Light single into KBOS, KPVD, or KIAD?

[xyzzy]

Looks like this Friday I may be picking up a family member on the way
to KHYA. I'll be leaving from KTTA in NC and we're trying to decide
which airport would be better to pick up a pax at in a C172. The
choices are KBOS, KPVD, or KIAD (she's in Syracuse and will have to
fly commercial to one of those airports). Airnav shows high landing/
ramp fees and expensive FBO's at all of them. KBOS looks like the
worst. Anyone have any experience or recommendations for either of
those airports? TIA.

[Steve Foley]

"xyzzy" > wrote in message
ups.com...
> Looks like this Friday I may be picking up a family member on the way
> to KHYA. I'll be leaving from KTTA in NC and we're trying to decide
> which airport would be better to pick up a pax at in a C172. The
> choices are KBOS, KPVD, or KIAD (she's in Syracuse and will have to
> fly commercial to one of those airports). Airnav shows high landing/
> ramp fees and expensive FBO's at all of them. KBOS looks like the
> worst. Anyone have any experience or recommendations for either of
> those airports? TIA.
>

Although it was ten years ago, I flew into PVD on my dual cross country as a
student. I do remember waiting a loooong time waiting to cross the runway to
get back to the end. After about fifteen minutes, I was told I could cross,
or do an intersection departure.

I took the intersection.

I wouldn't consider BOS or IAD.

In any event, she'll still need to get from the terminal to the GA ramp.

[Brad[_1_]]

On Mar 27, 1:51 pm, "xyzzy" > wrote:
> Looks like this Friday I may be picking up a family member on the way
> to KHYA. I'll be leaving from KTTA in NC and we're trying to decide
> which airport would be better to pick up a pax at in a C172. The
> choices are KBOS, KPVD, or KIAD (she's in Syracuse and will have to
> fly commercial to one of those airports). Airnav shows high landing/
> ramp fees and expensive FBO's at all of them. KBOS looks like the
> worst. Anyone have any experience or recommendations for either of
> those airports? TIA.

IAD (Dulles) should not be a problem in a GA aircraft. Let approach
know which FBO you plan to visit so they can sequence you to the
correct runway. There's some long taxiing if you don't.

BWI's not an option? That's another easy airport along your route
that generally has cheap airfare.

[Peter R.]

On 3/27/2007 1:51:36 PM, "xyzzy" wrote:

> The
> choices are KBOS, KPVD, or KIAD (she's in Syracuse and will have to
> fly commercial to one of those airports).

Just curious why you won't consider picking up your friend in Syracuse?
Coming from North Carolina, the diversion can't be that much out of the way,
no?

I have been to Boston Logan many times in both a C172 and a Bonanza V35, but
all were conducted under the Angel Flight callsign. From what I have heard,
KBOS is expensive to non-charity GA during the week and less expensive on
weekends.

--
Peter

[Cary]

On Mar 27, 12:51 pm, "xyzzy" > wrote:
> Looks like this Friday I may be picking up a family member on the way
> to KHYA. I'll be leaving from KTTA in NC and we're trying to decide
> which airport would be better to pick up a pax at in a C172. The
> choices are KBOS, KPVD, or KIAD (she's in Syracuse and will have to
> fly commercial to one of those airports). Airnav shows high landing/
> ramp fees and expensive FBO's at all of them. KBOS looks like the
> worst. Anyone have any experience or recommendations for either of
> those airports? TIA.

I flew from Minneapolis to Providence in an SR22 last June. The fees
at the FBO weren't too high but I did buy fuel at the FBO. I was not
impressed with the facilities compared to other airports, but if you
don't need the facilities it will work. The terminal is on the other
side of the airport from the FBO, but it should not be difficult to
get from the terminal to the FBO. I suspect that someone at the FBO
would be willing to drive you over there to pick up your passenger.

Cary

[Jose]

> The choices are KBOS, KPVD, or KIAD

I've been to KBOS once, many years ago, when they had a sale. (Five
dollar landing fee.) I found flying in to be very efficient, and flying
out to be easy considering the size of the airport.

I've flown in and out of KIAD and always found it to be a pain. It
takes forever to taxi, the ramp is far from the runway (plan ahead and
land long), the tiedowns are far from the FBO (they take you back and
forth by bus), the airport itself is in the middle of nowhere, and
there's this ADIZ to deal with. Feh.

I've never been to KPVD. It actually sounds like the most interesting
one of the bunch.

In either case your passenger will probably not be able to go straight
to your airplane, he or she will have to go through (exit) security at
the airline terminal when they pick up their bags, and then come to the
FBO like a civilian.

Jose
--
Get high on gasoline: fly an airplane.
for Email, make the obvious change in the address.

[FLAV8R]

"xyzzy" > wrote in message ..
> Looks like this Friday I may be picking up a family member on the way
> to KHYA. I'll be leaving from KTTA in NC and we're trying to decide
> which airport would be better to pick up a pax at in a C172. The
> choices are KBOS, KPVD, or KIAD (she's in Syracuse and will have to
> fly commercial to one of those airports). Airnav shows high landing/
> ramp fees and expensive FBO's at all of them. KBOS looks like the
> worst. Anyone have any experience or recommendations for either of
> those airports? TIA.
>

With a 193 mile difference I would just pickup your friend at KSYR
and save yourself all the hassle of the other airports.
Not to mention the cost of your friends commercial flight should more
than pay for your additional fuel.

David

[Jim Macklin]

Why not get her at Syracuse?


"xyzzy" > wrote in message
ups.com...
| Looks like this Friday I may be picking up a family member
on the way
| to KHYA. I'll be leaving from KTTA in NC and we're trying
to decide
| which airport would be better to pick up a pax at in a
C172. The
| choices are KBOS, KPVD, or KIAD (she's in Syracuse and
will have to
| fly commercial to one of those airports). Airnav shows
high landing/
| ramp fees and expensive FBO's at all of them. KBOS looks
like the
| worst. Anyone have any experience or recommendations for
either of
| those airports? TIA.
|

[B A R R Y[_2_]]

xyzzy wrote:
> Anyone have any experience or recommendations for either of
> those airports? TIA.
>

PVD isn't free, but it's not that bad. I seem to remember $25 for a
ramp fee last time I actually parked at the FBO there. Usually, I'm
just swapping seats, so I stop over near the cargo ramp.

Can she fly commercial to BDL or Stewart (can't remember the ID)? They
may be other alternatives.

[Dave Butler]

> xyzzy wrote:
>> Anyone have any experience or recommendations for either of
>> those airports? TIA.

Another option that hasn't been mentioned is PHL. There are inexpensive
flights from SYR to PHL, if your pax insists on flying commercial part
way. PHL is busy but not GA unfriendly. DB

[xyzzy]

On Mar 27, 1:51 pm, "xyzzy" > wrote:
> Looks like this Friday I may be picking up a family member on the way
> to KHYA. I'll be leaving from KTTA in NC and we're trying to decide
> which airport would be better to pick up a pax at in a C172. The
> choices are KBOS, KPVD, or KIAD (she's in Syracuse and will have to
> fly commercial to one of those airports). Airnav shows high landing/
> ramp fees and expensive FBO's at all of them. KBOS looks like the
> worst. Anyone have any experience or recommendations for either of
> those airports? TIA.

Thank you everybody for the advice.

In answer to some questions:

1. Why not pick her up at SYR? If I owned a plane I would do that and
it would be a no brainer. That would probably be a better flight
because it would avoid going through NYC like going straight to HYA
would. But this is a club plane, and there are scheduling issues.
She needs to be in SYR at a specific time which would require me to
get the plane for a day earlier than I had originally scheduled, and
it is not available then. Feh. This is the time for all the owners to
smile and say that the extra expense is worth it :). In nearly four
years of being a club pilot this is the only time it's really bitten
me hard.

2. Why not BWI or PHL? simply because those didn't come up when she
was searching flights from SYR. We did go look again for those
cities.

The final conclusion was that commercial flights for her to meet me
are just prohibitively expensive because we're looking at buying
tickets a day or two in advance with no Saturday stayover, and
Southwest does not serve SYR. There is a funeral involved, which is
why it wasn't planned farther in advance. So there will be no pickup
at commercial airports.

[Jose]

> But this is a club plane, and there are scheduling issues.

IS there an FBO around where you could rent a plane? It's a shame to
rent when you have a club plane, but if it's not available...

Jose
--
Get high on gasoline: fly an airplane.
for Email, make the obvious change in the address.

[Dave Butler]

xyzzy wrote:

> There is a funeral involved,

Hope you checked the airlines for "bereavement fares".

DB

[xyzzy]

On Mar 28, 10:29 am, Dave Butler > wrote:
> xyzzy wrote:
> > There is a funeral involved,
>
> Hope you checked the airlines for "bereavement fares".

yeah, gets it down from like $1600 to $1500. They aren't as generous
as they used to be.

[xyzzy]

On Mar 28, 10:29 am, Jose > wrote:
> > But this is a club plane, and there are scheduling issues.
>
> IS there an FBO around where you could rent a plane? It's a shame to
> rent when you have a club plane, but if it's not available...

Not without doing a full checkout, which there isn't time for because
the departure time is either tomorrow or Friday

[Jose]

> Not without doing a full checkout, which there isn't time for because
> the departure time is either tomorrow or Friday

That is tight, but I've never had a checkout take more than two hours,
and I could take the plane that day.

Jose
--
Get high on gasoline: fly an airplane.
for Email, make the obvious change in the address.

[Borat]

KPVD
"xyzzy" > wrote in message
ups.com...
> Looks like this Friday I may be picking up a family member on the way
> to KHYA. I'll be leaving from KTTA in NC and we're trying to decide
> which airport would be better to pick up a pax at in a C172. The
> choices are KBOS, KPVD, or KIAD (she's in Syracuse and will have to
> fly commercial to one of those airports). Airnav shows high landing/
> ramp fees and expensive FBO's at all of them. KBOS looks like the
> worst. Anyone have any experience or recommendations for either of
> those airports? TIA.
>

[Barry]

> Another option that hasn't been mentioned is PHL. There are inexpensive
> flights from SYR to PHL, if your pax insists on flying commercial part way.
> PHL is busy but not GA unfriendly. DB

The last time I flew into PHL I had to pay a $20 landing fee plus $20 ramp
fee. They would have waived the ramp fee had I bought fuel at a very high
price.

[Dave Butler]

Barry wrote:
>> Another option that hasn't been mentioned is PHL. There are inexpensive
>> flights from SYR to PHL, if your pax insists on flying commercial part way.
>> PHL is busy but not GA unfriendly. DB
>
> The last time I flew into PHL I had to pay a $20 landing fee plus $20 ramp
> fee. They would have waived the ramp fee had I bought fuel at a very high
> price.

Come to think of it, I was on Angel Flight missions both times when I've
been there, so they prolly waived the fees for Angel Flight. DB

[andrew m. boardman]

Dave Butler > wrote about PHL:
>Come to think of it, I was on Angel Flight missions both times when I've
>been there, so they prolly waived the fees for Angel Flight. DB

It's still a decent place. You pretty much invariably get 8/26 and 35/17
for a short uncomplicated taxi to/from Atlantic. Parking fees are a bit
weird and variable but often waived for short stays and fuel purchases,
and there is (was?) a weekend discount for fuel. (And "fill it up
tomorrow morning so I get a discount" worked fine.) Even getting in and
out when they're busy isn't hard due to the runway layout, though
Clearance Delivery can be a zoo.

With regard to the original question, despite that I live near Boston I'd
go *anywhere* before BOS, even JFK. OK, so JFK is actually pretty nice
and amazingly reasonably priced, but BOS is a pit. And an expensive pit.

[Robert Chambers]

Either that or perhaps BDL Bradley in CT, it's a class C and has
frequent commercial flights but is friendly to GA.

Peter R. wrote:
> On 3/27/2007 1:51:36 PM, "xyzzy" wrote:
>
>
>>The
>>choices are KBOS, KPVD, or KIAD (she's in Syracuse and will have to
>>fly commercial to one of those airports).
>
>
> Just curious why you won't consider picking up your friend in Syracuse?
> Coming from North Carolina, the diversion can't be that much out of the way,
> no?
>
> I have been to Boston Logan many times in both a C172 and a Bonanza V35, but
> all were conducted under the Angel Flight callsign. From what I have heard,
> KBOS is expensive to non-charity GA during the week and less expensive on
> weekends.
>

[Judah]

"xyzzy" > wrote in news:1175017895.106689.162120
@o5g2000hsb.googlegroups.com:

> Looks like this Friday I may be picking up a family member on the way
> to KHYA. I'll be leaving from KTTA in NC and we're trying to decide
> which airport would be better to pick up a pax at in a C172. The
> choices are KBOS, KPVD, or KIAD (she's in Syracuse and will have to
> fly commercial to one of those airports). Airnav shows high landing/
> ramp fees and expensive FBO's at all of them. KBOS looks like the
> worst. Anyone have any experience or recommendations for either of
> those airports? TIA.
>

PVD is pretty good, and it's close to the destination. It's moderately GA
friendly... I haven't been there in a while, but I have picked up passengers
there in the last year or two and it was pretty easy. I think $20 or so for
the turn around, and I may have gotten it partially waived by buying some
gas.

I see many flights from Syracuse that might not be too far out of the way and
have service besides the ones you listed, though...

HPN and BDL are also light-GA friendly. I saw a flight SYR-BDL for just about
$10 more than SYR-PVD, but I don't know your exact plans...

Logan is probably not a good choice, and while I have heard Dulles is GA
friendly, I suspect PVD will be easier.

[Ray Andraka]

xyzzy wrote:

> Looks like this Friday I may be picking up a family member on the way
> to KHYA. I'll be leaving from KTTA in NC and we're trying to decide
> which airport would be better to pick up a pax at in a C172. The
> choices are KBOS, KPVD, or KIAD (she's in Syracuse and will have to
> fly commercial to one of those airports). Airnav shows high landing/
> ramp fees and expensive FBO's at all of them. KBOS looks like the
> worst. Anyone have any experience or recommendations for either of
> those airports? TIA.
>

Well, this is after tha fact, but being based at PVD I thought I'd pipe
in. PVD is easy to fly in and out of and it isn't very busy compared to
the others you are considering, or for that matter compared to some busy
class D airports like Bedford or Teterboro. The only FBO, Northstar, is
not the most friendly, so just be prepared for that. Last time I went
through the Nortstar "terminal" there was still no airline style
security to go through. You do need to be escorted on the ramp, but
that's about it. Being based there, I don't know what the landing fees
are (aircraft based in RI don't pay any landing/handling fees at any of
the RI airports). Gas is cheaper than most large airports in the
region, but considerably more than small airports like Newport and
Westerly. Last I checked it was $4.95/gal. The FBO is on the north
side of the airport away from the main terminal which is on the east
side. You'll need a ride between the two. If the FBO isn't busy, you
can probably get a ride from them, but I wouldn't count on it. It is
about a 1-1/2 mile walk if you don't get a ride.

I've flown quite a bit into BOS for angel flight. It isn't especially
difficult if you are proficient with the radio and instrument
procedures. It would be quite intimidating to someone who's never flown
into a class B hub airport. The fees there range from appalling to
staggering depending on the time of day, although I can say that I've
never paid them because AF is exempt. Gas there is also expensive, I
bought that once and it made PVD's gas look like bargain basement stuff
by comparison. PVD by comparison is a much easier airport in terms of
air traffic control, taxiing, fees and ease of getting in/out of the
airport on the ground. Neither has outstanding facilities for GA. The
GA facility at BOS is also somewhat away from the main terminal,
although I believe you can get the airport shuttle in front of the GA
terminals.

I've also flown into BWI quite a bit. The facilities are nicer than BOS
and the fees are very reasonable comparatively speaking. GA generally
uses a runway the air carriers do not use, and it is a short taxi to
signature. The signature terminal is quite a distance from the main
terminal, but they are pretty good at getting you a ride if you need it.