What To Expect At Key West

Skid

Skid

Pre-takeoff checklist
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Skid
Planning to fly down to Key West in a few weeks VFR and just wanted to be ahead of the game on what to expect upon arrival and departure. The planned route right now is to stay near the everglades coast, fly semi-direct to Marathon and then follow the islands down.

We will most likely be using Miami Center for flight following so the transition through the Naval airspace will probably be fairly uneventful. If for whatever reason we stay low and Miami can't pick us up, I presume the best course of action would be to call Naval approach when we're close and tell them I'm inbound for Key West (instead of going around)? Do they generally transition traffic direct through their airspace or vector around north or south?

As for departing the AFD says to expect a north or south departure for VFR traffic. I'd like to avoid staying over the water as much as possible as we'll be using an old rental C172. If I tell ground "East bound departure" I'm thinking its unlikely we'll be able to initially go due east directly into Navals airspace? If I get flight following on the ground (if that's even an option) could I then?

Let me know what has worked best for you.
 
Can't help w approach - but after landing it's all drunk tourists and T-shirt shops.
Personally, hate the place.
 
What to expect?

shaken-upside-down.jpg
 
Careful of the Aerostat restricted airspace over Cudjoe. Stay south of Rt1 if flying from Marathon to Key West.
 
Some will fly into KMTH, rent a car there and drive the 40 nm to KEYW. Check the fees. The drive in that area is not far and offers some views along the way.
 
FORANE said:
Some will fly into KMTH, rent a car there and drive the 40 nm to KEYW. Check the fees. The drive in that area is not far and offers some views along the way.
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I've actually heard that mentioned a few times now. I think we're just going to do this trip to say we did it, and then do as your saying in the future to keep it easy and cheap.
 
@Skid when I went down there I took v35 from ksrq to deeds and just cut across using v601. Saved a bunch of time.

If you are going during summer, expect thunderstorms. I had to sit and wait about an hour and a half before flying back in the evening due to t-storms along my route of flight. Went down over the weekend of July 4th a few years back.

Gas is expensive down there, almost $7 a gallon, so expect a hefty bill.

You'll need cab, but Signature will hook you up with that. Despite the naysayers, I do like the keys, but not for a day trip. I'd go down there for at least a night or two. Going down for a day and then heading back up is exhausting...
 
Done this same trip. Loved it. The family still talks about it.
We departed Destin and talked to the Air Force base over the Shuttle facility and were cleared to overfly the shuttle landing strip. We stayed at 1500 along the coast all the way to Miami with flight following. They were very busy but had no problems controlling us.we passed under the approach path for Miami and got to see the Congo line of airliners coming in. Very cool. A slight turn over Biscayne Bay was a little disconcerting but not a problem. We followed the island chain all the way down. We got switched to the Naval controllers who cleared us through their airspace. Key West vectored us south a few miles over the water but then brought us back in quickly. Landed and had great service thereafter. The fuel and fees were pricey but soon forgotten.

I didn't find the experience any more difficult than anywhere else. They are accustomed to VFR and GA traffic, so go and don't look back!


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drjcustis said:
Done this same trip. Loved it. The family still talks about it.
We departed Destin and talked to the Air Force base over the Shuttle facility and were cleared to overfly the shuttle landing strip. We stayed at 1500 along the coast all the way to Miami with flight following. They were very busy but had no problems controlling us.we passed under the approach path for Miami and got to see the Congo line of airliners coming in. Very cool. A slight turn over Biscayne Bay was a little disconcerting but not a problem. We followed the island chain all the way down. We got switched to the Naval controllers who cleared us through their airspace. Key West vectored us south a few miles over the water but then brought us back in quickly. Landed and had great service thereafter. The fuel and fees were pricey but soon forgotten.

I didn't find the experience any more difficult than anywhere else. They are accustomed to VFR and GA traffic, so go and don't look back!


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Very refreshing pirep. Way too much of the "stop here and rent a car", "fees are high", "gas is high", "that'll cost an extra dollar or two" naysaying in these threads. It's an experience and your description tells exactly why we do this.
 
Key West, and the keys in general, is a truly beautiful place. Stay off of Duval St. to avoid the drunks and t-shirts. The rest of the place has a unique charm.
 
It's been about 10 years since I've done it but we would come down V601 to the VOR. If I remember right we would report the VOR and then they would have us fly around the western side of the island and then circle South of the airport and enter the pattern that way. You get a good view of the Island that way.
I recommend eating or getting drinks at the Sunset Pier bar one evening. They usually have music and you see all the boats coming back in at the end of the day.
 
We stopped there on the way back from Cuba and were sent north. Fuel in Cuba costs half of what it does in Key West.
 
I thought it was pretty cool. Hemmingway's house is sort of a waste of time... unless you like cats. Truman's "White House" was pretty interesting. By all means, go to Duval Street, see the sights, have a drink or two and a lot of laughs and possibly cure any homophobia you may have. You don't have to buy a tee shirt or a Key Lime Pie kit which is sold seemingly everywhere.

<---- no, I'm not gay but those guys sure know how to have a good time and make you laugh.
 
Also, if you like Rum you should stop in the Rum Barrel on Front St. and try some of their selections. I don't care for the Duvall St. bars and the rowdy crowds on the main strip.
 
never been there....but If I were to go I would expect to see a bunch of thin men in thongs...:eek:
 
if you go V539 or V601 that takes you out of the ADIZ airspace and you must comply with the requirements of crossing the ADIZ. anything south east of V157 keeps you inside of the ADIZ. from everglades city to marathon is a good route, keeps you over "land" the longest. call navy eyw about marathon on 124.02 and stay south of the bridges, that will keep you away from the balloon. they will generally want you over the water as you pass navy, however, if there are no ops at navy they will not make you go outside the airspace. if they have ops they will send you five mile out over the water. just be aware of regional jets coming down v3 and B646 descending to 1600 ft at 250 kts.

enjoy
bob
 
You can rent a bike at the airport and ride to town.
 
I believe that they now have a landing fee, as many UK airports do. But it does not show on the airfield info in iFly.
Quite a few years since we were there, and remember being amazed at the Mel Fisher display of artifacts salvaged from the Aotka galleon.
 
I landed at Marathon, rented a car, visted Key West and the airport, too. Wasn't pleased to see how the pilots and passengers were being treated -- mostly being ignored. So upon my return to Marathon I flew around Key West but didn't land. Ok that was a while ago. YMMV.
 
I flew a L-39 at Marathon; also, the lower part of the Keys is a real pretty drive, so you could sure do worse. . .
 
Been there more times than I care including this past weekend. Most definitely use flight following. You will be with Miami Center most of the way there and they will hand you over to Key West Approach who will coordinate any transition over Navy Airspace. You can go to Marathon if you like or if going down the Everglades and close to Naples V539 is a good choice. As long as you are talking to ATC under flight following no need to worry about crossing the ADIZ. Super nice flight, beautiful scenery, and simple. Signature is the FBO there and although gas is expensive they will waive the ramp fee with a 20 gallon purchase. Overnight fee is $25. Believe me this is better than fees at many other signature locations. They will arrange taxi to take you to town ($9 per passenger) and they generally provide good service. On departure you can ask ground for flight following back to wherever you are going and they will assign you a squawk code and departure frequency (124.02). Departure will probably give you an initial vector before they let you resume own navigation. Be mindful of wake turbulence as there is a good chance you might be landing or taking off right after a 737 or regional jet. Key West controllers are easy to work with so don't sweat it. Flying up and down the Key chain is quite beautiful. Enjoy it!


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George Mohr said:
Key West, and the keys in general, is a truly beautiful place. Stay off of Duval St. to avoid the drunks and t-shirts. The rest of the place has a unique charm.
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Haven't been to Key West, but this was true in Cozumel as well. In the middle of town by the cruise ship ports, it was muy touristy. I took off walking out of town for a couple hours and discovered true Cozumel. It was a great cultural experience at that point... so good advice to venture off the main strips. After you get your t-shirts of course.
 
I've flown a bunch of times, always had horrible luck with the FBO. Watch your wing clearance when they try to marshal you in. Too many times I've had to stop the plane to prevent my wing from hitting another plane. I prefer to fly into Marathon and drive/boat over if I need to.
 
Timbeck2 said:
I thought it was pretty cool. Hemmingway's house is sort of a waste of time... unless you like cats. Truman's "White House" was pretty interesting. By all means, go to Duval Street, see the sights, have a drink or two and a lot of laughs and possibly cure any homophobia you may have. You don't have to buy a tee shirt or a Key Lime Pie kit which is sold seemingly everywhere.

<---- no, I'm not gay but those guys sure know how to have a good time and make you laugh.
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I liked the penny in the concrete next to the swimming pool, and the story behind it.

The real treasures in the Hemingway House, are if you take the time to go into various rooms and look at the various photographs and read who's in them. There's some interesting history there if you know other Hemingway history. Not as interesting if you don't.

Also interesting to look and see what was on HIS bookshelves. The books may be staged, however.

Dude was crazy.
 
Key West is a great visit, I've flown down there a number of times. Do phone Signature in advance to find out how big a mortgage you'll need to take out. Hemingway's house, the Little White House, the Coast Guard floating museum ship are all good, as are the fort in the state park and the ecological museum (free entry!)
 
Dont stay at a hotel with a view that is blocked by the cruise ships parking. Thats really ugly view.
 
I just flew from Sarasota to Marathon yesterday. A couple of items to point out. If you're worried about flying over water, the only real way is to fly to the Miami area and follow the keys down. While it sounds good to hug the everglades coastline and shoot over to Marathon, there's nothing pass Everglades City. Yes, you maybe crash landing on dry land, but its deserted dry land.

The cost equation is always a factor. I either had to pay $15 bucks or buy 10 gallons of gas at around $5.60 for a single. Overnight parking was $15 a night for a single. The folks in Marathon were great. A cab into town was $6 for the ride, not $9 per person. Key West was around $40 for the day. The gas was more expensive as well.

If you're planning on staying in Key West and not visiting anywhere else, then Key West makes sense. If you're going to rent a car anyway, go the Marathon and drive down to Key West. That's what I did the last time I took my wife down.

The best news is that you can't go wrong either way. You're in the keys.
 
Just don't go there on Tuesday. NAS Key West does "IFR Tuesdays" for controller training, and it is a complete gong show most of the time. Tons of dudes getting delayed in the airspace, while they very slowly build an extremely inefficient conga line to PAR final into NASKW. Vectors are normally either north or south of the key, outside International's airspace, but I'd probably want the callouts from F/F in this scenario with 20+ F/A-18/F-5's all trying to RTB.
 
35 AoA said:
Just don't go there on Tuesday. NAS Key West does "IFR Tuesdays" for controller training, and it is a complete gong show most of the time. Tons of dudes getting delayed in the airspace, while they very slowly build an extremely inefficient conga line to PAR final into NASKW. Vectors are normally either north or south of the key, outside International's airspace, but I'd probably want the callouts from F/F in this scenario with 20+ F/A-18/F-5's all trying to RTB.
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LOL. That sounds "entertaining".
 
unsafervguy said:
if you go V539 or V601 that takes you out of the ADIZ airspace and you must comply with the requirements of crossing the ADIZ. anything south east of V157 keeps you inside of the ADIZ. from everglades city to marathon is a good route, keeps you over "land" the longest. call navy eyw about marathon on 124.02 and stay south of the bridges, that will keep you away from the balloon. they will generally want you over the water as you pass navy, however, if there are no ops at navy they will not make you go outside the airspace. if they have ops they will send you five mile out over the water. just be aware of regional jets coming down v3 and B646 descending to 1600 ft at 250 kts.

enjoy
bob
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Ive crossed the adiz a few times vfr. If you're on flight following they dont mind. Flown direct naples-keyw.


If you call ahead they will leave scooters for you at the airport. The best way to get around key west until you're too drunk to operate it!
 
Most of the guys/gals I know who spend significant time in KW invest in bikes. Probably a trickier option if you don't really use it as your home away from home and don't have a place for long term storage, but I'm sure you can rent one. Most of my memories after dark down there involve biking from place to place, and the cops always seem to be happy with people who choose to ride a bike rather than drive a powered vehicle....as long as you aren't hurting the protected species called the chicken.
 
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