Airport's to fly a 172 into in Chicago??

Aeronautik

Aeronautik

New Member
Airport\'s to fly a 172 into in Chicago??

So me and 3 of my friends are looking to fly to Chicago next Friday evening and basically have some fun in the city since we just finished finals for the year. I'm PIC and I'm looking at taking the 172SP and we all split the cost (I love it when that works out).

So that's the background. My question is, what airports are convenient to fly into and a short distance from downtown? I know that MDW is near, but I'm a bit hesitant to fly in there with tons of airline traffic. I did call some FBO's there and they said they get a lot of piston traffic. The option that's looking good right now is Gary, Indiana, I think it's about 50 minutes on the EL from downtown. Not too sure though.

Any suggestions or cautions?
 
Re: Airport\'s to fly a 172 into in Chicago??

Don't fly to Gary unless you want to get shot (from what I understand about Gary).

PWK is a decent option I believe, though MQAAord could probably tell you more about that as she lives fairly close to PWK and knows how long it takes to get to the downtown area.

Midway wouldn't be a horrible deal. You'd probably have to do is keep your speed up until you got onto a short final. I'd expect to fly at 120 knots until short final. If you've never done it before it's a good time, but you're going to need to have some prior planning (expect to float for a looooooong time).

You in Ann Arbor over the summer?
 
Re: Airport\'s to fly a 172 into in Chicago??

ORD - I am sure there is a connection into the city, however I believe you need a slot to get into there.
 
Re: Airport\'s to fly a 172 into in Chicago??

GYY is actually probably a good bet. Not sure about the area though, never been in there.

MDW is expensive, but it's easy to get to the city. I've flown in there a bunch, but never on my dime, thankfully.
 
Re: Airport\'s to fly a 172 into in Chicago??

[ QUOTE ]
So me and 3 of my friends are looking to fly to Chicago next Friday evening and basically have some fun in the city since we just finished finals for the year. I'm PIC and I'm looking at taking the 172SP and we all split the cost (I love it when that works out).
.....
Any suggestions or cautions?

[/ QUOTE ]

You and three friends! I hope it's three small friends. I may not be the bigegst guy in the world, but there is no way I'd be able to put 4 people in the 172sp I fly and then be able to add enough fuel to get anywhere.
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Midway wouldn't be a horrible deal.

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15-20 minutes by the el (believe)

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ORD - I am sure there is a connection into the city

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Closer to 40 minutes vie the el. (I believe)
 
Re: Airport\'s to fly a 172 into in Chicago??

I'd suggest MDW. Flew in there a few months back with a couple of friends, with no problems at all. Controllers were very helpful and vectored us onto the ILS 4R and told us to keep our speed up as long as practical. Taxied to MillionAir FBO; very helpful, dropped us off at the Orange line station at the terminal, about a 30 minute ride into the city. I'd definitely recommend you fly into MDW.
 
Re: Airport\'s to fly a 172 into in Chicago??

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MDW is expensive, but it's easy to get to the city. I've flown in there a bunch, but never on my dime, thankfully.

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When we flew into MDW it only cost us about $10. MillionAir waives the parking fee with a fuel purchase (at $4/gal, but luckily the FBO we fly out of gives us a credit card to handle fuel purchases at other airports), so all you end up paying is the landing fee of $10
 
Re: Airport\'s to fly a 172 into in Chicago??

You might want to look at DuPage in West Chicago. DuPage Flight Center is a really nice FBO and I think the ramp fee is only $10 or something like that. (edit: $10 for piston twin, website says NC for piston single, $7 per night). For sure check out the ramp fees at the other locations 'cause they can be very, very expensive.

The Flight Center building doesn't look like any FBO you've ever seen before, I'll bet.

dfclandside.jpg


DuPage Flight Center

AirNav page; DuPage

edit to add:
Certainly consider Midway. I was in there twice a week ago, and there were quite a few singles on the ramp. The line people were giving a young couple a ride over to catch the Yellow Line (edit the edit: maybe it is the Orange line - see post above
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) while I was there. It's definetely the closest to the city of any of the airports (now that Meigs is gone).
 
Re: Airport\'s to fly a 172 into in Chicago??

Ok thanks for the info, folks. Looks like I'll plan for Midway.

Yeah I'll be in Ann Arbor for another month finishing my commercial. You in Ann Arbor??
 
Re: Airport\'s to fly a 172 into in Chicago??

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MDW is expensive, but it's easy to get to the city. I've flown in there a bunch, but never on my dime, thankfully.

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When we flew into MDW it only cost us about $10. MillionAir waives the parking fee with a fuel purchase (at $4/gal, but luckily the FBO we fly out of gives us a credit card to handle fuel purchases at other airports), so all you end up paying is the landing fee of $10

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Oh that's not bad. I was referring to the fuel. But I guess flying out of MI, he probably wouldn't need much. I agree though, flying into MDW isn't bad at all.
 
Re: Airport\'s to fly a 172 into in Chicago??

Gary has no link to the city El system. I really wouldn't recommend Gary, it's too far, and not in the best part of town.

ORD is close, but you would be parking on the GA side, where there again is no link to the El. You could bum a ride from someone to the main terminal, where you could walk a mile in the airport to get to the El station inside. Or rent a car, either in the main terminal or the FBO you park at could maybe arrange a car. (?) I don't know what if any landing fees & parking fees you may incur at ORD.

PWK is in the NW suburbs, it is not accessable to downtown by any public transportation. If you rent a car, it could take you anywhere's from 40 minutes to 1 1/2 hours to get to the city, depending on traffic.

DPA & Aurora (I forget the airport code) are both in the west suburbs, and would probably take a little over an hour to downtown.

Schuamburg (again I don't know the airport code) is a less-known little airport that would probably only take you about 1 hour to downtown. Not sure what FBO/rental car facilities are available there.

MDW is closest, and if you do your homework and are prepared I think it's a viable option. I don't know where the El station is there, but there's one on the field somewhere. Driving would be 30-60 minutes, depending on traffic.
 
Re: Airport\'s to fly a 172 into in Chicago??

How long are you staying in chicago? John is right stay away from Gary it is a dump. Midway is going to be your best bet, and it is close to downtown. I believe you have to get on the orange line to get downtown, not sure though I'll have to look that up. PM me if you want to know some cool places to hang out at.
 
Re: Airport\'s to fly a 172 into in Chicago??

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ORD is close, but you would be parking on the GA side, where there again is no link to the El. You could bum a ride from someone to the main terminal, where you could walk a mile in the airport to get to the El station inside. Or rent a car, either in the main terminal or the FBO you park at could maybe arrange a car. (?) I don't know what if any landing fees & parking fees you may incur at ORD

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ORD isn't as bad as most people think. I've flown in there twice (once VFR, once IFR), and it's been a blast both times. The FBO there, Signature, is pretty expensive though. I don't remember the specific prices but I think it was something like $10 landing fee, $10 parking fee, $20 handling fee, and a $40 security fee. They'll drive you over to the terminal and you could catch the Blue line in to the city, but it's about a 45 minute ride. Flying into ORD is an experience you won't soon forget, though.
 
Re: Airport\'s to fly a 172 into in Chicago??

Going into the big airports, really is not as difficult as people think, and the connections are great. I have flown into LAX a number of times, and really Class B is like Class C on steriods! If you are not comfortable in Class C is will likely be too much, but if you are fine in Class C you should have no problems.
 
Re: Airport\'s to fly a 172 into in Chicago??

We'll be there just for the night and spend the night in a motel or something and then back in the morning.

The only reason I was hesitant about MDW is because I thought it was a super busy hub that isn't welcoming to GA aircraft.

Should be a fun trip, I hope. My friends just all want to get laid in night clubs
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Re: Airport\'s to fly a 172 into in Chicago??

Kalamazoo actually, but my girlfriend (TheShortOne) graduated from Michigan in December. We'll have to hookup sometime and go grab a beer or something.
 
Re: Airport\'s to fly a 172 into in Chicago??

Hi Iain. I have no prob flying in Class C. I got my IFR out of Lenair btw over summer, at SNA. I think you did too, right?
 
Re: Airport\'s to fly a 172 into in Chicago??

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Kalamazoo actually, but my girlfriend (TheShortOne) graduated from Michigan in December. We'll have to hookup sometime and go grab a beer or something.

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Definitely.
 
Re: Airport\'s to fly a 172 into in Chicago??

All of these airports are pretty close and relatively hassle free to fly into.

LOT, 1C5, JOT, and DPA.
 
Re: Airport\'s to fly a 172 into in Chicago??

I dont see why some people have a problem with busy airspace. As long as you are in contact with ATC they will take care of you and all you have to do is follow their instructions. I remember talking to a guy about where he flew for recreation and I asked him if he ever went into a specific class c area and he gave a responce along the lines of oh no thats class c way too complicated. At the time I was pre-private and I thought to myself I go in there all the time with no trouble.......
 
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