slightly o.t. landing at big airports

i live near a big airport in the nw all kinds of jumbo, extended, huge
planes landing all the time
and

every now and then you see a little single engine one landing

what is the deal?

a death wish or?
can they just land if they want to?

thanks

bill

Most likely is an air taxi from somewhere nearby. Or someone just dropping
off or picking up a passenger. I don't know how they handle TSA scrrening
these days.

The problem is not so much landing as it is leaving. Not only do you have
to get ATC clearance, but the problem of getting sufficient separation to
avoid wake turbulence can cause major delays. You can find yourself
sitting in the grass waiting for a line of jets to clear.

Wally
been there done that

In article zhs3b.286009$Ho3.39431@sccrnsc03,
"Wally Samuelson" wrote:

Most likely is an air taxi from somewhere nearby. Or someone just dropping
off or picking up a passenger. I don't know how they handle TSA scrrening
these days.

The problem is not so much landing as it is leaving. Not only do you have
to get ATC clearance, but the problem of getting sufficient separation to
avoid wake turbulence can cause major delays. You can find yourself
sitting in the grass waiting for a line of jets to clear.

Wally
been there done that



It is a "no brainer" to land at major airports. The big problem is
uaually that FBOs and airport operators at the majors hate small planes
and their pilots. To discourage thaem they often impose landing fees,
ramp fees and exhorbitant fuel prices.

--
To get random signatures put text files into a folder called ³Random Signatures² into your Preferences folder.

The problem is not so much landing as it is leaving. Not only do you have
to get ATC clearance, but the problem of getting sufficient separation to
avoid wake turbulence can cause major delays. You can find yourself
sitting in the grass waiting for a line of jets to clear.

I just happened to post about that on another newsgroup yesterday, so
I'll repeat it here with minor changes:

I haven't found that getting in or out of big airports is a problem,
except at rush hours, when everyone else waits in line, too.

At DCA, the tower guys are sharp; they clear me to land my Chrokee on
one of the two cross-runways while the big iron is landing or taking
off on the long one (18-36).

They get me out the same way, while the big jets suffer long waiting
lines. One morning, after sleeping in the lounge because the
thunderstorms had closed the field, I heard ATIS saying to expect a
two-hour delay in departing. Ground cleared me to runway 3 and then
the tower cleared me to take off between two jets taking off on 36. I
was out of there about as fast as if I'd had the field to myself.

Little guys are treated just as well as the big guys. Once I called
Dulles approach and was cleared in. The next voice
said, in a heavy accent,

"Dooles Approach, thees ees Air Frawnce 224, landing Dooles."

Dulles came back, "Air France 224, you're number two behind the
Cherokee."

Made my day!

I always get "into the system" by requesting flight following long
before I arrive at a big airport. (I do it on almost all flights,
anyway.) That way, Approach Control is expecting me, I get handed off
to them and it goes like clockwork.

vince norris

"vincent p. norris" wrote in message

At DCA, the tower guys are sharp; they clear me to land my Chrokee on
one of the two cross-runways while the big iron is landing or taking
off on the long one (18-36).

This is really past tense, isn't it? DCA (National Airport) has been closed
to general aviation aircraft without specific TSA waivers since 9/11.


--�
Tom Schoene Replace "invalid" with "net" to e-mail
"If brave men and women never died, there would be nothing
special about bravery." -- Andy Rooney (attributed)

At most American airports, most of the time, a Cessna 172 (or even a
Piper Cub if has the requisite communications gear, to wit: a two-way
radio and a transponder) can land if the pilot is willing to pay the
landing fee.

For obvious reasons--having to do with cost and the time wasted in the
pattern and taxiing--most private pilots prefer to land at smaller
airports within commuting distance of the large city. Teeterboro is
one such for Manhattan. You take a limo into the city.

all the best -- Dan Ford
email: www.danford.net/letters.htm#9

see the Warbird's Forum at www.warbirdforum.com
and the Piper Cub Forum at www.pipercubforum.com

Cub Driver wrote:

At most American airports, most of the time, a Cessna 172 (or even a
Piper Cub if has the requisite communications gear, to wit: a two-way
radio and a transponder) can land if the pilot is willing to pay the
landing fee.

I've been flying since 1987 as both a professional and recreational
pilot (more than 4000 hrs. logged) and have *never* paid a landing fee
regardless of airport size.

-Mike (don't do no steenkin' landing fees) Marron

ok
thanks

so it is not that unusual but i still think you kind of have to have
very big gonads and be very very confident and knowledgable

thanks

bill

At DCA, the tower guys are sharp; they clear me to land my Chrokee on
one of the two cross-runways while the big iron is landing or taking
off on the long one (18-36).

This is really past tense, isn't it? DCA (National Airport) has been closed
to general aviation aircraft without specific TSA waivers since 9/11.

Yeah, Tom, I suppose I should have added "ed" to that word "clear."

But the tower cleared me that way a number of times, so I thought of
it as an ongoing situation.

Obviously I haven't landed there since 9-11.

vince norris

so it is not that unusual but i still think you kind of have to have
very big gonads
On the contrary. I'm an old pilot because I've always avoided being a
bold pilot.

and be very very confident and knowledgable

Yes, you have to know what you're doing, and equally important, SOUND
(on the radio) like you know what you're doing, to generate confidence
on the part of the controllers that you can and will do what they
clear you to do, and won't cause a disaster.

vince norris