VPZ and Surrounding

[TheTraveler]

Hello all!

I've been out for a while...work, a lot of travel, classes to finish up, etc, etc. So I hope everyone has been doing well!

A question for those of you up North...what do you know about VPZ? Nice airport? Good flight school? Rental rates? EAA chapter?

I've been going through the process with a company in Valpo for a position, and I'm expecting an offer to come in at the end of next week.

I've got family members down the road at 3C1, but I think that's a little far to drive when VPZ is right there. I talked to one of them and he didn't know much, but thought it was a nice place to come in and out of.

Any info on VPZ or the surrounding area would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

 

[JGoodish]

Hello all!

I've been out for a while...work, a lot of travel, classes to finish up, etc, etc. So I hope everyone has been doing well!

A question for those of you up North...what do you know about VPZ? Nice airport? Good flight school? Rental rates? EAA chapter?

I've been going through the process with a company in Valpo for a position, and I'm expecting an offer to come in at the end of next week.

I've got family members down the road at 3C1, but I think that's a little far to drive when VPZ is right there. I talked to one of them and he didn't know much, but thought it was a nice place to come in and out of.

Any info on VPZ or the surrounding area would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

I grew up in Valparaiso (almost 30 years ago) and have been back several times by plane and automobile. KVPZ is a nice airport staffed by nice folks. The last time I was there, I believe that there were at least two flight schools, but since I wasn't seeking instruction, I didn't make a good note of it. I would recommend calling the airport and talking with them.

As for Valparaiso itself, it's still a nice area which has grown somewhat in the past 30 years, although I am told that there's been a demographic shift toward an older population now that the steel mills along the lake are largely gone. Still, it's a nice rural community with a well-respected college, good schools, pretty much all of the modern conveniences, and reasonably good access to Chicago. If you can land a good job there, it's probably not a bad place to be, as long as you're not looking for city life (or are willing to drive to Chicago to get it).

Feel free to PM me with additional questions, and I would be happy to share my thoughts.


JKG

 

[ScottM]

I have used the airport as a transient and always found the FBO there to be welcoming, not pushy and helpful.

 

[Silvaire]

I grew up in Valparaiso (almost 30 years ago)

Wow, me too but for me it was more like 50 years ago and after graduating from VHS in '72 I left and have never been back, not because it's an awful place but because we have no relatives back there.

I learned to fly at VPZ at Murvihill's in a J3. He's long gone now but my brother has been through there and said the road at the airport is named after him.

Valpo was not a bad little town, the area is flat as a pancake other than the Pines ski resort which is a single 300 foot pile of dirt that was half built by bulldozers and the Dunes at Lake Michigan. There's plenty of snow in the wintertime, or at least there was in the 60's.

Oh yea, and tornadoes in the summer. Here's a picture of the J3 I learned to fly in after one put an end to my training so, maybe you would want to get a hangar

 

[TheTraveler]

Thanks for the feedback so far, I appreciate it.

I looks like a pretty nice place from what I've seen so far, and it would be great to be back within a stone's throw of the Windy.

Hopefully someone will step up soon who's got experience with the flight schools over there.

 

[JGoodish]

Thanks for the feedback so far, I appreciate it.

I looks like a pretty nice place from what I've seen so far, and it would be great to be back within a stone's throw of the Windy.

Hopefully someone will step up soon who's got experience with the flight schools over there.

Your best bet may be to call the airport itself (county runs the FBO, I believe) and ask them for input. There is one, Eagle, that I know has been around for a long time, but flight instruction is somewhat of a personal thing that will probably require that you invest some time into visiting the schools and talking with the instructors. If you have your own aircraft, the FBO may be able to help connect you with freelance instructors.


JKG

 

[Matthew]

I haven't been there for a while, but i still have relatives that live there. I used to spend a lot of summers there as a kid. I always liked the town, but have nothing i can add about the airport.