KLOT Info?

[mikegreen]

Howdy folks,

I've flown into 1C5 (Bollingbrook) twice in the recent past... While I like the airport, fuel is cheap, and its nearby my destination (Lombar); I'm a low timer that didn't appreciate the morning thermals from the surrounding suburbia and the direct crosswind (runway 18/36 only).

I'm all about spending more time working on those skills, but there's a time and place for that..mainly when I want to do training, not when I'm flying to get somewhere.

So, I'm thinking of heading to KLOT (Lewis University) tomorrow and trying it out.
Anyone have any recent reports from there? From looking at the google-maps sat view, it looks desolate (or, everyone has a hangar...).

Cheers,

Mike

 

[ScottM]

So, I'm thinking of heading to KLOT (Lewis University) tomorrow and trying it out.
Anyone have any recent reports from there? From looking at the google-maps sat view, it looks desolate (or, everyone has a hangar...).

Cheers,

Mike

Not a lot of tie down planes. But now that school is in session you can bet that there will be lots of flying.

It is a nice airport and I have flown in there many times. The FBO is really friendly and will help you with a tie down or hangar space. Fuel is a little pricey but you are paying at a larger airport.

 

[gprellwitz]

I fly out of Clow, and live nearer Lewis. Lewis definitely has better runways (unless you want grass as well, where you can either do 1C5 unofficially or Joliet officially). Haven't really dealt with their FBO at KLOT. When I started flying, Lewis did not offer flight instruction unless you were in the University.

I don't think that Lewis has a crew car, but they do have a pilot lounge. You're going to have a lot more traffic at Lewis, and some of it fast-moving, too. They've slowly been working toward getting a tower there.

 

[mikegreen]

Grant,
Yes, I think I read that you were out of 1C5 when I was researching that...
I'm heading in around 8am tmrw.. so hopefully the university traffic will still be sleeping off hangovers. In flying in and out of Clow twice, I only saw/heard a single trainer at LOT... and that was the Thursday before the Nascar race, too...

I'm unsure if I'm needed in the office just tomorrow, or thru Wednesday..so crew car isnt an option anyway for that long. We have a car service for work that is mostly reliable (yet pricey, bastards get $90 from Clow to Lombard!)...

Thanks,

Mike

 

[steingar]

While you're at it you should do the short flight to Ubana (I74). There is a restaurant on-field and a small aviation museum. Was there on Saturday for MERFI.

 

[gprellwitz]

Grant,
Yes, I think I read that you were out of 1C5 when I was researching that...
I'm heading in around 8am tmrw.. so hopefully the university traffic will still be sleeping off hangovers. In flying in and out of Clow twice, I only saw/heard a single trainer at LOT... and that was the Thursday before the Nascar race, too...

I'm unsure if I'm needed in the office just tomorrow, or thru Wednesday..so crew car isnt an option anyway for that long. We have a car service for work that is mostly reliable (yet pricey, bastards get $90 from Clow to Lombard!)...

Thanks,

Mike

You planning to leave Ohio around 8, or arrive at Lewis around 8? If the latter, I might even be able to give you a ride in.

 

[flyingcheesehead]

it looks desolate (or, everyone has a hangar...).

This is the Great White North. Everyone who wants to fly year-round has a hangar...

Okay, there may be a few die-hard souls who will go out in the cold and brush/scrape all the snow/ice off their poor airplane whenever we get frozen/freezing crap coming out of the air all winter long, and preflight with frozen fingers and faces before hopping into the airplane shivering, try to start the engine and tune the radios and do a runup while still freezing because there's no airflow and the engine hasn't warmed up yet anyway, and finally take off while screaming because they're still so frozen... The rest of us have hangars.

Personally, I'll continue to be spoiled - I'll go to the airport, preflight the club airplane in the (semi-heated) hangar, and then sit inside the airplane while the line guys tow it out onto the line, go enjoy the phenomenal performance we get at negative density altitudes (1900 fpm climbs are cool! ) and then park the plane right next to the lounge entrance and run inside when I'm done.

 

[mikegreen]

Ok, so I made the trip I73-LOT... Grant - I didnt check the thread until now... I ended up getting a car service into Lombard.. oh well, thanks for the offer, though!

KLOT was busy! At 8:30CT there were two or three bigger guys (twins, and a lear) going straight in on 02... and 2 172s in the pattern, a mooney and then myself trying to figure out how the hell to get into teh pattern. Luckily, 10 miles out in the rental I was flying is, well, about 10 mins So by the time I got in there everyone had landed.

I landed and got directions to parking... got marshalled in, turned around the wrong way and blew him away - oops.. but I swore he motioned me that way, my mistake I'm sure. They tied me down and had me on my way in 2 minutes. The terminal is real nice.

On Wednesday, I taxi'd over to self-serve fuel and topped off.. Very good experience. Got FF from Chicago Approach and handed off all the way down to Dayton....

Thanks for the tips here, guys,

-Mike