Coolest Arrival / Departure / Airport

[zmiller4]

I'm surprised no one's mentioned SXM yet. The approach over the beach has to be seen to be believed! I know it's a thrill both as a passenger and an observer!

St. Maarten isn't actually that cool to fly--there's a bunch of cooler places in the Caribbean.

My favorites in the Caribbean are Tortola/Beef Island in the BVI's and Dominica. Tortola is on a small piece of land between two islands with the ocean immediately off the end of each runway. The runway has less than 4000' beyond the threshold, and there's terrain on final that doesn't allow you a real straight-in--you turn final at <500'. The "approach" is an NDB let-down procedure where you fly a radial outbound, turn back inbound but keep turning away if you don't have the airport in sight.

Dominca is even cooler--with the visual, you don's actually get the airport in sight until you're on final. You have to fly towards a certain banana plantation, then drop into the valley immediately to the south (then you see the airport). There's 5000' terrain within 8mi of the airport (which literally on the beach), and you have to be careful not to hit trees with wingtips.

In the US, I hear Aspen is incredible. The Yosem RNAV arrival into SFO is awesome if you get it (rarely)--it takes you right over the top of Yosemite.

 

[fish314]

Anyone flown "The Widowmaker" HI-TACAN/ILS into Roswell?

Not "cool" but probably the biggest P.I.T.A. approach I've flown.

Oh yeah. That's a good one! I'm always on the lookout for P.I.T.A approaches, or just generally weird ones. BTW, here's the plate for that one: http://204.108.4.16/d-tpp/0707/00354HI21.PDF

Another strange one is the VOR/DME or TACAN 15 to Martin State Airport in Baltimore. http://204.108.4.16/d-tpp/0707/05222VDTZ15.PDF

 

[bike21]

Oh and I forgot one from the GA days...flying pistons into Telluride! Love that place! Nothing like rotating and having the other end of the runway still above you

 

[Malko]

I saw one vote, but as a pax I love going into San Diego. Come in over the hills and right through downtown... Dayuuuuum, those bldgs look close.

 

[C150J]

DCA's Mount Vernon Visual for runway 1, circle to land 33. Nothing like a turning at the marina at 500 feet agl to get lined up JUST over the numbers on a 5200' runway.

 

[Cool2Fly]

Runway 9 at George Charles Airport in St Lucia, when you hit 50ft and pass the control tower you make a left turn to 360. Make sure your left wing doesn't clip the trees.
http://forums.jetcareers.com/attach...-0/3205d1183677739-st-lucia-honeymoon-slu.jpg

The second image is landing runway 9 in Dominica. All the runways down there are usually 9-27 or 10-28 because of the winds.

 

[GrantHubbell]

Departure:
SNA on runway 19

Arrival:
SLC during the winter time at sunset.
DEN during the winter over the mountains.

 

[zmiller4]

Runway 9 at George Charles Airport in St Lucia, when you hit 50ft and pass the control tower you make a left turn to 360. Make sure your left wing doesn't clip the trees.

That one is sweet too--I did a lot of overnights there, and it was awesome flying out first thing in the morning. The approach is cool too.

Great Dominica shot, BTW! I usually was busy clenching the seat at that point on final.

 

[EineBeBoP]

:rawk:ILS 15 into Kissimmee is neat because you fly over Disney World, and at night, FIREWORKS!!!!

Isnt there a restriction over D.World like there is over D. Land? Do they just let you fly through it because your on an approach, or is it off to the side enough that you bypass it?

Favorite by far has been Catalina (KAVX) out on California's barrier islands. The best is a day when the fog doesn't get high enough to cover the airfield but the rest of the island is obscured by fog. Great upsloping runway and DC-3 landing spot. Try the buffalo burgers and give the town of Avalon a flyover as you depart back to LA.

I dream of the day I do my first XC out to there. I've heard such great stories about flying out there.

 

[eagledriver101]

DCA river visual 19 is neat.

Did you say, "neat" and if I read that correctly, all I have to say is OMG.

 

[ERfly]

When I didn't do any flying out west, I loved doing the River Visual to 19 in DCA, the Expressway Visual 13 to LGA and the ILS 11/Circle to Land 29 in EWR.

Now that I'm out west, I love the LOC 27 in to SAN. It's a beautiful view when the weather is nice.

The other one is LOC 28 into MRY. That one is awesome. Hugging the moutains all the way down, beautiful view of the water. It's great.

Biggest P.I.T.A. out here? The SETER and ZIGGY Arrivals into ONT. Oh, let's go from 14000 to 4000 in a period of about 14 miles with 100 light airplanes all around you and a Southwest jet decending right in front of you to land ahead of you.

 

[LoadMasterC141]

Some people have voted these already, but they are some fo my personal favorites too:

Quito, Ecuador
("Uhh Pilot", sayd the Load in the jumpseat, "Thats a BIG mountain in front if us!")

Hong Kong
(I actually think both Airports were cool, but for a pilot I suppose the Kai Tak approach over the city was challenging).

A few people have not mentioned I really liked:
La Paz, Bolivia (Depressurize and on O2 before landing. Very pretty up in the Alps).
Diego Garcia

 

[8LegDay]

Tegucigalpa and Guatemala City. Feels like you are landing on an aircraft carrier parked between the mountains

 

[bike21]

The other one is LOC 28 into MRY. That one is awesome. Hugging the moutains all the way down, beautiful view of the water. It's great.

Love that one too! Especially right at sunset when the light is just gorgeous! To bad most of our overnights are like 9 hours there

 

[BaylorPilot]

Can't top the ILS PRM into ATL. haha

 

[ComplexHiAv8r]

I saw one vote, but as a pax I love going into San Diego. Come in over the hills and right through downtown... Dayuuuuum, those bldgs look close.

We did that approach into SAN when I went out there a few months ago. They were actually adding a floor to a building just (and I mean just) off of the approach.

Lately I like LOC 25 at AKR.......it means I'm home!

 

[Maximilian_Jenius]

SALT LAKE NINE DEPARTURE!

Takeoff on the 16's once gear is stowed, an immediate right hand sharp climbing turn to 340!

Bet alot of SKYW pilots and former MD-90 drivers know what I'm talkin bout!

 

[GaTechKid]

Biggest P.I.T.A. out here? The SETER and ZIGGY Arrivals into ONT. Oh, let's go from 14000 to 4000 in a period of about 14 miles with 100 light airplanes all around you and a Southwest jet decending right in front of you to land ahead of you.

I've always had a RA going into ONT or BUR.

 

[Jayrock]

Favorite by far has been Catalina (KAVX) out on California's barrier islands. The best is a day when the fog doesn't get high enough to cover the airfield but the rest of the island is obscured by fog. Great upsloping runway and DC-3 landing spot. Try the buffalo burgers and give the town of Avalon a flyover as you depart back to LA.

+1

I flew there two weeks ago with the airport sticking out above the cloulds. Great stuff!

 

[Cav]

DCA River Visual is pretty cool although I will say that since the airspace is so constricted and the runways are so short that I can never really relax enough to enjoy the scenery.

NEWARK7 Departure BDR transition...10k eastbound over Central Park

Favorite flight...MEM-EWR at night
MEM.J42.GVE.PHLBO1 topped off with the ILS 22L EWR

Flies over BNA where I learned to fly out of, SW Virginia where I grew up, GVE near Charlottesville where I went to college, and finishes the night off with spectacular views of Washington, Baltimore, Philadelphia, and Midtown Manhattan on the approach. Good stuff.