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Training at Class B Airports

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Delta3

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 28, 2001
Posts
136
It's surprising to see so many flight schools based at them.

I guess that would be the best place to learn radio calls.

How do they handle the heavy traffic?
 
I know that Sawyer at PHX used to rebate any taxi time over .2, so if it was real busy you didn't get to ripped off. Saywer ended up moving to Scottsdale after 9/11. I don't know of any other schools located at Class B airports.

I've flown out of Class B airports and found them no different from other busy airports. However, I work at an airport (Class D) where I've waited aslong as thirty minutes to depart, so my perspective is a bit skewed. :)
 
One of my friends, training at RDU, is enjoying his training there.

Surprisingly, he didn't complain once about high traffic levels or wasting flight time in a line-up. Plus I think RDU is one of the few/only Class B's w/ no landing fees (correct me if I'm wrong).

Curious to know what Class B's have instruction? I know BOS doesn't want anything to do w/ student pilots w/o an instructor in the airplane.
 
RDU is not Class B - it's Class C - although it would like to be Class B.

With the demise of Midway it's very easy to get in and out of.

Mat
 
lol, you're right... i lived in new york all my life, so what the hell do i know about the south, other than nothing.. lol :p
 
Fletcher at Houston Hobby. I've flown out of there quite a bit and rarely get delayed more than 5 minutes or so. Everyone seems to get along pretty well. Never beenn charged a landing fee there - in my plane or any other.
 
SLC

flying out of SLC isn't bad at all. Runway 17/35 is used for most of the GA traffic, and even though it is shared by a couple of flight schools and all the private jets and cargo guys, I've never had to wait the 15-20 minutes I've waited at busy Class D airports. 121 folks have 16/34 R and L to use and there are on the other side. Then again, SLC isn't as busy as LAX, PHX, BOS, etc. I'm sure.
 
Flying out of the class D at Orlando Executive is the hardest airport to get in and out of that i've ever been to. This includes MCO. You can wait up to 30 minutes for IFR or VFR release. Not to mention being vectored 25 miles out for the ILS in beautiful VFR weather. You may be #9 out there behind anything from a 737 (miami heat) to global expresses to c152s. That calls for some pretty crafty work for everyone from the controllers to the pilots. It's a pretty intense area.
 
Hey Wiggums,

I got my pvt with Sawyer at Sky Harbor back in 1998. That was a great learning experience. In fact, that was the reason I chose to fly there. I figured the earlier I got used to class B, the better I'd be on the radios and I loved being #10 for take-off in between a 757 and DC-10 in a C-152, knowing that anything over .2 was free!
I remember coming back from my first solo cross-country to Tucson...I was doing 360's abeam the numbers when they cleared me to land behind the DC-10, but wanted me to keep my speed up because a MD-11 was on a 4 mile final. I think I floated 3000' down the runway trying to land beyond the DC-10's touchdown point, yet trying to get off the runway ASAP!

And Flyboy,

I instructed for a year out of Orlando Exec and it is an excellent airport to learn to fly from. There are so many different floors/ceilings of class B in the area, you really have to know where you are at all times. If you haven't done so already, schedule a tour of the tower and talk to those guys. You can really learn a lot from the controllers, plus they'll tell you what they like and what they hate. After a while, they'll recognize your voice and give you preferential treatment. I used to take my pvt students over there when the weather was bad instead of cancelling all together. Every one of them really seemed to relax a little and not be so nervous after they met the tower controllers.
 
Flyboy quoted:

"Flying out of the class D at Orlando Executive is the hardest airport to get in and out of that i've ever been to. This includes MCO. You can wait up to 30 minutes for IFR or VFR release. Not to mention being vectored 25 miles out for the ILS in beautiful VFR weather. You may be #9 out there behind anything from a 737 (miami heat) to global expresses to c152s. That calls for some pretty crafty work for everyone from the controllers to the pilots. It's a pretty intense area."


Sounds like a normal day of flying and what I trained in. This is about the norm just about any weekday at ADS and the surrounding airports at DFW.

To answer the original question, it is a very good enviornment to learn in. I am glad I trained where I did and I think it had alot to do with what kinda pilot I became. I have some friends that trained out of uncontrolled feilds and it seems that this is really all they feel comfortable in. Nothing wrong with that if your just a recreation pilot.

I remember my first few flights when I actually started talking on the radios, and sometimes I was more affraid of that than flying the aircraft. It can be hard at first for student pilots and almost overwhelming at times. But, again, I think that is the best training ground.

I just do recreation flying for now and I don't mind flying into the congested airspaces. If I had trained somewhere else I might not have that same confidence.
 

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