Jim Burns wrote:
I'm about 6 hours away from making reservations for the end of March. We
plan on spending about a week down there. Where's everybody staying?
Jim

"bsalai" wrote in message
...
I'm going to Key West for a few days next month, and am going to try to
fly a little.

Any ideas on things to see?

Brad

I've done the trip a few times, it's a blast! Coming from west palm
(or the east coast in general), some pilots take the shortcut across
the swamps and over the water. I never thought that was a very good
idea.

I recommend going VFR and following the coastline to US 1. First of
all, it is a much more scenic route, which is half the fun of going
there. Second, there are some airports along the way, such as Ocean
Reef (private), MTH, etc. You might not be able to land on US 1
because of powerlines and traffic, but at least you are near help if
you ditch. Can't say the same for the swamps and the Gulf. FLL and
MIA ATC are very accomodating and will treat you well. Just don't be a
radio dork, it is busy down there until you get to Homestead. FLL will
keep you about 500 ft agl and 1 sm offshore. Nice view of the beach
from there!

Once you get to Key West (don't mistake it for the naval facility, duh)
find a place to park (try calling ahead to make sure there's room on
the ramp, it gets busy until summer). If you want to go downtown,
which of course you do, take the bus from the airport (but take a cab
back, NOT the bus! - trust me on this!).

Places to see... Well everything on Duval street (Sloppy Joes, etc.)
is fun. Once you're sick of bars or before you even start that whole
crazy scene, I highly recommend visiting the Mel Fisher treasure
museum:
http://www.melfisher.org/

You will be blown away by the treasure there, and you can even touch
and pick up a real gold bar. Very cool place.

Oh yeah, stay away from that blimp when you're flying down there. Have
fun and if you have any questions please feel free to ask. I'm
jealous, I'm staring out my window at another 6" of snow coming down in
Denver.

Sam