Best "little" airports?

[Av8trxx]

SBA

People always mention the Elephant Bar, but the Beachside Cafe offers great food and a much better location! Just exit Mercury Air Center, go right and walk up the road, then down the bike path and over to the beach. The Cafe is at the base of the pier and is a 10 minute walk from the FBO. They have indoor & outdoor seating (with a fire pit).

The Beachside Bar-Café
5905 Sandspit Road
Goleta, CA 93117
Phone: 805-964-7881
Hours: M-Thurs 11:30am-10:00pm, F 11:30am-10:30pm, Sat 11:00am-10:30pm, Sun 11:00am-10:00pm

 

[hobbsmeter]

Cedar Key

I have to agree with Surfnole about Cedar Key, it's a wonderful little place to visit. There's a few seafood restaurants and shops on the waterfront to go to, and the biggest thrill for me when I went was looking down and seeing dolphins playing in the water, what a sight.
Keep us posted on your journey, have fun!

 

[snoopy_1]

KBLM on any weekend in the summer.

 

[aero99]

WOW!, I have a lot of homework to do on airnav.com it looks like. Thanks for all the responses!

Just curious if anyone has flown into Grassvally (O17). It is just west of TVL.

Also, I have heard that TVL can be very tricky for first timers. Is this true and if so, what are the issues?

Thanks again guys!

 

[clearprop]

Grass Valley

Sure, I've been into O17 many times. Not much at the field but there is a bus/trolley into town for $1. I fly out of AUN just to the south and there is a decent restaurant there. It's always busy on nice weekends. And remember that the CTAF at O17 is now 122.725. Don't know if it will show up on the new chart due out later this month.

 

[aero99]

Have some family just about 10 min drive from there....

Would you recommend O17 vs. TVL since O17 is a 10 minute drive vs. an hour?

 

[stingray]

TEX Telluride, CO the approach into there is an awesome site, at 9,000+MSL strait into the Rockies. better then Eagle or Aspen
Anyways i was also thinking APF Naples, FL how many of you have gone in there for the Ribs (Michelbob's)

 

[MetroSheriff]

I forgot to mention Half Moon Bay (HMB) on the other side of the hill from SFO. Beautiful scenery, and a two minute walk to the Shorebird Inn Restaurant. Not cheap but DYNOMITE seafood. Park the a/c in the transient parking and stroll down the dirt path thru the trees in corner, you will be right on the wharf. Also try Marys crabshack sitting on the pier. Great food, real cheap.

 

[GuppyPuppy]

South Lake Tahoe (TVL) - Don't hit the mountains and you'll be OK! Straight-in approach to rwy36 from Echo Summit is a chop-and-drop type operation. When departing towards Echo Summit, make climbing 360's over the golf course before tackling the pass.

Carmel Valley and Monterey. Chicks really dig both these areas. Great scenery. Carmel Valley can be a little tricky. Short runway and possible moving obstacles on the runway (5 points for the joggers!).

Santa Barbara - Can't say enough good things about this place. If you stay overnight anywhere near the wharf, be prepared to shell out some bucks. E-bar, beach and UCSB are great attractions.

Columbia - In California just east of Stockton in the Sierra Nevada gold country. Restored gold mining town a 10 minute nature walk from the airport. Camping facilities and showers on the field. Only about 2,300'MSL. Firefighting ops (S-2's and others during summer takeoff on rwy17 and land on rwy34). Great place to visit.

Chino- in S. California. Lots of restored warbirds. Go on a weekend and see the dozens of airplanes being restored. Planes of fame Air Museum on field.

Friday Harbor

 

[MetroSheriff]

Columbia - In California just east of Stockton in the Sierra Nevada gold country. Restored gold mining town a 10 minute nature walk from the airport. Camping facilities and showers on the field. Only about 2,300'MSL. Firefighting ops (S-2's and others during summer takeoff on rwy17 and land on rwy34). Great place to visit.

Agreed, great spot, while you are there, hop over the hill to Pine Mountain Lake.

Chino- in S. California. Lots of restored warbirds. Go on a weekend and see the dozens of airplanes being restored. Planes of fame Air Museum on field.

Friday Harbor

Neat sights at Chino, but the smell...sheesh, bring your own O2. LOL

 

[avbug]

Greybull, WY. Lots of neat equipment you'll find nowhere else, and you'll get closer to it while it's still "alive" than anywhere else, too. Stop at Cody while you're there; good museums.

Grangeville, ID. Good Mexican place at the east end of town at the top of the hill. Little bit of a walk, but Idaho has courtesy cars at all the airports, that can be rented for the day for local use. Well worth it.

Kanab, UT, while you visit and fly over the Grand Canyon, Bryce, and Zion. Go east and hit Monument Valley, and land at Monument. Half paved, one-way, and very scenic.

Polk City, FL. Kermit Weeks museum is worth the visit.

Chino was already mentioned, but I second it. (Caifornia). Go there for the day. SBA is a beautiful place, but expensive.

Yipsilanti, for the Yankee Air Museum.

Liberal Kansas, for the Liberal Air Museum.

Tuweep, AZ. If you go anywhere, land at Tuweep. Take a camera, and make sure your insurance is paid up. Call the GCNP to make sure it's open, too, and for darn sure, drag the strip before you land on it, especially if you have a fabric airplane. Also, take water and food, and carry enough fuel to go somewhere else...there's none at Tuweep.

Whiteriver, AZ. Get with a local before you go there; know what you're in for, but it's a great trip, and there's a good place (several, actually) just a short walk into town. It's on the Whiteriver Apache reservation.

About a million other places. Some of the best places don't have airports...and that's what makes them great to visit from the air. When you're flying, it really doesn't matter where you go or how long it takes to get there, so long as you're happy where you are.

 

[SeaBass]

There's good Mexican in Idaho? My guess would be a twice baked potato and refried beans, eh? Also, Ypsilanti is better known for the great 25 cent drafts at the Diamondback Saloon, Yeeee Hawwww!

SeaBass!

 

[throttlejockey]

Here are a few straight out of my LogbooK:

Friday Harbor (FHR) - San Juan Is. WA.
Crest (S36) - Crest Airpark WA.
Snohomish (S43) Harvey Field WA.
Cook County (CKC) Grand Marais MN.
La Pointe (4R5) Madeline Island WI.
Washington Island (2P2) Washington Island Wi.
Mackinac Island (MCD) Mackinac Island Mi.
Beaver Island (SJX) Beaver Island Mi.
Chicago (CGX) Meigs Field IL.
Lake Placid (LKP) Lake Placid NY.
Cleveland (BKL) Burke Lakefront OH.
Toronto (CYTZ) City Centre Airport ONT.
Ottawa (CYRO) Rockcliffe Aerodrome ONT.
College Park (CGS) College Park, Maryland
Stow (6B6) Minute Man Air Field, MA.
Creve Coeur (1H0) Creve Coeur Mo.

Just a few, I can't remember them all.

BTW - Rockcliffe in Ottawa is also where the Canadian National Air Museum is - very cool stop.

throttlejockey

 

[Ameriagle]

If your travels take you thru Northern California Shelter Cove on the NoCal coast is a must. Beautiful little airport right on the ocean...great view and a nice little bed and breakfast. If you like to camp Trinity Center is also a fun stop. Enjoy.

 

[AWACoff]

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned Lamberts Cafe in Sikeston, MO (SIK). It's in the bootheel. Their motto is "Home of the throwed rolls". It's friggin riot. Every 10 minutes they come out with fresh hot rolls. They are about the size of a softball. The catch is that there are tons of mobiles hanging from the ceiling so in order to get one all the way across the restaurant, they have to really zip 'em. The best was watching some old lady get beaned in the head! They simply handed her one after that. It's all you can eat. A hamburger is about $7 and is the size of your dinner plate. They also come around with huge vats of fried ocra, stewed tomatos and macaroni, and white beans. These are all free with your meal. Also, when you fly in, they pick you up at the airport and take you in through the backdoor if it's busy. Then on your way out, they give you a cinnamon roll and travel mug....for FREE! The mug sells for around $5 or $10 in their gift store. It is not a place to be missed!!!!! There's also a Lamberts in the Springfield, MO area but it sucks compared to the original in Sikeston. Giddyup!

 

[avbug]

Yep, there is some great mexican food in Idaho. That's not surprising, as English is fast becoming a minority language in the western US.

Then again, I got into Sparta (TN) last year, turned on the TV, and there was a spanish station on.

Fresh, made by folks who learned to cook it in mexico, served hot, and plenty to go around. Good stuff. I was having dinner at the little resteraunt in Grangeville once, outside on the porch. I was talking to one of the cooks/owners, a young man about twenty five or so. He liked to come over and talk, as I speak Spanish. Half way through the conversation, he excused himself, jumped over the wrought iron railing, ran down the block and leveled some guy who was hasseling a girl. He ran back up to the restraunt, jumped back over the railing, and said, "now, where were we?"

Good folks, good food.

 

[IDpilot]

Hey easy on the Idaho bashing. We have some of the most chalenging strips in some of the most beatiful land in the country. Problem is most of you Nancy Boys can't hack it in the back country.

 

[TDTURBO]

Stingray,

Here is an excellent shot of Telluride airport of a King Air departing 27.............



http://www.cessna.org/forums/attachments/9498-b200_01wallpaper800.jpg

 

[Mike Reyna]

Here are a few straight out of my LogbooK:

Friday Harbor (FHR) - San Juan Is. WA.
Crest (S36) - Crest Airpark WA.
Snohomish (S43) Harvey Field WA.


throttlejockey

Looks like you've been to a few in my neck of the woods. Snohomish is just a couple miles away from where I live.
Oh, I also want to add Boeing Field (BFI)-Seattle, WA, Wauseon, Ohio (USE), Goshen, IN (GSH), & Muncie, IN (MIE).


Mikie

 

[Boss_BlueAngels]

How small are you talking?

If you're looking for an old fashoned, home town type of airport then I have the one for you! Its a small, 1,700 foot strip, 34 foot wide airport in western Washington state called "Firstair Field" and is W16... This place is awesome... in the early morning, and late evenings, though, you have to watch out for a family of deer and cyotes that live near the field. The FBO is a small double-wide trailer thing, the schools fleet consists of two Cessna 150's, and a Mooney Mk21... Not even any fencing around the air field. Can be VERY, VERY tricky to land at, specially for the Mooney... I've seen it take some students 7 ATTEMPTS before they even got the wheels close to the ground!! We have an old 1940's fuel truck, and if you come on Saturdays we always have a bowl of soup waiting for out-of-towners.

The last out-of-towners we had here were in a Cessna 206 Amphib with turboprop, and we took the guys out to lunch, and in return they gave us a quick trip in the pattern in their plane.

Hope this helps!
God bless!