KFQD to KPLR Trip Report NC to AL

[PMcClure]

KFQD (Rutherford) is a nice little country airport in the NC foothills and has a restaurant attached (check hours). I was in for business in Forrest City and arrived from KUZA (Rock Hill) earlier in the day, after checking in on my mother and another customer in Charlotte. It was my first stop in KUZA, which is also a nice stop.

 

I flew home to from KFQD to  KPLR VFR at 8500. I monitored ATC but did not file or request advisories so I have no record. Running WOT, 20 ROP, 185 TAS and over 200 knots ground speed. 

[Hank]

Howdy, neighbor!

Sounds great! I flew roundtrip 06A --> 33A --> 06A over the weekend. I went via BBASS on the southeast side of Atlanta. Northbound was very relaxed but bumpy at 5500; coming back at 10,500 ATL Approach was much more concerned and actually called for "approval" of my VFR route outside the Bravo. It just seemed wise to get FF going that close to them.

Rutherfordton is where I file to going to 33A, but I've yet to need an approach to get in, popping into the clear on descent and canceling. At least GSP doesn't care when I ask to descend through the Charlie, or forget and call the airport "Landrum" (the town name) instead of "Fairview."

I was WOT/2500, 50 ROP, but my GS was ~135 knots . . . Go long body!

[Mooneymite]

Hank, you're at Moton? I thought you were keeping your plane at Lanett.

[Hank]

Moton had a hangar available; never could reach anyone at Lanett, even drove out one Saturday morning.

New hangar, nice, long, open field, multiple approaches; 06A is a nice place. I did run by Lanett to make sure I could still land back at HTW after being down here in the land of long runways.

[PMcClure]

Northbound was also bumpy on Monday up until 10,000'. Coming home was one of those magical days of clear smooth air with a tail wind and flying into the sunset. I wish they all could be like that. 

 

I fly around ATL quite a lot and find they are getting very greedy with air space outside of Bravo. I usually file via Nello or RMG on the north side but they keep trying to push me further and further north. The heavies are coming in on a 45 from the NW but are still 15,000' or above at RMG. I don't understand why they are concerned about a light traveling 180knots at 8-9,000. Lately, I find my self flying low under bravo or not taking FF on days like yesterday. On IMC days you never know what you'll get. I have been cleared right through Bravo or been thrown up into the mountainous area in IMC. 

 

Yesterday, I just didn't want to bother with them and opted to take advantage of the conditions and have some fun. 

[N601RX]

Has anyone actually landed at ATL?  I've always assumed it would not be very practical, but after some reading I've found a few people who have dropped off or picked up passengers at Landmark there.  Landmark will bring them around to the FBO for you.  The fuel is very high but the landing fees are less than I expected. I was considering flying the Mooney there and then catching a commercial flight to Denver for a couple of days. If landing on the north most runway the FBO is very close and easy to get to.

[Mooneymite]

>>>>Has anyone actually landed at ATL?<<<<<

 

 

I see single engine airplanes parked there from time to time, so "someone" is landing there.  Ramp/landing fees are one thing, but fitting in with all the commercial traffic at certain times of the day would not be my idea of fun.  The separation/wake turbulence issues would be a headache for the controllers and the pilot.

 

The MARTA runs from inside the ATL terminal directly up to a station within a mile of PDK and costs about $2....that would be my solution.  Alternatively, a cab ride to FTY would be less than the ramp fee at ATL!

[PMcClure]

My CFI landed there in a single and told me about his experience. He said he would not do it again for the reasons Mooneymite mentions above (and he had over 5,000 hours. PDK would be a good option. 

[Mooneymite]

Has anyone actually landed at ATL?  I've always assumed it would not be very practical, but after some reading I've found a few people who have dropped off or picked up passengers at Landmark there.  Landmark will bring them around to the FBO for you.  The fuel is very high but the landing fees are less than I expected. I was considering flying the Mooney there and then catching a commercial flight to Denver for a couple of days. If landing on the north most runway the FBO is very close and easy to get to.

I just happened to be at ATL Landmark, so I asked about fees....here it is from the receptionist:

 

Stop/drop on ramp for 15 minutes or less, no fuel purchase:  $31

Stop/drop on ramp for more than 15 minutes, but not overnight:  $51

Stop/drop buy 15, or more gallons of ($9) avgas:  $11

Overnight fees for small single:  $20.

[Hank]

But is there a landing fee also? Or can we really fly into ATL and quick turn at Landmark for a total of $31? And it's cheaper to stay overnight ($20) than to stop in for 10 minutes???

Not that I'm planning this, I'm just surprised. I must be misunderstanding something.

[N601RX]

I had emailed them today and recieved the following reply. The prices were less than I expected. I also talked to another pilot from Auburn today who did it recently and it went smoothly.

Good Morning Mike,

I will be happy to provide you with the requested fee’s for your Mooney.

Landing Fee: $6.00 Collected for the city of Atlanta

Security Fee: $5.00

Facility Fee: $40.00 (this fee can be waived with a min. fuel purchase of 15 gallons or a top off)

Overnight Fee: $20.00 per night

Drop Fee: $20.00 (if your plans change or for any future trips, this fee is applied in place of the facility fee for a quick turn)

We would be delighted to have you come and visit with us this Sunday! If you do decide to come see us, please feel free to contact us at ATL@landmarkaviation.com or by phone 404-761-1960 or you can go to Landmarkaviation.com to make a reservation, so we can look forward to your visit!

If there is anything else I can assist you with, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Thank you!

[Mooneymite]

But is there a landing fee also? Or can we really fly into ATL and quick turn at Landmark for a total of $31? And it's cheaper to stay overnight ($20) than to stop in for 10 minutes???

No, the $20 is "additional". The subsequent post breaks it down, but what the gal told me is accurate. The $31 stop/drop fee is an unadvertised special for pilots who act nice and don't complain. :-)

[jlunseth]

A friend and I flew to the Bahamas last Tuesday, and came back as far as KY on Sunday and then to KFCM on Tuesday.  It was great weather for a turbo, very little winds aloft.  We got a few knots of tailwind on the way down and a few knots of headwind on the way back up.  There was a large front through the mid-section of the country that we had to navigate from KBWG Kentucky to KFCM Minnesota, and it turned out to be a deck at anywhere from 14-18k so we went to FL220.  At that level all that was left was the isolated Tstorm tops and those were easy to see and navigate, so it was a fast an uneventful trip thanks to the turbo.