Planning a trip to Nashville and Gatlinburg.

Kansas Flyer

Kansas Flyer

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I'm getting married in October and for the honeymoon we are thinking about flying the Cardinal to Nashville for two or three days and then on to somewhere in or around the Great Smoky National Park (probably Gatlinburg area) for two or three more days. I've never been to either area so I would appreciate whatever knowledge can be offered up by those more familiar than me.

Just looking at the chart it looks like the best bet is to fly into KJWN for Nashville and then KGKT but i'm open to other/better options and if there's a better place than Gatlinburg in or around the Great Smokys that someone can recommend i'd love to hear about it.
 
while I can't speak for Nashville or Gatlinburg, if you are going to GKT Asheville is a quick hop from there. lots of fun stuff to do.
 
I visited gatlinburg last year... nice place... IIRC $15 overnight w/o fuel purchase... rental cars available and cool museum on the airport
 
JWN is likely the better bet for Nashville, but it’s further west than the centrally located BNA is, as far as ground transportation.

For Gatlinburg, GKT is the only option and fortunately it’s located right in Sevierville, so downtown Gatlinburg is just a short drive away. Traffic can sometimes be hairpulling (Friday afternoon’s and Sundays) so keep that in mind as well. It’s a nice little airport, but they do have a Robinson helicopter school on field, so be watchful for them as well as the various other helicopter touring companies in Sevierville. I’ve found the R22’s to be difficult to spot when compared to the Bell 206’s.

Be sure to hike Clingman’s Dome—you get a heck of a view and a workout!
 
Ryanb said:
For Gatlinburg, GKT is the only option and fortunately it’s located right in Sevierville, so downtown Gatlinburg is just a short drive away. Traffic can sometimes be hairpulling (Friday afternoon’s and Sundays) so keep that in mind as well. It’s a nice little airport, but they do have a Robinson helicopter school on field, so be watchful for them as well as the various other helicopter touring companies in Sevierville. I’ve found the R22’s to be difficult to spot when compared to the Bell 206’s.
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They have a cool aviation movie museum on field too!
 
Flew to JWN when we went to Nashville in our Cardinal. Took an Uber to downtown. It was fine.
 
PPC1052 said:
Flew to JWN when we went to Nashville in our Cardinal. Took an Uber to downtown. It was fine.
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That is pretty much what i'm thinking. Use Uber in Nashville and rent a car in Gatlinburg. Which FBO did you use?
 
Oh hey, a thread I can help with.
I’m In the area and have been to JWN, BNA, and GKT.

you _can_ fly small GA into BNA if you want, it’s a busy class C but the FBO there is accommodating (not free, but accommodating) I used “Atlantic Aviation” FBO. NOT Signature. I’ve flown in there to dropoff Pax for connecting BNA commercial flights, and they (Alantic) let me load&go with just a fuel purchase. Not sure about parking there for overnight, better call them to be sure, their ramp is usually packed. Also beware you’ll spend a lot of time taxiing around , it’s a large airport.

JWN would be less hassle, if it’s close to where you want to go.

For GKT:
Its in-between Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg. As stated the traffic can be packed on certain days (all the vacation traffic). But lots of things nearby especially for kids to do.
I hope you have your instrument rating, and an LPV capable avionics; or make sure the weather is good enough for VFR. The Smokey Mountains are called that for a reason, often haze/fog/ low overcast. Beware the rising terrain on one side, IR approaches and departures I think only go one way (away from the mountain). There is an interesting museum on-site, lots of old airplanes, and F4 cockpit you can sit in, and museum display has lots of stuff. In the display area (non-aviation stuff) There is a particular emphasis on military Chaplains.

-ChopAndDrop
 
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Downtown Gatlinburg has great walking/shopping. Second the Clingman's Dome suggestion.
 
We were in Gatlinburg in Feb to see the aquarium. It is a long drive from the airport but when you get there you can walk everywhere if you get the right hotel. Compare a rental to an Uber. Loved the aquarium and other Ripley's tourist traps. If you do have a car, you can get to Sevierville and Dollywood and the mountain.
 
JWN (Tune) is one of my favorites. The CFM people were super.
Watch for the tall antennas.
 
Don't forget about MQY when you fly into Nashville. It's a little further away from downtown but the area is well supported with hotels and restaurants.
 
eman1200 said:
while I can't speak for Nashville or Gatlinburg, if you are going to GKT Asheville is a quick hop from there. lots of fun stuff to do.
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2nd on Asheville, cool artsy hippieish small city with lots of good food options. Biltmore is good to see once as well.
 
We had the Navion flyin in Pidgeon Forge a few years back. Nice little airport and you can get to Gatlinburg and most of the other stuff in the area in short order.
 
I'm currently based at JWN, and that's probably where you want to go. It won't be the cheapest fuel in the area, but you're a relatively short Uber/Lyft ride from downtown. And, yeah, what Shepherd said about the antennas. Also, it's a right pattern for rwy 20 (some don't realize that at first).

I've been to GKT once for a flying club trip to the on-field museum and hangar. It's definitely got some neat stuff in it. The eastern part of the state/Smokes is a truly beautiful area.
 
Oh, BTW, there is a nice museum at the airport in Sevierville.
 
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