Mooney Tour of the South - Fall, 2014

colojo

colojo

Line Up and Wait
Joined
Feb 15, 2013
Messages
684
Location
Fullerton (KFUL)
Display Name
Display name:
Colojo
Greetings, All...

My wife and I are planning a tour of the South in our Mooney this fall, either September or October. Have never flown in this part of the country before but we're really looking forward to it.

First question: Is the weather better in September or October? We want to avoid the summertime heat and humidity and would like it to be comfortable with hopefully smooth air for flying.

Second question: These are the waypoints for our trip. We'll be spending 2-3 nights in each location. Airport recommendations, please? Lodging and activities?

Nashville, TN
Alpharetta, GA
Columbia, SC
Charleston, SC
Savannah, GA
Panama City, FL or Pensacola, FL (which is better?)
New Orleans, LA
Austin, TX

Many thanks!
 
Did a trip to Savannah over a Labor Day weekend and have never been so hot or sweaty. If you aren't used to high temps and pervasive humidity I suspect later is better if you actually want to go outdoors.
 
Based on my query last month we used Tune (KJWN) airport at Nashville. Highly recommended. Convenient and great service.
 
October is usually cooler, not surprisingly. We can get very hot in Sept down here. Pensacola is nicer than Panama City. Enjoy.
 
KPDK is probably your best bet for your GA stop. Are you looking to do anything/stay with anyone in particular in Alpharetta? If not, you're probably better off stay in ATL and doing some of the touristy things. At PDK, Epps is your best bet for tiedown...good folks over there.
 
October. Every big hurricane I remember has hit in September. Though it might be an El Niño season which really cuts down on that possibility.




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Recommendation: don't stop in Columbia, SC. Really not much to do (although it depends on what you're in to). Charleston, Beaufort, Savannah, Hilton Head, Kiawah, etc. are all far nicer.
 
dwalt said:
KPDK is probably your best bet for your GA stop. Are you looking to do anything/stay with anyone in particular in Alpharetta? If not, you're probably better off stay in ATL and doing some of the touristy things. At PDK, Epps is your best bet for tiedown...good folks over there.
Click to expand...

ebykowsky said:
Recommendation: don't stop in Columbia, SC. Really not much to do (although it depends on what you're in to). Charleston, Beaufort, Savannah, Hilton Head, Kiawah, etc. are all far nicer.
Click to expand...

Understood. The Alpharetta and Columbia stops are to visit college buddies.
 
colojo said:
Understood. The Alpharetta and Columbia stops are to visit college buddies.
Click to expand...

Gotcha. Fly into KCUB then; they'll treat you pretty well at Eagle Aviation.
 
ebykowsky said:
Gotcha. Fly into KCUB then; they'll treat you pretty well at Eagle Aviation.
Click to expand...

Thanks. KPDK will be my choice for Alpharetta, and KCUB for Columbia. I insure my plane with Hope Aviation in Columbia, and my agent recommended Eagle at KCUB as well.
 
September is also the month for the annual Gastons gathering.
 
colojo said:
Understood. The Alpharetta and Columbia stops are to visit college buddies.
Click to expand...

Be prepared for PDK. It's extremely populated with piston and jet traffic. It's the Hartsfield of the GA community and is prone to runway incursions as well as many other things.

Don't go in there being lazy. Good SA and you should be fine.
 
colojo said:
Nashville, TN
Alpharetta, GA
Columbia, SC
Charleston, SC
Savannah, GA
Panama City, FL or Pensacola, FL (which is better?)
New Orleans, LA
Austin, TX
Click to expand...

Destin, FL, is another panhandle option. Love it there.

Weather wise, mid September thru the end of October is usually terrific flying weather. It can also be good thru Thanksgiving, but is more variable.
 
OK, slight change of plans. One of my college buddies just accepted a transfer so Alpharetta, GA is out and Norfolk, VA is in.
 
Bill Jennings said:
Destin, FL, is another panhandle option. Love it there.
Click to expand...

Excellent recommendation, Bill! We've never been to the FL panhandle and based on some Googling I just did, Destin looks much more interesting to us than Panama City or Pensacola.
 
If you can fit it in, the Triple Tree fly in in Woodruff is Sep. 3-7. I hear it's pretty impressive.
 
As you fly a straight-in approach to John C Tune from the Southwest or depart toward the Southwest, give us a wave. We're directly underneath you at 3.8miles straight out. If you need anything while in town, feel free to give me a "call".
 
colojo said:
Excellent recommendation, Bill!
Click to expand...

No problem! If we want beach, we hit Destin. If we want to charter a sailboat, we hit Pensacola. If your travels have you dropping in at CHA or FGU, let me know.

Have fun!
 
We spent four days in SAV and there was still more to see. Very nice place. SheltAir was good to us. We went the first week of November. We would recommend the first half of October.
 
if plans change and Charlotte NC sneaks on your list, I can recommend some places to eat, although honestly I wouldn't recommend a multi-day stop here over any of your current choices. sorry, charlotte.
 
Would recommend October,moved my aircraft to Florida last October. Pensacola is great,also like tunes. Charleston is great if you like aviation museums. Also you may want to consider myrtle beach SC .
 
colojo said:
First question: Is the weather better in September or October? We want to avoid the summertime heat and humidity and would like it to be comfortable with hopefully smooth air for flying.
Click to expand...

Where are you from? It'd be good to get a baseline for what kind of weather you expect! Being from WI, where September is beautiful and October is usually still pretty good but things can start to get chilly, I'd take a southern trip in mid-October.

Second question: These are the waypoints for our trip. We'll be spending 2-3 nights in each location. Airport recommendations, please? Lodging and activities?

Nashville, TN
Alpharetta, GA
Columbia, SC
Charleston, SC
Savannah, GA
Panama City, FL or Pensacola, FL (which is better?)
New Orleans, LA
Austin, TX
Click to expand...

For Savannah, I think Fort Pulaski is pretty cool. There's also plenty of shopping if your wife likes that sort of thing.

Pensacola could be cool if the Blue Angels are in town.

ebykowsky said:
Gotcha. Fly into KCUB then; they'll treat you pretty well at Eagle Aviation.
Click to expand...

This.

frfly172 said:
Would recommend October,moved my aircraft to Florida last October. Pensacola is great,also like tunes. Charleston is great if you like aviation museums. Also you may want to consider myrtle beach SC .
Click to expand...

I wasn't impressed with Myrtle Beach. IMO, Myrtle Beach is the Wal-Mart of beach vacations.
 
While in SAV, like Kent, we liked Ft Pulaski!

We also had a nice 4 hr kayak tour of Little Tybee using Savannah Canoe and Kayak. Ph: 912.341.95zerotwo.
 
flyingcheesehead said:
Where are you from? It'd be good to get a baseline for what kind of weather you expect!
Click to expand...

Denver, Colorado. We can tolerate heat and moderate humidity, but I'd rather not be sweating all the time. I went to school in New Jersey so I know a little bit about the weather back East... the South is similar, just hotter with longer summers. I think October will suit us fine.
 
For Austin, I strongly endorse Austin Executive (KEDC), which is a wonderful field, world-class facility and they act as if they want you there. Nice folks. It looks farther away from town, but after you deal with the Bergstrom traffic, it works out about the same, time-wise.
 
Check out KJKA (Gulf Shores) The airport is about a mile from the beach and easier to get into and out of than Destin. That's my go-to for a seafood run to the coast.

Lakefront in New Orleans KNEW is easy to get into and out of and not far from town. Neat runway out on a peninsula of the lake.

October in the South is a pilots dream.
 
Last edited:
Go into Fort Walton. I think it's the closest to Destin and just a few miles away. Plus the approach is over the beach depending on the winds.

And yeah, go check out the NAS in Pensacola. About an hour drive from Destin with traffic.
 
If you'll be in savanna take a 15 minute flight south and stop off in st Simons island, there is a BBQ place called "southern soul" and if you skip that you'll regret it forever. It's a 5 minute walk from the FBO but the FBO has a car u can use too, it's a beautiful island.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top