Chicago Midway?

N747JB

N747JB

Final Approach
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John
I've got a trip to Chicago in mid November, last time we flew into Gary,Indiana and had a friend that was driving to the meeting pick us up. This time I was going to fly Delta, but I'd prefer to fly myself.:D We are staying at the Ritz Carlton, so it appears MDW is by far the closest airport. Anyone with recent experience there? I know it's expensive, but is if GA friendly? :dunno: We'll be arriving on Saturday afternoon and departing on Tuesday around noon, so I expect the traffic may be lighter then vs rush hours.:D
 
I live in the northern burbs of Chicago, but flew into MDW on an IFR flight plan just to experience a busy Charlie. Gas is extremely expensive at Signature. You may want to call them to find out what their fees are for transient parking etc. It was a nice enough FBO building, and easy to get into. I suspect it will cost a pretty penny for transient hangaring fees. Gary may still be the better bet especially if you need to rent a car.
 
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https://www.atlanticaviation.com/location/MDW

It won't be free, but neither will parking a car downtown. Probably about $60 just to land, but I don't know what the overnight charges will be. If you will need gas anyway, then the $60 looks like $20 as buying 15 gallons at $8.50 will waive the $40 facility charge.

OTOH, google maps says it's 48 minutes to downtown from Gary airport and 31 minutes from Midway. So you aren't saving a whole lot of time by using the airport in Illinois.

OTOOH, if you don't need a car then you can take the train from Midway downtown and avoid hundreds of dollars of cost (between the car itself, gas and parking) compared to needing to rent one in Gary.
 
Lol, I just went through MDW on a commercial flight on Sunday. Waiting on the next flight to start boarding and was watching aircraft taking of from Terminal A. Next thing I see is a C172 taking off a few minutes behind the big iron. I had to laugh a little bit thinking about why he would have chosen a spot like MDW as opposed to something smaller, but it seemed to work out just fine.
 
rwellner98 said:
https://www.atlanticaviation.com/location/MDW

It won't be free, but neither will parking a car downtown. Probably about $60 just to land, but I don't know what the overnight charges will be. If you will need gas anyway, then the $60 looks like $20 as buying 15 gallons at $8.50 will waive the $40 facility charge.

OTOH, google maps says it's 48 minutes to downtown from Gary airport and 31 minutes from Midway. So you aren't saving a whole lot of time by using the airport in Illinois.

OTOOH, if you don't need a car then you can take the train from Midway downtown and avoid hundreds of dollars of cost (between the car itself, gas and parking) compared to needing to rent one in Gary.
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The ride by car is not too bad from Gary. Riding from MDW or GYY in a car will cause grief around Cellular field into downtown at certain times of the day. It's true there is a L line from mdw but there is also a train line from Gary and Gary Jet Center will drive you to the station until your train arrives. The train takes you into downtown.
 
asgcpa said:
It's true there is a L line from mdw but there is also a train line from Gary and Gary Jet Center will drive you to the station until your train arrives. The train takes you into downtown.
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Didn't know that. What train is that?
 
rwellner98 said:
https://www.atlanticaviation.com/location/MDW

It won't be free, but neither will parking a car downtown. Probably about $60 just to land, but I don't know what the overnight charges will be. If you will need gas anyway, then the $60 looks like $20 as buying 15 gallons at $8.50 will waive the $40 facility charge.

OTOH, google maps says it's 48 minutes to downtown from Gary airport and 31 minutes from Midway. So you aren't saving a whole lot of time by using the airport in Illinois.

OTOOH, if you don't need a car then you can take the train from Midway downtown and avoid hundreds of dollars of cost (between the car itself, gas and parking) compared to needing to rent one in Gary.
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You might be able to take the train from the Gary airport to downtown Chicago. The FBO staff will take you there. I would check with them to see if that might be an option.
 
Orange Line runs from Midway to the Loop. 20-25 minutes each way.
 
I haven't been into Midway since Odyssey closed but I thought it was a good option when flying into Chicago. You'd want to do some research on what FBO to use and what the current fees will be but I was in and out of there for less than $100 in a piston single.

Midway is easy to get in and out of and is reasonably friendly to GA users. I'd say they cater more to the turbine crowd but there were plenty of piston aircraft there when I was. I'd consider flying in there again if I had a need to go to Chicago and that was the closest airport to where I needed to go.
 
It looks like the closest airport has big X's in the runway! So, this one seems to be closest to downtown. :D

mondtster said:
I haven't been into Midway since Odyssey closed but I thought it was a good option when flying into Chicago. You'd want to do some research on what FBO to use and what the current fees will be but I was in and out of there for less than $100 in a piston single.

Midway is easy to get in and out of and is reasonably friendly to GA users. I'd say they cater more to the turbine crowd but there were plenty of piston aircraft there when I was. I'd consider flying in there again if I had a need to go to Chicago and that was the closest airport to where I needed to go.
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Heck, the X's aren't even there any more. It would make a nice grass strip though. :)
 
SoonerAviator said:
Lol, I just went through MDW on a commercial flight on Sunday. Waiting on the next flight to start boarding and was watching aircraft taking of from Terminal A. Next thing I see is a C172 taking off a few minutes behind the big iron. I had to laugh a little bit thinking about why he would have chosen a spot like MDW as opposed to something smaller, but it seemed to work out just fine.
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Answer is easy: it's probably close to his house! When I lived in the suburbs of Chicago I was only 15 min from MDW and found a nice 182 to rent there. I enjoyed Midway Airport.
 
N747JB said:
I've got a trip to Chicago in mid November, last time we flew into Gary,Indiana and had a friend that was driving to the meeting pick us up. This time I was going to fly Delta, but I'd prefer to fly myself.:D We are staying at the Ritz Carlton, so it appears MDW is by far the closest airport. Anyone with recent experience there? I know it's expensive, but is if GA friendly? :dunno: We'll be arriving on Saturday afternoon and departing on Tuesday around noon, so I expect the traffic may be lighter then vs rush hours.:D
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Check out the "Midway in a Bonanza" videos here:
https://www.youtube.com/user/martinpauly

The initial music, intro is off-putting (IMO), but it is an otherwise awesome video; very well done.
 
Have been to Midway several times in our Bonanza. The $9.00+ 100LL (with oil almost in the $70s per bbl) will get your attention; however, I believe it's the best choice if your destination is near downtown. (It's a shame about Meigs -- still -- over a decade later.)

Anyway -- Chicago Approach, Midway Tower, etc. is no big deal -- they are quite friendly. NYC ATC seemed substantially busier to me.

Heck -- I even came in once and had my (new) Garmin transponder fail within 10 miles of MDW, during a weekday, around 4pm in the afternoon (!!). No one missed a beat. They just swung me out to the south and worked me in as a primary target.

I called around trying to find avionics help before departing the next day -- without luck. So I call up Midway tower (expecting no love), talk to a really nice lady, and she tells me, "No worries, hun. We'll get you out fine. I'll make a note here now and just give us a call about an hour before you're ready to leave." I do so and leave right during rush hour. I ask them if it would be easier for us to wait until late, go get dinner and do it at a better time, etc. "Nah - now is fine -- we'll coordinate with Approach and get you out fine."

We leave as a primary target and all is fine. I get all the way home (Little Rock), replace the transponder (freak unit made it by Garmin QA / they replaced it no problem), and still have a fond place in my heart for MDW and Chicago Approach as a result...

The 6-7 times since I've been in there, it's been equally friendly and no big deal.

Have a good flight.... just make sure they don't put JetA in if you're flying a piston.
 
I've done both--Midway and Gary--in my 182. Obviously Gary is easier in and out, and fuel is dirt cheap in comparison. Really nice people at Coleman aviation.

Atlantic at Midway is as you would expect--top notch service. You'll probably not have too much of a delay either way unless wx happens to be an issue.

It really comes down to money and time. I doubt anyone rolling in on a Cessna 4xx is going to be riding trains or public transport, so it comes down to whether you're using your own wheels or whether you're try to impress anyone. At mdw taxis (and Uber) are plentiful. GYY is skewed towards rental cars, although I'm sure the FBO can call you a cab. MDW is impressive to the passengers. GYY is well....Gary.
 
Brad Z said:
I've done both--Midway and Gary--in my 182. Obviously Gary is easier in and out, and fuel is dirt cheap in comparison. Really nice people at Coleman aviation.
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Coleman has run out of gas in the past. I would trust Gary Jet Center. They have more hangar space to offer as well.
 
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