Tell me about GA in GA

WannFly

WannFly

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So just wondering how the General aviation scene is in GA, especially Alpharetta area. Charts do not show a GA airport in Alpharetta, but I see a couple of D close by (relatively speaking)

Asking for a friend of course, there is a very remote chance that he will be moving there in a year or so from the great white north
 
WannFly said:
So just wondering how the General aviation scene is in GA, especially Alpharetta area. Charts do not show a GA airport in Alpharetta, but I see a couple of D close by (relatively speaking)

Asking for a friend of course, there is a very remote chance that he will be moving there in a year or so from the great white north
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KATL area has a number of GA airports. Closest one in town is KPDK, which is expensive and busy. On the west side of town is KFTY, AKA Charlie Brown field. I understand it's kind of dead. If you're looking to be living in Alpharetta, you would be closest to either KRYY (McCollum) which is in Kennesaw (NW side outside of I-285 by a number of miles), or you could go to KCNI (Cherokee County), which is up Georgia Highway 400 a piece.

KCNI is much less busy. I hear hangars are tough to come by at most if not all of these.
 
FormerHangie said:
KATL area has a number of GA airports. Closest one in town is KPDK, which is expensive and busy. On the west side of town is KFTY, AKA Charlie Brown field. I understand it's kind of dead. If you're looking to be living in Alpharetta, you would be closest to either KRYY (McCollum) which is in Kennesaw (NW side outside of I-285 by a number of miles), or you could go to KCNI (Cherokee County), which is up Georgia Highway 400 a piece.

KCNI is much less busy. I hear hangars are tough to come by at most if not all of these.
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Scratch that comment about KCNI being up Ga-400, it's up I-575, probably around 45-50 minutes at non rush hour. McCollum would be a touch closer. Briscoe Field (KLZU) would probably be about the same as McCollum.

That's about all I can think of. There was a small airport near Cumming, but it closed a few years ago.
 
Everything YOU need to know:
  1. It doesn't snow nearly as much in GA.
  2. They grow peanuts.
  3. You don't have to plug in your car in the winter (unless it's a Tesla :D).
  4. It never gets to -60 with the wind chill.
  5. You never have to plow the ramp to get the plane out of hangar.
  6. Did I mention it doesn't snow nearly as much in GA?
'Nuff said...
 
I live equidistant from KRYY, KFTY, and KPDK. I drive 20 miles past KRYY and base the airplane at KVPC.

Any of the first three fields listed will be expensive. I think you could get into a community hangar at KRYY almost immediately if you're prepared to pay the ransom (>$500/mo). If I lived in Alpharetta, might look at Lawrenceville - KLZU. They seem to have better availability than others. Depending on where in Alpharetta you are (for instance, if you're far north), you might look at KGVL. Beyond that, look at Winder and/or Calhoun as temporary options until you can get something closer to home. Pickens County is also an option. Good people there, but I don't know about hangar availibility.
 
I'd rather drive through mountains of snow than drive around Atlanta's perimeter.
It's true they don't get much white snow, but in the spring, your car will accumulate about an inch of yellow snow (pollen) ever day or two.

And you HAVE to have a car. Things are so spread out and "mass transit" is a joke.
 
Alpharetta? Proximate Airplane ownership? Nope.
 
The plus side is, if you move to Alpharetta, you’ll be able to attend our Southeast meetups!

RYY, LZU and PDK are the three closest.
 
hindsight2020 said:
Alpharetta? Proximate Airplane ownership? Nope.
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Air Acres (fly - in community East of Woodstock) might be an option. There's another small fly-in community right beside I-400, but I can't think of the name.

But, you're right. All of the small fields have gone away. Parkaire was right down the street from where I live now. But it went away almost 50 years ago.

Such is the fate of a flat piece of land in a growing metro area...
 
Nothing is set in stone as in today and it will easily be 12-15 months if it happens at all. I grew up in weather like that... and didn’t enjoy it a bit. O well. Looks like hangar availability is a nightmare and if you get one... it’s expensive. I am paying close to 380 a month anyway, so there is that.

How’s the flying wx out there? Lots of IR days? No IR days? TS all summer? Guess no one deals with icing to the ground level for 6 months ...
 
GRG55 said:
Everything YOU need to know:
  1. It doesn't snow nearly as much in GA.
  2. They grow peanuts.
  3. You don't have to plug in your car in the winter (unless it's a Tesla :D).
  4. It never gets to -60 with the wind chill.
  5. You never have to plow the ramp to get the plane out of hangar.
  6. Did I mention it doesn't snow nearly as much in GA?
'Nuff said...
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But when two snowflakes (the frosty kind, not the human kind) DO show up, Atlanta becomes apocalyptic. :D
 
KaiGywer said:
But when two snowflakes (the frosty kind, not the human kind) DO show up, Atlanta becomes apocalyptic. :D
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Lol, no kidding, I was there in dec and people were complaining a week or so ago there was may be half an inch of snowfall and how everyone stayed home and not die on I - 400
 
kyleb said:
I live equidistant from KRYY, KFTY, and KPDK. I drive 20 miles past KRYY and base the airplane at KVPC.

Any of the first three fields listed will be expensive. I think you could get into a community hangar at KRYY almost immediately if you're prepared to pay the ransom (>$500/mo). If I lived in Alpharetta, might look at Lawrenceville - KLZU. They seem to have better availability than others. Depending on where in Alpharetta you are (for instance, if you're far north), you might look at KGVL. Beyond that, look at Winder and/or Calhoun as temporary options until you can get something closer to home. Pickens County is also an option. Good people there, but I don't know about hangar availibility.
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Thanks, KGVL sounds better than the others, if I move there my first choice would be to live very close to Avalon, no idea if that’s considered north enough or not. Looking at maps, looks like a 40 min drive now without traffic, so guessing 1.5 hrs with traffic . Takes me 18 mins to get to the airport here ... sigh
 
It’s not the best place for freedom

Don’t like float planes

Don’t like boats anchoring
 
Alpharetta is about the only area around ATL I like. Clean, well kept roads, nice houses / community. Avalon was a little different. Went down to do a Tesla test drive there but it’s like a private shopping area for Avalon residents only. Strange. Went down the road in west Alpharetta Tesla and did a test drive instead. Lots of equestrian activities in the area for some reason.

As far as GA, pick an airport that’s closest and has hangars. Personally I wouldn’t do anything south of Alpharetta. Traffic just sucks too bad. PDK is crazy busy too so no way I’d fly out of there. I don’t even like stopping in there for work. CNI, if they have hangars would be my choice. Got my ME at the school there. You could share a hangar with the Raptor! :D
 
I lived in Alpharetta for 22 years, just moved to FL 6 months ago. There are no great airport options. Basically, close means $$$$ and traffic getting there. Farther away reduces $$ and traffic (though not totally) but you can be an hour or more away. Going up 400 to Gainesville on a Friday afternoon can be like going through downtown Atlanta as lots of people head north to the mountains or Lake Lanier.

As others have said, RYY and LZU are the "traffic and $$" adjusted closest. PDK is closest by miles, but horrendous traffic to get there from Alpharetta and it's really expensive. I used RYY, but they jacked my shared hangar rent up to $500 just as I was leaving. LZU seems to have reasonable hangar availability and is about the same distance. I flew to Pickens County for fuel, it's a nice airport and if it was a bit closer, I might have based there.

I hate Avalon, lousy parking, mostly overpriced shops. I can't imagine living there (but that's just me)
 
Alpharetta is a nice place, but not the best location for GA in the Atlanta metro area. Is there family or work that you are moving to be near?

I'm in the Vinings area (I-75 and I-285, northwest corner of the perimeter). It's 8 miles to FTY, 18 to RYY and 17 to PDK. Yes, they are expensive locations, but all towered, which is great for IFR and that's how I typically fly.

WannFly said:
Nothing is set in stone as in today and it will easily be 12-15 months if it happens at all. I grew up in weather like that... and didn’t enjoy it a bit. O well. Looks like hangar availability is a nightmare and if you get one... it’s expensive. I am paying close to 380 a month anyway, so there is that.

How’s the flying wx out there? Lots of IR days? No IR days? TS all summer? Guess no one deals with icing to the ground level for 6 months ...
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Lots of good flying days in the southeast. During the summers there can be lots of low visibility days due to humidity. Not uncommon for it to be "clear and hazy" with visibility under 8 miles, some days very under 8 miles. With the heat and humidity pop-up thunderstorms are common in July and August. Those are typically not hard to zig and zag around and Atlanta ATC is great to work with. Add in the heat and humidity and the DA can get high in the summer afternoons. We rarely have to deal with icing to the ground. Happens, but not often. We also get 35* on the ground and 50* above the cloud deck at times in the winter. Odd, but it happens.

Atlanta is also a bit higher in altitude than people think with it in the southeast. It's around 1,000' MSL, so similar to Fargo.

I think you can get a T-hangar at LZU for around that money, maybe even less depending up if it's new or old.
 
WannFly said:
Nothing is set in stone as in today and it will easily be 12-15 months if it happens at all. I grew up in weather like that... and didn’t enjoy it a bit. O well. Looks like hangar availability is a nightmare and if you get one... it’s expensive. I am paying close to 380 a month anyway, so there is that.

How’s the flying wx out there? Lots of IR days? No IR days? TS all summer? Guess no one deals with icing to the ground level for 6 months ...
Click to expand...
December and February, lots of low ceilings and precip. January, some low ceilings and some clear days, usually. This year January was like February normally is. March and April, some low ceilings and some nice days, with frontal passages that may contains thunderstorms. May through mid June is usually pretty good, some frontal passages with precip and many nice days. Mid June through mid September, partly cloudy with a chance of thunderstorms most afternoons, humid and hazy, quite often poor visibility, and hot. Mid September through mid November, lots of good days with some frontal passages with rain. If I were trying to travel by GA, I'd get an instrument ticket.


KaiGywer said:
But when two snowflakes (the frosty kind, not the human kind) DO show up, Atlanta becomes apocalyptic. :D
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Ah, yes, the obligitory (and ill informed) "Southerners can't drive in snow" comment. Here's the deal: the conditions that cause snow in the southeast are not conducive to vehicular travel. I'm originally from Chicago. I never had any issues getting around Chicago, except for one time when we got 14 inches of snow and the plows couldn't keep up. I used to go skiing on a regular basis, had no problem in Colorado, Utah, and the Tahoe area. I drove from the north shore of Tahoe to Reno to pick up some friends in a heavy snowstorm, driving a rental car on all season tires, no problem. Two weeks ago we had a surprise snowfall, probably about two or three inches. I tried to drive up my driveway, couldn't make it. That two inches of snow compressed down to about three quarters of an inch of wet slush that gives zero traction. I don't even try to walk on it, on a hill, and most of Atlanta is hilly, you're going to wind up on your behind. I tried shoveling it and it is very hard to dislodge. So I did the rational thing and let it melt before I went anywhere.


James331 said:
It’s not the best place for freedom

Don’t like float planes

Don’t like boats anchoring
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Don't know what you're getting at on the boats anchoring, people anchor out overnight all the time. As far as floatplane flying goes, no, the Corps does not allow floatplane operations, these lakes are way too heavily trafficed for that.
 
wayne said:
Alpharetta is a nice place, but not the best location for GA in the Atlanta metro area. Is there family or work that you are moving to be near?
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yes work, i would rather be close to work and not drive in that nightmare traffic everyday

@FormerHangie thanks for the WX report. i have been dragging my feat for the IR for a while now, i better get that done this year
 
FormerHangie said:
If I were trying to travel by GA, I'd get an instrument ticket.
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^Definitely this.

The second attempt at the PoA lunch at GMU this winter I was the only one that made it. I think only one made it on the third try too. Both of us are instrument rated. Both of those days were rather ho-hum IFR days, but enough that all the VFR pilots bailed.

I started my IFR training shortly after PPL. I was planning on waiting a year, but getting a day trip canceled a couple/few times for some rather benign weather convinced me to change that plan.

WannFly said:
yes work, i would rather be close to work and not drive in that nightmare traffic everyday

@FormerHangie thanks for the WX report. i have been dragging my feat for the IR for a while now, i better get that done this year
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Oh yeah, living close to work is key in Atlanta. Pay attention to the details, right versus left turns, traffic lights, commuting directions. It can make a huuuge difference. One summer I had an college intern working for me. His commute from Alpharetta (parent's home) to downtown was taking him 1.5 hours in the morning. :mad: I told him to leave earlier in the morning, start his day earlier at the office and then leave earlier in the afternoon. He was doing software development, he didn't need to be here 8-5. He left home 15 minutes earlier which took 30 minutes off his morning commute; so he got to the office 45 minutes earlier. Much less stress. Later he worked for me part time during school and his apartment at school was only 3 or 4 blocks from our office. He really liked that commute. :cool:
 
FormerHangie said:
Don't know what you're getting at on the boats anchoring, people anchor out overnight all the time. As far as floatplane flying goes, no, the Corps does not allow floatplane operations, these lakes are way too heavily trafficed for that.
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Anchoring
https://www.cruisingworld.com/update-on-proposed-georgia-anchoring-rules/

and lolz, too busy? Sorry no, seaplanes land in WAAAAAAY busier places all over the world.


Georgia is working hard on becoming a real fly over/boat around state, sad thing is between their taxes and GDP/per capita this is doesn’t seem like a good plan.

Outside of Savannah there isn’t anything worth much there, and I lived there.
Especially with SC just north and Florida to the south, they are working on becoming the southern version of CT lol
 
Velocity173 said:
Alpharetta is about the only area around ATL I like. Clean, well kept roads, nice houses / community. Avalon was a little different. Went down to do a Tesla test drive there but it’s like a private shopping area for Avalon residents only. Strange. Went down the road in west Alpharetta Tesla and did a test drive instead. Lots of equestrian activities in the area for some reason.
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We were down there two weeks ago to stay with friends. The wives went out antiquing/shopping and the guys went quail hunting. We've been making this trip in Feb the last 7 years and I'll echo that the Alpharetta area is the nicest area I've seen around Atlanta area. That being said, they got a break during the recession but building is back on and the traffic is getting bad. Our friends have been living there for 20 years and love it but say the traffic is the only thing that may make them move.

I was planning on flying into PDK but the icing scared me so it was the tube for us. Turned out it would have likely been fine going down and back but I figure the FAA gave me these ratings because I had some common sense about my limits.
 
Many don't realize it, but there is a part of Atlanta that is not on the north side with its inherent traffic, high cost of living and lack of reasonable general aviation options. I live in Covington, 30 nm east of KATL. Easy interstate access into the city (but slow at rush hours to be sure), excellent housing costs and a great uncontrolled airport KCVC. All the schools at PDK, WDR and even beyond come down here to do their touch and go practice because it isn't busy. We've got a 6,000' runway with all new LED lighting, and a city government that wants the airport there. I can get an IFR clearance on the ground directly with Atlanta approach by cell phone just as fast as at any towered field airport. Oh, and 100LL is $3.99/gal.
 
Pugs said:
We were down there two weeks ago to stay with friends. The wives went out antiquing/shopping and the guys went quail hunting. We've been making this trip in Feb the last 7 years and I'll echo that the Alpharetta area is the nicest area I've seen around Atlanta area. That being said, they got a break during the recession but building is back on and the traffic is getting bad. Our friends have been living there for 20 years and love it but say the traffic is the only thing that may make them move.

I was planning on flying into PDK but the icing scared me so it was the tube for us. Turned out it would have likely been fine going down and back but I figure the FAA gave me these ratings because I had some common sense about my limits.
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Yeah their traffic can be bad at times but not nearly as bad in ATL metro area. They sure like their roundabouts in Alpharetta though.

I’d do CNI over PDK if I were visiting. Controllers at PDK are good and all but they’re barely hanging on during high traffic days. CNI is easy in and out and not as bad vehicular traffic going to Alpharetta.
 
Velocity173 said:
Yeah their traffic can be bad at times but not nearly as bad in ATL metro area. They sure like their roundabouts in Alpharetta though.

I’d do CNI over PDK if I were visiting. Controllers at PDK are good and all but they’re barely hanging on during high traffic days. CNI is easy in and out and not as bad vehicular traffic going to Alpharetta.
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Being in the national capital region I know bad traffic and ATL metro is every bit as bad as here (making it officially every bit as bad as anyplace anywhere). If you can remain around Alpharetta and avoid transiting elsewhere it's minor in my mind but still, sitting through a couple cycles of a stoplight around town annoys me. My grandparents lived in East Point from the late 50's to the late 70's when he flew for Eastern and it's "changed" from my memories.

I wanted to do PDK to park @ Epps for other reasons but will likely do CNI instead. Covington is a nice area and we were hunting down near Newborn but staying in Alpharetta.
 
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I just recall thinking my that my GPS had entered early dementia when I saw ALL those private strips. Damn there were a lot of them. Something is going on down there.
 
looks like CNI is also the home for Raptor :D:D
 
I've been living and flying from the north side of Atlanta my entire adult life. I live very close to Alpharetta. Hangar rental is likely going to be a waiting-list situation no matter where you go.
The three geographically closest airports are probably PDK (very busy), LZU, and CNI.

Based on the drive, I'd pick LZU. Very nice Class D airport with light traffic. CNI is a nice little Class G airport where they filmed much of "American Made".
Further northeast is Gainesville (GVL). Roughly an extra 10 minute drive time compared to drives to LZU or CNI.

As Lance mentioned, Covington is also a good airport to operate from. It's 20 miles south of LZU. I've spent many an hour wilting in the traffic pattern there.
 
wayne said:
The second attempt at the PoA lunch at GMU this winter I was the only one that made it. I think only one made it on the third try too. Both of us are instrument rated. Both of those days were rather ho-hum IFR days, but enough that all the VFR pilots bailed.

I started my IFR training shortly after PPL. I was planning on waiting a year, but getting a day trip canceled a couple/few times for some rather benign weather convinced me to change that plan.
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Yeah, pretty ho-hum. I did have to descend through a cloud layer to get into KAHN to pick up another pilot. Then he flew the leg to KGMU. Maybe went through a couple of small clouds.

It took me 23 years to get my private (‘79-2001) due to life and money, but had my instrument by the next July with a 2 week accelerated course. Glad I got it done.
 
ktup-flyer said:
A lot more GA in GA than in ND. @Radar Contact can tell you all about GA
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It’s God’s country. Everything is better down there. I don’t care if you have to drive an extra 30 min, the hangar is $200 more and the controller sounds like an ex-Aeroflot pilot who drank Vodka for breakfast...still an improvement over ND. :)

Of course I may be bias.

PS. ATL metro area while technically GA, is not GA (sort of a different state).

PSS. To the complaint about pollen. If you’ve ever seen the Masters (golf)...you can’t get so much natural beauty it hurts your eyes without the stuff. Still way better than snow, ice and the resulting salt.

*Just one bumpkin GA boys opinion. :)
 
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Radar Contact said:
PS. ATL metro area while technically GA, is not GA (sort of a different state).
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So true. People look at me funny sometimes when I say "I don't live in Georgia. I live in Atlanta." They're thinking, "Isn't that in Georgia?" o_O

Technically yes, but seems more like it's surrounded by Georgia. ;)
 
Atlanta, when I lived in the south I was told that’s where you go to cut your teeth as a REAL medic lol
 
Radar Contact said:
It’s God’s country. Everything is better down there. I don’t care if you have to drive an extra 30 min, the hangar is $200 more and the controller sounds like an wx-Aeroflot pilot who drank Vodka for breakfast...still an improvement over ND. :)

Of course I may be bias.

PS. ATL metro area while technically GA, is not GA (sort of a different state).

PSS. To the complaint about pollen. If you’ve ever seen the Masters (golf)...you can’t get so much natural beauty it hurts your eyes without the stuff. Still way better than snow, ice and the resulting salt.

*Just one bumpkin GA boys opinion. :)
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I was the one that complained about pollen. If you had my allergies, you would complain too.

There are actually THREE Georgias in GA.
Atlanta is an entity unto itself that in no way resembles Georgia.
Coastal Georgia, ie, Brunswick, Jekyll Island, St.Simons Island and Savannah and a few other places are also very different from the rest of Georgia. I grew up in Brunswick Ga. We just didn't relate to the farm boys in the rest of the State. They always kicked our butts in football, but they couldn't hold a candle to us on surf boards.

There are good and bad points about the Atlanta area, but traffic trumps all of them. Traffic in and around Atlanta is hell. I visited my brother East of Atlanta and told him I wanted to drive somewhere after rush hour. He said "good luck" it is always rush hour here. If there is an accident (and there is always an accident) or snow, then a 30 minute drive can take hours.
 
I think there are about 2 people in the greater Atlanta area that are actually from Atlanta. Traffic sucks. I spent my last 6 months there in an apartment in downtown Alpharetta. I could walk everywhere. That was actually kind of OK. To the OP - I'd look in walking distance to the center of Alpharetta over Avalon.
 
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