addison KADS can be difficult to get in and out of because it's the busiest single-runway airport in the country, and it's not unusual to have to wait in line for 8-10 other airplanes to arrive or depart in front of you, but Million Air is a great FBO and isn't overly expensive IIRC.
Fort Worth Alliance KAFW seemed quite friendly and not overly busy, even got a tower tour there.
Denton KDTO and McKinney KTKI are nice but pretty far away from the downtown areas.
52F Northwest Regional/Aero Valley/Whatever they're calling themselves this week seems popular with local pilots but not really well set up for transients.
Love, Meacham.... "Meh" but workable if they're conveniently located. Haven't been to Spinks or the rest.

Whatever you do, be sure to leave some time to make the quick hop down to KSEP Stephenville (right on the west edge of the TAC, southwest of town) and walk a few blocks to the Hard Eight BBQ. It seems like a required pilgrimage for pilots in the area, and it's awfully tasty!
 
flyingcheesehead said:
Whatever you do, be sure to leave some time to make the quick hop down to KSEP Stephenville (right on the west edge of the TAC, southwest of town) and walk a few blocks to the Hard Eight BBQ. It seems like a required pilgrimage for pilots in the area, and it's awfully tasty!
Click to expand...
Do they still leave a golf cart at the airport as a courtesy car?
 
I second the BBQ at SEP, They do have a courtesy car and, I am told, sometimes the restaurant will pick you up. I flew in to KTKI (McKinney) for a conference at Frisco. Easy-peasy and a very good FBO/hangar space. I've done a pick-up/drop-off at Weatherford but unsure if there are hangars.
 
Unless you are a wealthy man or an unwise man, avoid KADS at all costs. And by "all costs", that is what they will charge you.

My list of things to do here that you will remember after you leave:

Eating:
Mexican Food: Mi Dia, Lupe Tortilla, Mexican Sugar. These are restaurants that you will remember later. Good food and atmosphere.

BBQ: Hard 8 is very popular and they are growing.

Non BBQ: "Marty B" is a dude that is taking north Dallas by storm and building restaurants all over the place. They are all expensive but incredible.
Marty Bs (Southern, BBQ, etc) is a massive restaurant / venue with live music and really good food. He owns 1845 Taste Texas, Rustico Grill, Ranchman's, Cactus Canyon. All are amazing and memorable dining experiences.

Reunion tower (Rotating restaurant). Its been years. The food probably sucks and is expensive but I remember that it rotates and you get a good view of the city from up there.

Flying:
Really cant stress enough flying down to Gillespie field and visiting the hangar hotel and airport diner. Take an uber into town and grab a bite at Fredericksburg Brewing Co.
West Texas, fly over Palo Duro Canyon and land in River Falls(H81) for fuel. That canyon is really beautiful to fly over.
Further south, Mustang Beach in Port Aransas (KRAS) is also pretty. The runway touches both sides of the island so it is a really pretty approach.

Airports:
Denton (DTO), Arlington (GKY), McKinney (TKI), Grand Prairie (GPM), Dallas Exec (RBD) Will all have a place to tie down and rental cars nearby


If you like football... er.. um.. never mind.
The stadium tour is pretty cool though.


The further north you are the less traffic is going to make you want to jump off a bridge.
In the evenings around Dallas, there is no avoiding it. The areas around Arlington and Grand Prairie are just a nightmare. Just be ready for it.
If you can avoid ever driving on a highway called 635 (LBJ Freeway), I would. It is horrible everywhere all times of day and night.
We have a lot of toll roads and express lanes where the price varies from 50 cents to 10 bucks depending on the traffic flow. Your rental car will probably have a toll tag but if you get on any road labeled "Texpress" you are going to pay for it. I am not sure how that works with a rental.

If you like truck nuts and rebel flags, the southern part and west side of the metroplex will feel welcoming.
If you like craft beer and flannel, The North side is good.

If you want to meet a freakin great guy and do some glider flying. @Lindberg will give you an experience you will never forget (KJWY).

That's all I know about North Texas but I live here so I don't know why anyone would want to come here.
It probably has a ton to offer I just cant see the forest for the trees.
 
SixPapaCharlie said:
Unless you are a wealthy man or an unwise man, avoid KADS at all costs. And by "all costs", that is what they will charge you.

My list of things to do here that you will remember after you leave:

Eating:
Mexican Food: Mi Dia, Lupe Tortilla, Mexican Sugar. These are restaurants that you will remember later. Good food and atmosphere.

BBQ: Hard 8 is very popular and they are growing.

Non BBQ: "Marty B" is a dude that is taking north Dallas by storm and building restaurants all over the place. They are all expensive but incredible.
Marty Bs (Southern, BBQ, etc) is a massive restaurant / venue with live music and really good food. He owns 1845 Taste Texas, Rustico Grill, Ranchman's, Cactus Canyon. All are amazing and memorable dining experiences.

Reunion tower (Rotating restaurant). Its been years. The food probably sucks and is expensive but I remember that it rotates and you get a good view of the city from up there.

Flying:
Really cant stress enough flying down to Gillespie field and visiting the hangar hotel and airport diner. Take an uber into town and grab a bite at Fredericksburg Brewing Co.
West Texas, fly over Palo Duro Canyon and land in River Falls(H81) for fuel. That canyon is really beautiful to fly over.
Further south, Mustang Beach in Port Aransas (KRAS) is also pretty. The runway touches both sides of the island so it is a really pretty approach.

Airports:
Denton (DTO), Arlington (GKY), McKinney (TKI), Grand Prairie (GPM), Dallas Exec (RBD) Will all have a place to tie down and rental cars nearby


If you like football... er.. um.. never mind.
The stadium tour is pretty cool though.


The further north you are the less traffic is going to make you want to jump off a bridge.
In the evenings around Dallas, there is no avoiding it. The areas around Arlington and Grand Prairie are just a nightmare. Just be ready for it.
If you can avoid ever driving on a highway called 635 (LBJ Freeway), I would. It is horrible everywhere all times of day and night.
We have a lot of toll roads and express lanes where the price varies from 50 cents to 10 bucks depending on the traffic flow. Your rental car will probably have a toll tag but if you get on any road labeled "Texpress" you are going to pay for it. I am not sure how that works with a rental.

If you like truck nuts and rebel flags, the southern part and west side of the metroplex will feel welcoming.
If you like craft beer and flannel, The North side is good.

If you want to meet a freakin great guy and do some glider flying. @Lindberg will give you an experience you will never forget (KJWY).

That's all I know about North Texas but I live here so I don't know why anyone would want to come here.
It probably has a ton to offer I just cant see the forest for the trees.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the kind words. The check is in the mail....

LMK if you want to arrange a glider flight. Can probably make it happen.

I agree with SPC on the airports and most of the restaurants. But Reunion Tower doesn't rotate anymore since someone got hurt and sued. The DFW metroplex is huge, so unless you like driving in traffic, you should pick an area and stick to it.
 
SixPapaCharlie said:
If you like truck nuts and rebel flags, the southern part and west side of the metroplex will feel welcoming.
Click to expand...
Lindberg said:
you should pick an area and stick to it.
Click to expand...
Nothing says Texas like Truck Nuts and Rebel Flags, so it sounds like the southwest side of the metro is where I need to be. Yee-haw.
(joking -- kind of! but totally not opposed to staying in those areas for a week if that's what makes the most sense)

Noted on the huge footprint of the metro. I'll try and figure out the area with max entertainment density per square mile and locate by there. If it's a bit of a drive from whichever airport I land at, that's totally fine. I just don't want to be zig-zagging across the metro for the other activities/nightlife (which we'll be Ubering for, I think).

Also, noted on:
ADS -> Will avoid [Also, kind of strange but it seems like all *most* of your deltas only have 1 paved runway pretty much... what's with that?]
Gillespie field -> Will try to slot that into the trip
Mystery Tolls based on traffic -> Will prepare wallet accordingly
Traffic on north side will reduce desire to hurl self off bridge -> Noted.
 
Last edited:
Lindberg said:
How many do you need? Denton, Alliance, Executive, and Meacham each have two.
Click to expand...
One runway is plenty :) . I'm just used to having multiple in Chicago Deltas and I noticed it on the VFR map. I was looking at ADS, GPM, GKY, FWS, HQZ. I guess your guys wind down there is more predictable?
 
If you're an iFly EFB user and you fly in during business hours, you can visit the Adventure Pilot World Headquarters just across the parking lot from the terminal at KTKI. Heck, you can also visit even if you're NOT an iFly EFB user....
 
ArrowFlyer86 said:
One runway is plenty :) . I'm just used to having multiple in Chicago Deltas and I noticed it on the VFR map. I was looking at ADS, GPM, GKY, FWS, HQZ. I guess your guys wind down there is more predictable?
Click to expand...
Naah, the fuel is just so much cheaper they can afford more crosswind landing practice. ;)
 
We always fly into HQZ, granted I’m from Mesquite and have family there. However it’s low key and rarely busy and the line guys and FBO are great. Flying around lake ray Hubbard is kinda relaxing too. I did training at KADS and yeah it was stupid busy.

Being from Mesquite 635 was my stomping ground and super super busy and ALWAYS under construction. Though I’m pretty sure that every highway in the metro.

The world aquarium in downtown is awesome!!! Hard 8 is also in coppell (did I spell that right?) if you don’t want to fly to it. It’s just okay BBQ to me. I’ve been to the SEP one twice and it’s honestly nothing to write home about. Deep Ellum is fine and interesting especially for people watching.

Traffic is terrible no doubt but lots to see. Plan an hour almost anytime you’re in a vehicle at a min. Haha
 
simtech said:
We always fly into HQZ, granted I’m from Mesquite and have family there. However it’s low key and rarely busy and the line guys and FBO are great. Flying around lake ray Hubbard is kinda relaxing too. I did training at KADS and yeah it was stupid busy.

Being from Mesquite 635 was my stomping ground and super super busy and ALWAYS under construction. Though I’m pretty sure that every highway in the metro.

The world aquarium in downtown is awesome!!! Hard 8 is also in coppell (did I spell that right?) if you don’t want to fly to it. It’s just okay BBQ to me. I’ve been to the SEP one twice and it’s honestly nothing to write home about. Deep Ellum is fine and interesting especially for people watching.

Traffic is terrible no doubt but lots to see. Plan an hour almost anytime you’re in a vehicle at a min. Haha
Click to expand...
Good news, construction on 635 is finished.
 
Alright, think I settled on a plan.

Fly into Meacham (FTW) and use Texas Jet FBO (better reviews from what I saw for the 2 FBOs available)
And got an airbnb so we'll call Fort Worth our home base :cool:.

Planning to fly to Stephenville for the BBQ, to Gillespie/Fredricksburg, and maybe stay in San Antonio for 1 night.

Thanks for the suggestions!
 
Last edited:
SixPapaCharlie said:
Reunion tower (Rotating restaurant). Its been years. The food probably sucks and is expensive but I remember that it rotates and you get a good view of the city from up there.
Click to expand...

It no longer rotates and food is meh. If you want to go up anyways, instead of spending money on the ticket is can still be worth it to go eat up there but I wouldn't go for the food if you don't want to go up the tower anyways.
 
Haven’t seen it, and I found it perfectly fine for stuff on the East side, Dallas Exec - Redbird. Also, for 6PCs list, check the days and hours they are open. I got to look in the windows at a few cool places, including the hangar hotel restaurant.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top