See inline responses, below...

On Sun, 30 Nov 2003 14:09:26 GMT, David Megginson
wrote:

I'll be flying from Ottawa to Philadelphia next weekend for a week-long
conference, and would be grateful for hints and information from people
familiar with the U.S. portion of the route.

I couldn't find any preferred low-level routing in Canadian or U.S. sources
-- I also tried Syracuse to Philadelphia -- so I've decided on a fairly
simple (to file) routing:

CYOW DEP YSH V145 ART V29 PTW ARR KPHL

Here's the full route:

CYOW Ottawa Intl Airport
YSH Smith Falls NDB
ART Watertown VOR
SYR Syracuse VOR
CFB Binghamton VOR
LVZ Wilkes-Barre VOR
ETX East Texas VOR
PTW Pottstown VOR
KPHL Philadelphia Intl Airport

Here are my questions:

1. Am I likely to get this routing if I file it? Perhaps someone familiar
with the U.S. portion (say, Syracuse to Philadelphia) can comment.
Kind of unpredictable. File it that way if you want, but I would suggest
clearing US Customs close to the border (see below).

2. I'd prefer to land KPHL 26 for Atlantic Aviation, winds permitting. Is
it easy to get the ILS 26 approach? Once I'm in the Philly Approach area,
how will they be likely to route or vector me onto the approach? How do
they normally handle low-level, slow (Cherokee) IFR arrivals from the north?
You will be vectored, almost certainly. They will probably have defined
landing and takeoff runways (listen to ATIS in advance). You can always ask
for an exception, but it'll probably delay your landing.


3. Atlantic Aviation gets glowing reviews on AirNav.com. Any extra hints or
advice? Can I get tie-downs, or am I stuck with chocks?

4. How flexible is customs and immigration in Philly? Are they easy to work
with? I can always land and clear U.S. customs at Watertown or Syracuse if
Philadelphia is going to be a pain.
My suggestion is to clear in Syracuse or Watertown. If the customs guy is
on-site in watrerown, do it there -- if he has to drive out to the airport,
do it in Syracuse. Waiting until you get to Plilly is dangerous, as an
unexpected diversion (weather, engine trouble, or just a too-full bladder)
will cause you all sorts of grief if you are expected at PHL.

Also, do not rely on ADCUS -- phone the local Customs number for whichever
airport you finally select.


5. Any special issues with ATS enroute?
Should be straigtforward.


6. Anything I haven't thought of asking?
Not offhand -- I assume that you have current charts and airport info
(AF/D), and approach plates if you are filing IFR.


Thank you all in advance for any help. Despite the occasional flamewar, I
find that this newsground has the most useful content of any of the
rec.aviation groups.


All the best,


David

p.s. If you want to reply directly, use "david" at "megginson" dot "com".