East Coast Trip

Your trip reports, airport experiences, etc. are welcome here.

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Brichards
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East Coast Trip

Post by Brichards »

For ten years, my wife has wanted to drive along the east coast during the fall color change so we have decided to take the trip this fall but now she wants to go to DC for a few days.

Originally, we were going to take the Diamond to Virginia then rent a car and drive as far north as possible. Since I do not want to drive or fly into the DC area, I am searching for an airport that would offer easy access to transportation. Being most happy when I avoid heavy traffic, I would prefer a class D airport but would take class C if necessary. Any suggestions as to which airports might best serve our purposes would be welcome. Additionally, any information on transportation into DC would also be appreciated.

Thanks
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Rick
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Re: East Coast Trip

Post by Rick »

Since you are coming from the southwest and want to stay clear of the ADIZ, I would recommend KRMN, Stafford Regional. It's untowered, but has an ILS approach to a nice 5000' r/w, and a great FBO. The airport sits right off I-95, and you said you wanted to go into DC for a few days, so you may be able to get a ride (or rent a car) up I-95 a short distance to a train station to get into the city, while avoiding the worst of the DC traffic.

There aren't too many class D options outside the ADIZ - there's KESN on the east side, that's about it. Have you considered flying up the coast from DC to view the leaves from the air?
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Re: East Coast Trip

Post by Brichards »

Thanks, RMN is the kind of airport I like, easy in, easy out and big enough to offer extra services like rental cars.

Flying would be fun for me but not for my wife and since we may never do this again, it is probably best to rent a car in order to see the colors up close. Additionally, a car allows us the opportunity to stop and go as we desire. That said, flying into New Haven on a stormy afternoon many years ago was about as pretty as anything I have ever seen in the U.S.
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Re: East Coast Trip

Post by Tommy »

Last October my wife and I visited Hot Springs Va. KHSP during the peak of the Fall. The colors were astonishing. Honestly, we had never seen anything so vibrant. We stayed at the following bed and breakfast just by chance because that is how we operate. We don't plan much. We just show up and take what is available. One thing I can tell you, we have stayed at a lot of bed and breakfast's and this one was probably one of the nicest in just about every way imaginable. http://www.bbonline.com/united-states/v ... ttage.html
The airport was essentially made by cutting off the top of the mountain by James Ingalls pretty much for the sole purpose of bringing people into Hot Springs to enjoy the hot springs.
KHSP is 3,793 msl hence the highest airport East of the Mississippi. Right from the get go you won't believe what you see when you first make a visual for the airport. It literally sits right in the middle of a sea of mountains and trees. It is absolutely gorgeous. It pretty much sits on a plateau and is pretty much windy all of the time. It's a good thing to call in advance just to get a check on the winds. Final approach to 25 can be interesting with West to North West winds crossing a ridge that runs parallel and to the North of 25.
Once on the ground (we had a rental waiting) the drive into town is all down hill down the mountain. The scenery is breath taking. That's all I can really say. You have to really experience the stay to appreciate it.
By the way, if you are a golfer, this apparently is the home of legendary golfer Sam Snead. The golf courses in this area have his signature all over them and they are astoundingly beautiful.
There's not a lot to do around here if you're looking for Las Vegas type of excitement, however, if you are looking for what lies at the opposite end of the spectrum, I assure you, the beauty of this place will not let you down.
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Re: East Coast Trip

Post by Colin »

When I last flew into DC we landed at Dulles. It was unpleasant weather (including some reported icing in the clouds and rain). I had put in the comments for my IFR flight plan: "Entire family on board. Please no ice."

All of the controllers were extremely friendly. We did get spun around twice on final to 1L. Jets kept coming up on us too fast. For the third attempt I kept the throttle forward and dove along the ILS so I had a groundspeed of 130kts. That made them happy. I kept it to 115kts until I was over the fence and was still off on the first exit.

The moment I entered the FBO my friend Tod called and said, "That looked like some real IFR on Flightaware, I bet your wife was impressed." But she doesn't impress that easily.
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Re: East Coast Trip

Post by Tim »

There are several of us on this forum who live close by HSP and we can share your wonder at the beauty of the Allegheny Mountains in the Fall especially. HSP is a bit intimidating and feels like you're landing on a very large aircraft carrier. At least it's a long runway.

If landing on mountains is your thing, there's one that's nearly as high but much shorter, Grundy/GDY.

http://www.airnav.com/airport/KGDY

It's slightly shorter than its elevation (2256 feet vs 2304 feet) and was an old mountain top coal mine on the border of Virginia and Kentucky, where they cut off the top of a mountain and scoop out the coal from inside.

I landed there in my quest to gain the fabled "free" Virginia flight jacket by visiting all 66 public use airfields and picked a very calm, cold day for it. I probably stopped in about 500 feet but was sure I was going to topple off the departure end. It is a lonely and sad place with no facilities or fancy hotels nearby. Just a few rusting airplane hulks alongside the runway to remind one of the importance of short field technique.

I'll not easily forget the feeling of seeing the ground drop away below me a few seconds after taking off as I left the mountain top and started to cross the valley.

Let us know if you intend to stop by HSP again. Maybe it's a good place for a mid Atlantic Diamond Aviators get together one day?

Tim
Tommy wrote:Last October my wife and I visited Hot Springs Va. KHSP during the peak of the Fall. The colors were astonishing. Honestly, we had never seen anything so vibrant. We stayed at the following bed and breakfast just by chance because that is how we operate. We don't plan much. We just show up and take what is available. One thing I can tell you, we have stayed at a lot of bed and breakfast's and this one was probably one of the nicest in just about every way imaginable. http://www.bbonline.com/united-states/v ... ttage.html
The airport was essentially made by cutting off the top of the mountain by James Ingalls pretty much for the sole purpose of bringing people into Hot Springs to enjoy the hot springs.
KHSP is 3,793 msl hence the highest airport East of the Mississippi. Right from the get go you won't believe what you see when you first make a visual for the airport. It literally sits right in the middle of a sea of mountains and trees. It is absolutely gorgeous. It pretty much sits on a plateau and is pretty much windy all of the time. It's a good thing to call in advance just to get a check on the winds. Final approach to 25 can be interesting with West to North West winds crossing a ridge that runs parallel and to the North of 25.
Once on the ground (we had a rental waiting) the drive into town is all down hill down the mountain. The scenery is breath taking. That's all I can really say. You have to really experience the stay to appreciate it.
By the way, if you are a golfer, this apparently is the home of legendary golfer Sam Snead. The golf courses in this area have his signature all over them and they are astoundingly beautiful.
There's not a lot to do around here if you're looking for Las Vegas type of excitement, however, if you are looking for what lies at the opposite end of the spectrum, I assure you, the beauty of this place will not let you down.
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Re: East Coast Trip

Post by Colin »

Wow, can you still get that jacket? What a great idea for a day of flying.
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Re: East Coast Trip

Post by Tim »

I believe the offer still stands but 66 airports in one day might be tough!
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Colin
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Re: East Coast Trip

Post by Colin »

Did you complete your quest?

I assume one would start at 1am at one of the Class C airports and start the hopping in the system.
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Re: East Coast Trip

Post by Tim »

I did complete my quest and my jacket hangs proudly in my avatar to the left of this message. It took me a couple of years though. It was an amazing experience to see almost every part of the great Commonwealth from above and met quite a few interesting characters along the way. The day I finished was right before I 'emigrated' to California and was an emotional moment for me.

Some of the flights are described in my flying blog (usually not very up to date) which you can find here if all other means of entertainment are exhausted:

http://preview.tinyurl.com/cjhp2zt
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