Asheville, NC ramp

[N6758N]

On 5/27/2017 at 8:52 PM, Browncbr1 said:

Leaving was a not so great experience either unfortunately.  We were standing at the counter in the FBO for what seemed like forever and 4 people working there wouldn't give us the time of day...  finally, I was served a bill for $17 after I told them that I was going to buy gas at the pump.  They said, oh ok, then the $35 handling fee is waived and I kind of chucked and said, what handling... the line guys refused to handle my plane ..but it fell on deaf ears.   My wife said, I guess we need a citation to get a smile here....  Let's blow this joint, ...so we did.    

It took 15 minutes for someone to let us through the gate and to our plane with the rental car...  we needed to sense we were parked so far away...  taxied to bfe to get fuel...  called ground and got my clearance.  They told us to hold short of the taxiway...  There was not a single plane on the field, no kidding...  we were at the end of the field too.  I think we were the only machine running at the airport.   After sitting there for a minute or two I asked the controller if it would be easier if I depart vfr so we can get out of here.. my engine is getting hot and I still need to taxi a mile and a half.  So he was nice and all and cleared us to taxi to 35.  When we got down there, I told tower we are ready and they told me to hold short for Cessna traffic on 5 mile final.   Are you kidding me?   After waiting an eternity while we watched the landing light burn like a lone star in the desert sky, we finally got out.  

What's up with crazy big separation AVL ATC?  They were doing that same kind of big separation Friday as well, so I guess it is SOP for them.   

 

Hi Craig,

Great to meet you and Laura on Friday! Lauren and I enjoyed sharing a beer with you guys. Sorry to hear about the crappy departure experience with Signature, I can't say ours was any better though. It took forever to get a 'escort' so we could drive out onto the ramp with the car and they ended up parking the plane way out on the north side of the ramp. They ended up waving the $35 handling fee even though we got gas at self serve (the machine wouldn't take the card at the pump so we may or may not have stolen gas lol). The total charge for 4 nights in the T-206 was $53 sans gas, which is about normal for my visits to AVL. Hopefully they will continue to wave the $35 'handling' fee for the rest of us. I must say though, the overall customer service there really sucks now! No one seems to know what they are doing and they don't seem overly enthusiastic to be doing it in the first place. 

[Browncbr1]

12 minutes ago, N6758N said:

Hi Craig,

Great to meet you and Laura on Friday! Lauren and I enjoyed sharing a beer with you guys. Sorry to hear about the crappy departure experience with Signature, I can't say ours was any better though. It took forever to get a 'escort' so we could drive out onto the ramp with the car and they ended up parking the plane way out on the north side of the ramp. They ended up waving the $35 handling fee even though we got gas at self serve (the machine wouldn't take the card at the pump so we may or may not have stolen gas lol). The total charge for 4 nights in the T-206 was $53 sans gas, which is about normal for my visits to AVL. Hopefully they will continue to wave the $35 'handling' fee for the rest of us. I must say though, the overall customer service there really sucks now! No one seems to know what they are doing and they don't seem overly enthusiastic to be doing it in the first place. 

Hey Terry,

Yea, It was great to meet you guys as well.  I'm sure we will cross paths again down the road..   In harmony with your comment above, Laura said she thinks that no one really knows what they are doing, so they were acting rude in frustration or something... There was one big burly ex-army guy on the ramp who knows what he is doing and is nice, but he just started working there after getting out of the service.  He said he grew up riding around in his dad's 67 F, so he was excited to talk to us.     Glad you guys made it back ok.. Hopefully you were able to coax your friend into flying that turbo higher... 

[Nokomis449]

On 5/25/2017 at 9:22 AM, gsxrpilot said:

The worst thing about flying into Asheville, is that you can't bring the motorcycle that way. Stick a pin in the map in Asheville and draw a circle 100 miles in diameter. That is some of the best motorcycle riding anywhere in the country. I went to high school in Asheville, and my grandparents lived there until they passed away a few years ago. It's one of my favorite places in the the whole US.

Was there last weekend, camping at the Kickstand Lodge and riding the Cherohala Skyway, Blue Ridge Parkway, 276, 215, Moonshiner 28 and The Rattler.  We make the trip several times a year.  Western Carolina Regional in Andrews, NC is a nice GA airport pretty close to some great motorcycle roads.

[Jerry Pressley]

AVL is the closest airport from my home nut because of hangar rent prices and tie down prices along with fees for anyone coming to visit I keep my plane in Morristown TN which is 75 miles away.  Jackson County nc is next closest but no hangars available and difficult to work outside during winter

[Bunti]

We used Hendersonville a while ago and it was a nice experience. Due to the weather, we first asked for vectors to an ILS in AVL. Then we broke out of the clouds and we saw Hendersonville. We continued VFR and landed on RWY33 at 0A7 airport. Enterprise provided a car for a reasonable price and parking was about 10 Dollars a night. They had fuel available, but right now (June 2017)  they do not have fuel available for a few weeks due to maintenance of the tanks.

I recommend this airport and will use it - for sure - again.

If you fly to 0A7, make sure to use the asphalt strip. Parallel are a few hangars on the west side and a grass strip with a museum: http://www.westernnorthcarolinaairmuseum.com/

Here is the google-view of Runway 33:

https://www.google.com/maps/@35.3045579,-82.429172,3a,62.2y,295.12h,83.56t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sePcDI1Chh7G_uUr3LSJhcA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656