Have plane/instructor need airport/weather. Where?

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Giannid

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Gianni
I've been training for my ppl for about 8 months. Partnered up and purchased a beech sierra with a friend this summer. I have about 20 hours so far but not soloed yet. It's a lot of plane for me to learn in! Anyways my instructor who is also a friend said lets go out of town and train for a week. He works as a pilon and is on then off a week at work. Problem is we live in the Cleveland Ohio are and the weather is not very good for vfr flight. I'm looking for an airport that has some extended stay hotels/restaurants near by. Somewhere the weather will be good and has all the things we need to live for a week. We were thinking Florida or somewhere else down south. Can anyone give me any recomedations? Thank you​
 
Well, the weather down here in the Dallas area is great this time of year (and right now), and there are a number of good training fields from which to choose. I'd suggest HQZ (Mesquite, TX) or TKI (McKinney / Collin County). You could get good experience with large metro area approach controllers (they are busy, but good here), as well as a great chance to do a long cross-country both ways.
 
Giannid said:
I've been training for my ppl for about 8 months. Partnered up and purchased a beech sierra with a friend this summer. I have about 20 hours so far but not soloed yet. It's a lot of plane for me to learn in! Anyways my instructor who is also a friend said lets go out of town and train for a week. He works as a pilon and is on then off a week at work. Problem is we live in the Cleveland Ohio are and the weather is not very good for vfr flight. I'm looking for an airport that has some extended stay hotels/restaurants near by. Somewhere the weather will be good and has all the things we need to live for a week. We were thinking Florida or somewhere else down south. Can anyone give me any recomedations? Thank you
​
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Head for the SW - TX would probably be a good idea.
 
In December 2003, I trained at Falcon Field in Mesa, AZ. The weather there is fairly reliable. Not sure where you could bunk, though. I was with family.
:blueplane:
ApacheBob
 
1) How is the weather at Mustang Island (TX)? I'll bet Jay would love to have you and your instructor come visit. http://www.pilotsofamerica.com/forum/showpost.php?p=660311&postcount=35

2) As we fly over, it seems like Flagstaff, AZ has countless schools with students flying at all times of the year.

3) Also, don't eschew the value of learning to understand bad weather in your home neighborhood.
 
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St Simon's Island GA. Great weather, great field, super-convenient hotels (I recommend the Best Western), great FBO, and little traffic.
 
Az is probably too far in that plane. Gues it could be done but would rather not do the super long flight. It isn't that fast of a plane. We were thinking somewhere down sout, like FL or the Carolinas. Texas or Georgia is definately an option. Who is this guy/hotel in Texas? Is it on an airstrip. That's where we actually purchased the plane from. Any help/advice would be appreciated. Would like a few options, so we have a choice of a few. We will obviously check the weather and pick the best location to go to a few days in advance.
 
While I live in and love Florida, I would not recommend it for your purposes. The weather is too unpredictable.
 
JOhnH said:
While I live in and love Florida, I would not recommend it for your purposes. The weather is too unpredictable.
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Really? Sure, it may storm for an hour or two a day, but beyond that, it's perfect for flying. Look at the sheer number of flight schools in Florida, and how quickly they can get people done with ratings.
 
texas is great for flying! this time of year is great weather! and Texas has the most registered airports of any state (over 1900)... the next highest is California with just over 900...

So that's appealing! Also we have great food and friendly small towns!
 
Texas would be good. If you don't mind learning to handle winds well, the north west (Midland area) would be good. Many NICE VFR days. Otherwise this area (San Antonio, Austin vicinity) would be great.

Ryan
 
To support Allen, Ryan, and others about coming to the Lone Star State for your training:
texas-bumper-sticker.jpg


Going to Jay's place would be a nice adventure. Port Aransas is a real nice place to be for the Texas Gulf Coast. Your host is a pilot himself with good heart and willing to share. Nice airport. Lots of interesting places to fly to as you train.

Sounds like a winner to me!
 
I'm just looking for a handful of options because of weather obviously. And the closer the better. No need to far to far away if I can fly VFR closer. Fuel is not cheap and I'm sure I'm going to burn a bunch flying anyways. If you guys can give me as much info as you can, that would be great. Price of fuel is important also, i pay $4.25 where I keep my plane now which is pretty good. Obviously, I can find many places on my own. The reason why I'm asking you guys is because I'm sure many of you know better than I can find. Asking here is my research. I've learned from just flying a 70 nm radius from where I'm located that there are some places you don't want to train for many reasons ranging from lack of lodging,food to too much traffic. Not to mention we went to a few places that just seemed like jerks to us for no reason. One place gave us a hard time to get fuel. We just want a student friendly place with good weather. And I think i want to stick with one place. We will be doing plenty of traveling to get to where we are going. Just want to get settled in and learn.
 
Castroville ( CVB ) is a fairly quiet airport near San Antonio. The gas is $3.69/gal.

Ryan
 
Lot of places around Texas where you can (1) get gas under $4.00; and (2) find a good bite to eat.
 
Why do you need a single airport? Depart from where you are on a nice day, and point toward nice weather. Go where the winds take you. There's cheap fuel all over the place, if you avoid the northeast and California. Cross-country flying is the best learning flying you do, with or without a CFI.
 
OK and TX and even MO have some of the cheapest fuel in the country! All the more reason...
 
flyingcheesehead said:
Why do you need a single airport? Depart from where you are on a nice day, and point toward nice weather. Go where the winds take you. There's cheap fuel all over the place, if you avoid the northeast and California. Cross-country flying is the best learning flying you do, with or without a CFI.
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I love this idea! What fun- and what a confidence-builder that would be. No need to find an extended-stay hotel- just see where you find yourself at the end of a day of flying, landing at as many different airports as makes sense. Check www.airnav.com, if you like to see who's selling the cheapest fuel, plot 'em on a chart, and go, following Mr. Sunshine's smiling face. Gets you different winds to deal with, maybe some marginal VFR, some controlled fields, maybe a grass strip or two-- Sounds like a perfectly grand way to learn what you'll REALLY need to know once you have your ticket.
 
The reason why I would prefer to stay at one place is the planning for a car and hotel. If we have to find a car and hotel every day, that's going to take more effort and take away from my training. We can hit all kinds of unfamiliar airports from one central place, we do it here. I've been to at least 10 different airports. Obviously, the weather is going to dictate where we go. Still looking for some specific locations to have as options. Keep them coming. I imagine it's going to take more than one trip like this to get me far along in my training. My work picks up to a crazy level in the spring and the plane is do for an annual in april, so I'd like to get as much as possible done.
 
I second coastal Georgia/Florida. The wx isn't as benign as Tx or Az, but Florida can be done in one easy day of flying and has plenty of sunshine. Plan carefully, getting over the mountains this time of year in a Sierra can be a challenge. They aren't that big, but they make lots of weather.

That said, I got my PPL in January in Columbus. There is plenty of flying wx at home if you look for it and your schedule is flexible. Post up how it comes out, and welcome to POA.
 
Giannid said:
The reason why I would prefer to stay at one place is the planning for a car and hotel. If we have to find a car and hotel every day, that's going to take more effort and take away from my training. We can hit all kinds of unfamiliar airports from one central place, we do it here. I've been to at least 10 different airports.
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It's not difficult at all, in general. On my "grand adventure" I hardly stopped at any of the places I planned to stop overnight - I ended up just flying until shortly after sunset, pointing my airplane at the nearest small town with an airport beacon nearby, and going from there. I always managed to get a ride from the airport manager, or hotel, or a taxi that was a 1980's-era station wagon, etc... It really made the trip fun, discovering new places and meeting new people.

You really don't need a rental car every night - I never rented a car. Saved lots of money that way!

Also, it's not about just unfamiliar airports - It's about unfamiliar terrain, unfamiliar weather patterns, different controllers, etc. that you're not going to get if you're basing at a central field and flying back and forth out of there to a bunch of different, but nearby, airports.

However, if you're dead-set on "basing" somewhere, let me pile on with everyone who says to head to TX. Weather's good, people are generally friendly, and TX/OK have a number of spots with amazingly cheap fuel. Also, second the reco for Missouri on the way down and back, lots of spots there with cheap fuel as well.

As for where in TX - Stay away from the airports that are smack in the big cities, as they'll tend to be expensive (fuel, tiedown, and lodging). However, there are spots nearby that are significantly cheaper. For example, in the Houston area, Baytown. Not far from D/FW, Sherman or Granbury. I'm sure you'd do well if you went and stayed in Jay's hotel in Port Aransas, and I bet you'd have a good time if you went farther west (Marfa area) and hung around with Dave Taylor as well. Finally, I've heard really good things here on the board about Borger, TX.

Have fun! :yes:
 
ntbjounin said:
texas is great for flying! this time of year is great weather! and Texas has the most registered airports of any state (over 1900)... the next highest is California with just over 900...

So that's appealing! Also we have great food and friendly small towns!
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I'm curious where you get those huge numbers? According to AirNav, Texas has 389 and California has 261 (as of a couple years ago when I originally pulled the data - I see California is now down to 256).

The reason I'm curious is that I compiled a list of airports per sq. mi. (actually sq. mi. per airport in which case lower is better) and I'd like to update it if there is better data somewhere. (FWIW, this list is one reason I decided not to move to New Mexico - #48 on the list.)

By the way, according to the AirNav data, if you want a place with lots of airports per square mile, stay in Ohio or Michigan. The only states that are higher are the little ones out east that only need a few airports in order to show a high number per sq. mi. - and they probably have a lot more issues with high traffic and controlled airspace as well.

Uh-oh, I took a look at the numbers today and it's unfortunate how many airports we've lost in just a couple years.

Edit: OK, the difference may be because AirNav only shows public use airports. Not sure I want to consider airports that aren't listed for public use. But, can Texas really have over 1500 registered airports that don't allow public use?
 
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I understand, if you feel the need to plan all the details of each night's stop, and find that to be a time-consuming chore to make sure everything's ideal, you'll be better off with the central base idea. I've found that many small airports have a courtesy car that's available for overnight use, and nearly all FBOs seem to have a deal for a corporate rate with a couple of nearby hotels, and they're glad to set it up at the last minute for you. It's worth a quick phone call to inquire, no matter which way you end up going. (One thought: it's a bit of a splurge, perhaps, but if you go all the way to TX, Fredericksburg's great- WWII aviation-themed Hangar Hotel right smack on the runway- with second-story observation deck, a decent diner right next door. Just watching the crazy stuff that flies in is an education all to itself. When we were there, the car rental outfit there had a variety of rides available with no advance notice, and this was in peak wildflower season. Lots of restaurants,etc, 2 miles north in town.) Lots of airports within a half-hour's flight of there, ranging from fairly major city to dirt strips.
 
Hoping not to go as far as Texas if I don't have to. Florida is closer if the weather is OK. Hell, the carolinas or Georgia is even closer than that. The closer I stay, the more flying I think I can do on my own. I'm sure we will be in some IFR conditions on the way down and even though the experience will be good, I really have to concentrate on the other areas of flying right now, especially my landing, I suck! So keep giving me ideals if you guys can.
 
Your CFI/Friend is going with you right? Does he have ideas of where he would like to go? I imagine that he may have some experience w/ the states that are near you.
Also, you can check weather web sites for average weather statistics for each location to help you choose.
If you decide you want to come all the way to West Texas - which would be a long trip, granted, my husband and I can set you up on our RV for free. And, our little area is friendly. Windy though....
Good luck with and enjoy
 
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Giannid said:
Hoping not to go as far as Texas if I don't have to. Florida is closer if the weather is OK. Hell, the carolinas or Georgia is even closer than that. The closer I stay, the more flying I think I can do on my own. I'm sure we will be in some IFR conditions on the way down and even though the experience will be good, I really have to concentrate on the other areas of flying right now, especially my landing, I suck! So keep giving me ideals if you guys can.
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The gas is so durn cheap in Texas, though, that it'll probably pay for the extra flight time to get there. And it ain't that far - You can do it in a day in a Sierra.
 
During a recent hangar flying dinner gathering, the question came up about IFR training, mainly headed out of town for one of the 10-day immersive venues.

While the consensus was these are of value, the more interesting (to me) suggestion was to to do a "adventure trip" like many of you are suggesting to the OP.

Still work with a defined syllabus to keep the training on track, but keep the training challenge going by working the different activities in different cities and airports as you go.

Concept is, Instrument Rating is all about the cross country travelling, so why not cross country travel as you learn. Get used to being in the system and going somewhere. Get used to doing the different approaches and holds for the different airports. Get used to the conditions varying depending on where you are and going.

If I was going to take time off from work and normal life to do the "all at once" approach to this rating, this concept has some appeal to me. The 10-day things do too. But adding in the "going somewhere" aspect would definitely be adding to the confidence level in the application of what I am learning.
 
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flyingcheesehead said:
The gas is so durn cheap in Texas, though, that it'll probably pay for the extra flight time to get there. And it ain't that far - You can do it in a day in a Sierra.
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Yup... As a new pilot, I'm spoiled to this. Gonna be suffering from pump sticker shock once I start travelling.
 
My CFI/friend is going with me. He flies a jet for the Cleveland clinic, so he flies all around the country. We were thinking Florida, but don't have anything set in stone. Trying to keep the cost down as much as I can. It's not going to be cheap and the farther I fly, the more it will be. As long as we get good weather, it doesn't matter to me. It's not a vacation, I'm going to learn. Going to be doing a lot of flying and ground everyday. Hopefully I can handle it. I'm hoping to get soloed sometime, but that all depends on how things go. The plane, the Siera, is a lot for me. Have a few hours in a 152 before I partnered up in this one. A lot more going on and it happens a little faster. Jeanie, thanks for the offer. We may head to texas if that's where the weather is. The only cheap thing about it is him at $150/day is a bargain. But I have to feed him, and he likes to eat! LOL.
 
Jeanie, thanks for the offer. We may head to texas if that's where the weather is. The only cheap thing about it is him at $150/day is a bargain. But I have to feed him, and he likes to eat! LOL.[/QUOTE]

~~~~~~ well the RV has a kitchen so you could stock the fridge and cook for yourselves but really florida sounds closer. In that regard, foodwise that is, you could check into renting a place w/ a kitchenette that would save on eating out so much.
 
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