Hancock/Bar Harbor (KBHB) Suggestions?

Trogdor

Trogdor

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Trogdor
I would like to take my wife to Maine in September (probably the weekend of the 24th). Does anyone have any experience flying into KBHB? Any suggestions or tips about the airport and/or the surrounding area?

If it helps, I’m flying from NJ.
 
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We vacationed there 2 years ago. Nice field, very busy when we were there (jets mingling with small planes, I think I even remember gliders). Everything there, from parking, fuel, rental, etc, was VERY expensive, so be prepared for that.
 
Nice airport, great FBO, will probably be busy then, so I would get a car rental reserved now and if you want a nice hotel, reserve that too. I went there for a night first week in October, last minute, no rental cars, no uber. We used local "taxis" that FBO recommended. I don't remember it being that expensive, but maybe it was.
 
If you want a hotel, book it now, if you can even find one. Get a rental car. Acadia national park and Mt Dessert are worth the time and money. Go to the Side Street Cafe for a lobster roll. FBO is really good, fuel is priced reasonable. Nothing tricky about the airport.

Have fun, it's a beautiful area!
 
I will recommend the Bar Harbor Inn and Spa. Make sure to get a harbor side view. Probably on the pricy side, but September is off-season so maybe not. It is worth a call!

-Skip
 
If avoiding crowds is on your list of things to do, visit the Schoodic Peninsula part of Acadia NP - just as beautiful and much less crowded.
The FBO at KBHB is not fancy but quite helpful. Strongly recommend renting a car if you’re planning to be in the area more than a day.
The town of Bar Harbor WILL be packed w tourists this summer. Lots of other options along the coast. Blue Hill is nice. Deer Isle/Stonington is too (shhh, don’t tell anyone).
No such thing as off season until the snow falls anymore.
 
Groundpounder said:
If you want a hotel, book it now, if you can even find one. Get a rental car. Acadia national park and Mt Dessert are worth the time and money. Go to the Side Street Cafe for a lobster roll. FBO is really good, fuel is priced reasonable. Nothing tricky about the airport.

Have fun, it's a beautiful area!
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Fuel was the highest I ever paid, ever (ever ever), when I was there...currently $6.10 a gallon, which is still pretty high by my standard.
 
wrbix said:
....... Deer Isle/Stonington is too (shhh, don’t tell anyone). No such thing as off season until the snow falls anymore.
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Stonington is a great lil get-away. We stayed at the Boyce Motel and the owner gave us a ride to and from the sleepy little airport at the top of the hill. Enjoyed breakfast every morning at the Harbor Cafe' and I think we had lobster every night at the few restaurants in town. Had some trouble finding cell service to check on my brides parents back at home but finally found the right hot spot on the church steps. Excellent boat tour of the many lighthouses.
 
Was there this past weekend. If you head into Southwest harbor, a little more spread out and less expensive version of Bar Harbor, go to Beals on the pier.
Uber and Lyft were useless. No rental cars available, and taxi 2as a two hour wait.

We still had fun, but this was the craziest we have seen it. We usually day trip there once or twice a year.

Tim

Sent from my HD1907 using Tapatalk
 
LL Bean runs a free shuttle around the Bar Harbor area and it makes stops at KBHB, Acaida NP, downtown Bar Harbor among many others.
 
A1Topgun said:
LL Bean runs a free shuttle around the Bar Harbor area and it makes stops at KBHB, Acaida NP, downtown Bar Harbor among many others.
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Not this year.

Tim

Sent from my HD1907 using Tapatalk
 
Trogdor said:
I would like to take my wife to Maine in September (probably the weekend of the 24th). Does anyone have any experience flying into KHBH? Any suggestions or tips about the airport and/or the surrounding area?

If it helps, I’m flying from NJ.
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This was our trip there last year. The video starts on the coast flying north and shows some of what we did there. Think we showed the name of the place we stayed and a couple different rooms there. We liked it. Rental car was easy from the airport. Fun time there. Enjoy your trip!

 
Wow! Thanks guys. I really appreciate it!!

So the story is a close friend of ours has a house in Castine which my wife and I have been too already and loved it. We were going to stay there despite being about an hour away from KBHB. So a rental is required. Does it matter which rental I use?

I read the weather is pretty good in September with statistically the lightest of winds. I might file IFR depending anyway.

Anything to be aware of getting into the airport? Looks pretty straightforward.

Anyone have a suggested flight route around there that is particularly scenic?
 
Trogdor said:
Wow! Thanks guys. I really appreciate it!!

So the story is a close friend of ours has a house in Castine which my wife and I have been too already and loved it. We were going to stay there despite being about an hour away from KBHB. So a rental is required. Does it matter which rental I use?

I read the weather is pretty good in September with statistically the lightest of winds. I might file IFR depending anyway.

Anything to be aware of getting into the airport? Looks pretty straightforward.

Anyone have a suggested flight route around there that is particularly scenic?
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Castine is a beautiful town. Went to college there.

The whole coastal area is scenic, you won’t be disappointed any route you take.
 
September is a good month weatherwise. Only thing to be aware of, and in Sept it might not be as much of an issue, is fog. The Maine coast is legendary for thick fog. Usually clears by mid-day, but not always. Have an inland alternate just in case.
 
Fearless Tower said:
Castine is a beautiful town. Went to college there.

The whole coastal area is scenic, you won’t be disappointed any route you take.
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Maine Maritime Academy I presume. Beautiful campus.
 
Hang 4 said:
September is a good month weatherwise. Only thing to be aware of, and in Sept it might not be as much of an issue, is fog. The Maine coast is legendary for thick fog. Usually clears by mid-day, but not always. Have an inland alternate just in case.
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Yeah, I was going to time departure and arrival to around noon to avoid this. Though I see provided I had 1000-3 I could get down.
 
Trogdor said:
Anything to be aware of getting into the airport? Looks pretty straightforward.

Anyone have a suggested flight route around there that is particularly scenic?
Click to expand...

Nothing strange about the airport.

Coming from NJ, if you go IFR, file something that puts you over PSM and ENE, and file direct to the airport from there. That will bring you up the coast, and its tremendously beautiful. Nothing all that special about inland Maine until you get towards Katahdin, but that is pretty far north and west of where you will be. If you're VFR, go direct PSM and then just follow the coast north from there. You'll be talking to Portland Approach most of the way, they are very accommodating. Bangor approach works the arrivals into BHB.

Just be advised, I heard that there are bounties on Burninators in the state of Maine.
 
I am used to the bounty. It’s not just ME.

Looks like right now:

BREZY V39.CMK V3.HFD CLOWW

Direct from CLOWW is pretty much up the coast.
 
CLOWW-BHB brings you right up the coast. Hopefully it's a nice VFR day and you can sightsee.
 
I live half an hour from BHB, great little airport but gets VERY busy in the warmer months between Cape Air, bizjets, two scenic operations, etc

Cadillac mountain is a must-see. You can see the airport from the summit. Look into reserving a spot to see the sunrise too, it's beyond majestic.

Mainely Meats is a great BBQ joint with killer ribs. They have two locations, both within minutes of BHB, one next to an ice cream shop and the other attached to Atlantic Brewery.

I second the opinion about visiting the Schoodic section of the park as well, much less crowded and you'll pass a great burger joint (The Pickled Wrinkle) as you exit back onto rt 186. There's also a fantastic ice cream stand right next to that.

Fort Knox and Penobscot Narrows Bridge/Observatory are some great sights to explore as well.

If you venture near Ellsworth you can probably get the ubiquitous lobster dinners for significantly cheaper than Bar Harbor. But just a heads up, lots of places are currently closing pretty early, like 8pm. Rather annoying around dinnertime.

For lodging, a fellow pilot buddy of mine runs Emery's Cottages near Bar Harbor. Little hotel-room-sized cottages in a beautiful location right on the beach, and I believe they have kayaks and canoes as well. Not sure what their pricing and availability are, but I can pass you his info if you'd like.
 
Does anyone know why KBHB isn’t towered given how popular it seems to be?
 
Trogdor said:
Does anyone know why KBHB isn’t towered given how popular it seems to be?
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It's never been that busy the times I've flown there. Yes the ramp gets near full, but no issues getting in or out.
 
Trogdor said:
Does anyone know why KBHB isn’t towered given how popular it seems to be?
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At best it would be seasonal. I have been there a dozen times, maybe more. The ramp is busy with parked planes, and a slow but steady stream of traffic. I have never heard anyone staying in pattern, or training.... It really is a lot of people flying in/out for vacations which makes the ramp area busy. But not nearly as much in the pattern.

Tim
 
Trogdor said:
Does anyone know why KBHB isn’t towered given how popular it seems to be?
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It was slow both times I flew in/out. Says they average 50 ops a day. Destin, Fl is the newest airport I know to open a tower. They have over 350% more ops.
 
Someone mentioned "I would be parking to the South" and was wondering who controls that? I guess the FBO?
 
In the winter it seems like I can be can b the only one to fly in a weeks span.

We are down to one scenic operation and no gliders.

KOLD is almost the same distance to Castine and has much cheaper fuel. I often fly there to get fuel, then fly back to BHB rather than pay the local price.

KBST is closer than both but no fuel. A much nicer community of pilots though.

Josies Country store has the best food around. Call ahead or you might never get it.
Get bread / pizza from Tinder Hearth in Brooksville.

Airline Brewing has the best beer. Mostly because they have 4 options on cask.

At other restaurants skip the bud and get an Allagash white. It is a local favorite

Speaking of cheap fuel. For a day trip fly to Bethel 0B1 and call the sporting store. They will pick you up at the airport, drive you upstream with a canoe, and you can float down.
 
Trogdor said:
Someone mentioned "I would be parking to the South" and was wondering who controls that? I guess the FBO?
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It's pretty loose.
The FBO "controls" the lower ramp. If they have time they will lead you down with a golf cart otherwise just park where there is a spot.
Even when I had a fixed spot with a reserved cone people would park there. No big deal.
 
That south ramp is tilted a little, figured it out the hard way trying to push a 3200 pound AC 5 feet to the tiedown.
 
Trogdor said:
Yeah, I was going to time departure and arrival to around noon to avoid this. Though I see provided I had 1000-3 I could get down.
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Given airport is on the inland side of the island it may not be an issue, but if it's real Maine coastal fog, as long as 1000-3 is in millimeters you'll be fine :).
 
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