On the way to Sun n Fun - Friendly Airports near Atlanta?

pkuhns

pkuhns

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pkuhns
Anyone have a favorite little airport (preferably) North/East/Southeast of Atlanta that would be a good passing thru point on the way to Sun n Fun?

This isn't quite a "Cool Places to Visit" post because we are passing thru to Sun & Fun and trying to find a little single engine friendly airport to buy some gas and possibly crash for the night.

Or maybe advice on what airports to avoid? AOPA is about to pull the trigger on dirty-trick FBOs so I wanted to see if there were any in the Atlanta area to avoid:

https://www.aopa.org/news-and-media/all-news/2017/march/30/aopa-battling-excessive-fbo-fees
 
Baxley, GA, KBHC, - cheap fuel, always quiet when I've been there. Courtesy car. Excellent FBO building with pilot suites upstairs (I think they can even be reserved).
 
KRYY, easy in and out with good eateries a couple of miles away by curtesy car.
 
RYY... Nope, nope, nope!

Used to go there all the time. They had two FBO's and both were great. Now there's just one (Hawthorne).

Went there in January. Two nights cost $75. $25 per night for tie down (no problem there), $15 ramp fee and a $10 "security" fee. If you buy fuel, they will waive $10 off the ramp fee.

No thanks.

If it were me, I would look into Paulding (PUG) which has $3.79 100LL or Rome (RMG).
 
donjohnston said:
RYY... Nope, nope, nope!

Used to go there all the time. They had two FBO's and both were great. Now there's just one (Hawthorne).

Went there in January. Two nights cost $75. $25 per night for tie down (no problem there), $15 ramp fee and a $10 "security" fee. If you buy fuel, they will waive $10 off the ramp fee.

No thanks.

If it were me, I would look into Paulding (PUG) which has $3.79 100LL or Rome (RMG).
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How do you think these private FBOs can be in business without charging reasonable fees? At an airport like KRYY, they have to rent the ramp/facilities from the county at prices that are appropriate for the land use. People choose these airports for their convenience and the nearby restaurants/hotels/etc. You pay a little for that convenience. Not the same as the subsidized, city/county operated FBOs at Podunk Municipal. Absolutely anyone's decision to use a cheaper option if it works, but it shouldn't be unreasonable to expect these type of FBOs to be properly compensated - they are for profit businesses after all.
 
For cheap gas, KCTJ. $3.09 mogas and $3.42 avgas. Not a place for staying the night though.
 
Podunks have always worked for me:
- easy in, easy out
- cheap fuel
- no fees
- courtesy cars that are actually there
- local restaurants
- dog friendly
- etc
I've been to RYY for maintenance, and although good for that would agree NO for a GA stop on way to SnF.
 
I fly out of KCEU and we are 100nm to the north east of ATL. Lots of people come and go because of the university. I have never had a negative experience here and the staff are always friendly and welcoming.
 
donjohnston said:
RYY... Nope, nope, nope!

Went there in January. Two nights cost $75. $25 per night for tie down (no problem there), $15 ramp fee and a $10 "security" fee. If you buy fuel, they will waive $10 off the ramp fee....
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$75 for two nights for a typical GA plane? That's straight up robbery. Sounds like I can cross ryy off the list.
 
rsleeds said:
How do you think these private FBOs can be in business without charging reasonable fees? At an airport like KRYY, they have to rent the ramp/facilities from the county at prices that are appropriate for the land use. People choose these airports for their convenience and the nearby restaurants/hotels/etc. You pay a little for that convenience. Not the same as the subsidized, city/county operated FBOs at Podunk Municipal. Absolutely anyone's decision to use a cheaper option if it works, but it shouldn't be unreasonable to expect these type of FBOs to be properly compensated - they are for profit businesses after all.
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I am fully aware of how business works, thank you very much.

But when an airport goes from two FBO's to one and the prices shoot up? I don't think so. All you have to do is look at the nearby metro airports. PDK and FTY, which used to be a LOT more expensive is now the same price or cheaper than RYY. These two airports are closer to downtown Atlanta, and have multiple runways. So neither could be considered "Podunk Municipal".

And a "security" fee. Give me a break.
 
donjohnston said:
I am fully aware of how business works, thank you very much.

But when an airport goes from two FBO's to one and the prices shoot up? I don't think so. All you have to do is look at the nearby metro airports. PDK and FTY, which used to be a LOT more expensive is now the same price or cheaper than RYY. These two airports are closer to downtown Atlanta, and have multiple runways. So neither could be considered "Podunk Municipal".

And a "security" fee. Give me a break.
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FTY has no ramp fees unless you overnight, then it's like $15. PDK(Epps) is $20 waived with fuel purchase.
 
If you're looking to stay the night, Lee Gilmer Memorial (KGVL) in Gainesville has a number of hotels close by. I believe you can get avgas there for less than $4, and it's not very busy.
 
KCNI has cheap gas, nice terminal building and outside the Bravo area.
Avoid RYY like the plague unless you burn Jet A or like setting fire to piles of $100 bills for no reason.
 
ChemGuy said:
KCNI has cheap gas, nice terminal building and outside the Bravo area.
Avoid RYY like the plague unless you burn Jet A or like setting fire to piles of $100 bills for no reason.
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CTJ is $.50 cheaper per gallon...

RYY really is an oddball. It's by far the most expensive of all the "Atlanta" airports, it's the furthest away from downtown and has the worst service IME.
 
Is the Spitfire Grill still open at Winder?
 
DZJ is nice. Easy in and out. Don't believe they charge tie downs if you buy fuel. Think the fuel is 4.09 for FS. Courtesy car or Enterprise 1.5 miles down the road. The Aviator restaurant 2 miles down the road in Blairsville is good. Comfort Inn and Best Western about 2 miles from the airport as well.
 
I fly out of Covington KCVC about 30nm due east of ATL. Not the cheapest gas but easy in out and friendly. If you stay over, we've got a Hampton Inn and a nice LaQuinta. Many restaurants and I'd be glad to have dinner with you.
 
On the way back from Cuba we spent a couple days parked at KLZU. Really nice folks there and easy to get in/out.
 
Calhoun (KCZL) is a good choice. 50 miles North of Atlanta. Very GA friendly FBO. Probably has a courtesy car available too. Close to town.

Carrollton (CTJ) has cheap fuel, but that's all I know about that.

VPC is my home field. Reasonable fuel prices, likely access to a loaner car.

I can't speak to accommodations near any of them.
 
A couple years ago, I stopped at Heart of Georgia, KEZM, just southeast of Atlanta. They have a school for pilots, A&P and ATC, so the tower has strange hours. They were running SnF specials, free lunch, reduced gas prices, discount tshirts, etc. There should be a link to airports running SnF specials on the EAST website, that's how I found this one. It was a nice break coming down from WV, and if we hadn't been fogged in that morning we would have arrived before the afternoon Airshow. Instead, I did the ILS (Jax didn't turn me over to the tower until around the FAF, that's how I found out about the training tower), took their car into town for lunch, and took a nap on their couch. Nice FBO, good people.

P.S.--ATL Approach will tell you to stay out of the Bravo. I've yet to be cleared in; and don't bother asking for a T-Route, either.
 
donjohnston said:
I am fully aware of how business works, thank you very much.

But when an airport goes from two FBO's to one and the prices shoot up? I don't think so. All you have to do is look at the nearby metro airports. PDK and FTY, which used to be a LOT more expensive is now the same price or cheaper than RYY. These two airports are closer to downtown Atlanta, and have multiple runways. So neither could be considered "Podunk Municipal".

And a "security" fee. Give me a break.
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The amount of effort some pilots put into avoiding a nickel's worth of fees never ceases to amaze me. Then when there isn't an FBO or there are less services, we'll have a thread about that atrocity.
 
rsleeds said:
The amount of effort some pilots put into avoiding a nickel's worth of fees never ceases to amaze me. Then when there isn't an FBO or there are less services, we'll have a thread about that atrocity.
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It's no effort at all Barney. It's called research. You should try it sometime.

And there's a huge difference between a nickel and $50.

But I guess that you always go to Signature and pay $8 a gallon for fuel when there's another FBO on the other side of the field selling the exact same fuel for $4.

Good for you. I'm sure Signature appreciates your sacrifice.
 
donjohnston said:
It's no effort at all Barney. It's called research. You should try it sometime.

And there's a huge difference between a nickel and $50.

But I guess that you always go to Signature and pay $8 a gallon for fuel when there's another FBO on the other side of the field selling the exact same fuel for $4.

Good for you. I'm sure Signature appreciates your sacrifice.
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Way to make stuff up. Conversation isn't about fuel price or getting the best deal between two FBOs on the same field. It was about sometimes, the cost is warranted by convenience. Whatever, you do whatever the hell you want to and I'll do the same. Besides, I didn't think there was a Signature at KRYY - how's that for research Chief?
 
I go to PDK, RYY and LZU for work because THEY pay for it and I have to be there. If I'm flying private and I don't have to be in the city, I go to places like CZL, JZP or DZJ. No reason to go to the city and deal with the hassle if it's not necessary.
 
kyleb said:
Were you two married in a previous life? ;-)
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Guy can't understand there are times your business can be done more efficiently and effectively with a fee or a little more cost. Fair opinion, but he considers someone who finds value in it as an idiot. Whatever.
 
Velocity173 said:
I go to PDK, RYY and LZU for work because THEY pay for it and I have to be there. If I'm flying private and I don't have to be in the city, I go to places like CZL, JZP or DZJ. No reason to go to the city and deal with the hassle if it's not necessary.
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Agree 100% with that being considered
 
I think Atlanta offers quite a few good choices for airports in the area. As mentioned earlier in this thread, since you're flying on your own dime, I would avoid RYY.

I think there are only one or two airports that I have not flown out of that have been mentioned in this thread. You'd have to give us more specifics if you want to narrow anything down. Like I said above, you'd be fine with just about any of them.
 
donjohnston said:
RYY... Nope, nope, nope!

Used to go there all the time. They had two FBO's and both were great. Now there's just one (Hawthorne).
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I went down there around Thanksgiving a few years back and didn't have any problems with it. Sure you'll pay more for their services, but they'll waive the ramp fees with a fuel purchase as many FBO's do.
I also didn't spend the night, so that may have contributed to my positive experience (250$ burger run).
 
Bacon county AMG is more south, but it's a very nice little airport. Cheap gas, snacks in the fridge, and a couple of courtesy cars.
 
Thank you everyone so much for the posts and suggestions. So weird: POA gave me zero notice that anyone had replied to my post (nothin' in my email, nor the little bell at the top right). Hopefully mother nature will be kind to us SEL VFR dopes on the way South...
 
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