Flying into Durham NC

Ed Haywood

Ed Haywood

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Big Ed
Son is in school in Durham, NC. I am flying thru the area, so I'd like to stop and visit him for breakfast on Saturday. Also might have to pick him up on short notice for a funeral in next few weeks.

Not a lot of GA airports near Durham. Is RDU my best bet? Never been in there, so any tips on FBO's, parking, fuel, and ground transportation are appreciated. If my son meets me there, where should I tell him to go?
 
RDU is really the only choice. TAC Air is my choice over Signature. They may waive the ramp fee if you buy fuel, but as expensive as it is, dont unless you need it.

Crew car may be available, call ahead and ask about that or a rental. The airport buses are not running right now, but you might be able to call and get a rental car company to swing by the GA terminal.
 
^^^This^^^
There isn't much to add.

The alternatives are all a loooong haul away on the ground.
 
IF you Uber, make sure to enter the street address of TAC or where ever u end up because last time I was there Uber detects you’re at the airport and only allows you to select the MAIN terminal, not the GA terminal. I’d also follow it up with a message to the driver of exactly where u r.

Expect to be vectored around a bit in favor of the heavy ops. My preference is 5R/23L if possible. Makes for an easy taxi to the GA ramp.

Definitely get familiar with the airport/taxi diagram.

Look up TAC air on google maps (even if u end up at signature). You’ll see the building with the funky shaped roof. That’s what you’ll look for if u go to either one.

[mention]RDUPilot [/mention] is far more familiar but those are my tips.
 
I agree with the above folks... The only thing I will add is the actual address of TACAir...
1750 E International Dr, Morrisville, NC 27560

IF you have any more questions, I will be more than happy to answer them. Just PM me.
 
I've gone into RDU. I prefer TAC too, but actually, I've been treated OK by both FBOs. It's not too onerous of a place (in fact, the traffic counts went down after American bought US Air and decided to move most SE ops over to CLT).
 
Agreed. RDU is the best choice if the destination is Durham and I would choose TAC Air over Signature.

The airport itself is a fairly typical Class C and the controllers friendly. Not crazy busy except push times. Study the airport diagram for potential taxi routes. Keep in mind that if coming from most any direction except north, you might get vectored around to 32 if it's busy and the winds at all favorable.
 
Agree with both RDU and TAC. Good folks, and it was pretty easy in-and-out.
 
Not based there like RDUPilot, but I've flown in there several times. Not a big deal. If that's the closest, go there.

I've been vectored to 32 as mentioned above. I've also flown parallel with commercial traffic. Always fun to look off to the side and see a commercial jet flying parallel to you on approach. :cool:
 
We have relatives just north of Durham. KTDF (Raleigh Regional, Person County) worked fine. Nice runway and facility, friendly people. Did have a rental car waiting for us and an easy drive to the north suburbs.
 
Any thoughts about LHZ for the Raleigh area? Hoping to visit friends in Raleigh, and maybe some curling, next spring or fall. RDU certainly works, of course.
 
LHZ, puts you in Franklin County. Not a bad airport at all definitely an option/alternative to RDU. Cheaper fuel for the transient traffic as well. I believe enterprise rental will deliver a car for you. Its about a 25min drive to Raleigh city limits.. Not sure what part of Raleigh you are going to.

The rest of the alternative/satellite airports are..
TTA: Raleigh-Executive 23nm
JNX: Johnston County 28nm
TDF: Person County 26nm [mentioned abv by @Gary ]

RDU is just perfectly located in relation to where you want to go in terms of the Raleigh/Durham area. Definitely cheaper fuel options within 20-50nm in all directions.
 
Not trying to hijack but it must be said. Still mad about the closure of KIGX....
 
One additional thought - if you're arriving at night, I think all of us RDU pilots recommend declining runway 32. The approach is over a state forest and it's a black hole below you.

I agree about IGX, but once they turned it over to UNC, it was just a matter of time.
 
bflynn said:
One additional thought - if you're arriving at night, I think all of us RDU pilots recommend declining runway 32. The approach is over a state forest and it's a black hole below you.
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IIRC, there was a recent approach accident there involving that runway. But if I am arriving at night, I'm flying an instrument approach if at all possible.
 
TheFB said:
Not trying to hijack but it must be said. Still mad about the closure of KIGX....
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Yep, same here.

I flew out of KBUY for a while and had no complaints. It’s only 30 minutes to Durham.
 
chemgeek said:
Any thoughts about LHZ for the Raleigh area? Hoping to visit friends in Raleigh, and maybe some curling, next spring or fall. RDU certainly works, of course.
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I’m fond of the place. Got my private there and taught there as well. It’s a bit of a drive into Raleigh but not terrible as long as you are in the NE quadrant of the city.
 
chemgeek said:
Any thoughts about LHZ for the Raleigh area? Hoping to visit friends in Raleigh, and maybe some curling, next spring or fall. RDU certainly works, of course.
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Nice airport. Can be crazy weekends with heli and glider ops in addition to the aircraft.

Accessibility to places in the Triangle depends a lot on your destination. When faced with those kinds of choices, I just Google map potential routes from the airport to where I am going and include that in my calculation.
 
RDUPilot said:
LHZ, puts you in Franklin County. Not a bad airport at all definitely an option/alternative to RDU. Cheaper fuel for the transient traffic as well. I believe enterprise rental will deliver a car for you. Its about a 25min drive to Raleigh city limits.. Not sure what part of Raleigh you are going to.
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RDU is much closer to the curling club. LHZ is about the same distance as RDU from our friend's location on the east side of Raleigh.
 
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