Worst/Best Airports

smack300

smack300

Well-Known Member
Just wondering what are some of the worst or best airports that you fly out of? Not like security checks, but like approaches or noise abatement.
 
In the South for commercial airports/Part 121:
- Tampa and St. Pete: Nice approaches coming in off the bay
- Key West - What's not to love?

The Northwest:
- Seattle, WA: The Bay Visual to the 16's, great in the summer when you can see the Olympic and Cascade Mountains/Mt. Rainer.
- Victoria, BC: Just beautiful all the way in
- Missoula, MT: Flying down the valley when arriving from the west.
- Kalispell, MT: Great scenery
- Sun Valley, ID: 1 way in, 1 way out with high terrain/high altitude/high temps...a challenging fun.
 
SurferLucas said:
In the South for commercial airports/Part 121:
- Tampa and St. Pete: Nice approaches coming in off the bay
- Key West - What's not to love?

The Northwest:
- Seattle, WA: The Bay Visual to the 16's, great in the summer when you can see the Olympic and Cascade Mountains/Mt. Rainer.
- Victoria, BC: Just beautiful all the way in
- Missoula, MT: Flying down the valley when arriving from the west.
- Kalispell, MT: Great scenery
- Sun Valley, ID: 1 way in, 1 way out with high terrain/high altitude/high temps...a challenging fun.
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Key west? I don't love the baloon, or landing at the naval air base.
 
Traffic, flow times, traffic, high landing and fuel fees, annoying arrival and departure procedures, traffic.

My list:

Worst
-AVP (they CAN NOT manage traffic at all... ever.)
-ABE (on weekends it is a nightmare trying to fit a jet into the cessna pattern)
-BHM (the TSA and I have had an ongoing battle for 4 years)

BEST
-Philly (LOT'S of food options during long sits)
-DCA (tower people love having us come up and bother them)
-BTV tied with PWM (for the prettiest approaches)
 
Anywhere scenic is good to me. BTV and PWM as mentioned. ROA and AVL are good too.

My least favorites are anywhere in Ohio (CAK, DAY, Etc.) because they are usually accompanied by a long overnight in a crummy hotel with nothing to do.

I also hate ORD with a passion. That place was designed drunk in a bar on the back of a napkin. Combine the fact that it's often so busy they don't allow you to read back clearances it's no wonder they have so many runway incursions.
 
BobDDuck said:
Worst
-AVP (they CAN NOT manage traffic at all... ever.)
Click to expand...

I've been here twice now so maybe I got lucky, but each time we got in and out just fine. One day was low IFR too. Pretty fun overnight too.

ORD has to be the worst to deal with. Random runway configs, weird taxi routes, congested ground freqs, busy alleys, and bad at dealing with weather. The controllers do a great job with what they have though.
 
Screaming_Emu said:
I also hate ORD with a passion. That place was designed drunk in a bar on the back of a napkin. Combine the fact that it's often so busy they don't allow you to read back clearances it's no wonder they have so many runway incursions.
Click to expand...

There are just three simple rules to ORD:

1) Follow the guy in front of you.
2) Don't stop.
3) Don't stop, ever.
 
Airports I think are great to fly into (unfortunately, I haven't had the opportunity to fly into some of the great GA airports...)
1) Meigs - RIP
2) DCA - ILS to 1 circle to 33 at night and the LDA 19...both rewarding when done right, and a fun challenge compared to ILS to >8000' concrete all day
3) EYW - Visual to 9 in the evening with a cruise ship docked downtown....
4) DFW - It was a ball during the heyday.
5) ORD - Same reason as DFW....lots of metal moving, lots of professionals getting stuff done.
6) Mackinac Island MI
7) LAX - I'm not really sure why, but I like flying in there
Finally 8) 2J8 - Pierson FL. GA flying as it was meant to be. Grass strip, a picnic table, no fences and lots of fun.

Airports I can never fly into again and not be upset:

1) PHL - makes you want to gouge your eyeballs out with rusty spoons.
2) DEN - Nice airport, just boring
3) ORF - Sorry bro, you just can't stick a jet 5 miles behind a Baron and expect it to work out. The thing is, it was an everyday occurrence.
4) Nassau - for 2 reasons, and mainly superficial: a) It was always the last turn at the end of a 4 day. You could get in 30 mins early, but you'd leave 45 late 3) Giant crater at the turn off that would fill with water.
 
Anyone flown out of SNA? you have to turn the plane into a ballistic missile to avoid the noise sensors.
 
You know what's scary is that one you hit LNAV out of JFK, the next button you push is APPROACH because you can hit a couple directs, fly the track, fly the airways that lead to a STAR that lead to an approach transition that lead to the IAF.

How much I long for arrival to leave me high, fast and abeam the numbers and clear me for the visual!
 
Doug Taylor said:
You know what's scary is that one you hit LNAV out of JFK, the next button you push is APPROACH because you can hit a couple directs, fly the track, fly the airways that lead to a STAR that lead to an approach transition that lead to the IAF.

How much I long for arrival to leave me high, fast and abeam the numbers and clear me for the visual!
Click to expand...

As much as I am desperately trying to leave the world of regional hell, I am slightly worried that doing STARS to 10 mile finals every single day is going to drive me crazy. There is something to be said for being left at FL250 40 miles from the airport and being cleared for a visual approach from there (I'm looking at you Mobile...)
 
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