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Airport FBO recommendation for gulf coast Fla


Geoff

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Jack Edwards in Mobile, AL KJKA at Saltair has a nice crew car plenty of places nearby to eat about 2 hours in K time.  Yeah Orlando would be a real stretch unless you had a really strong tail wind.

 

I never tried the crew car but Cross City is a nice place to stop about 3:20 in K model time from HOU route  TRADR DESTN PHIPS.  Then you are only about 1:30 form Orlando at that point.

 

 

 

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Thanks for the tips  I have O2 so altitude is my friend.  Right you are about the complicated airspace. I will try not to catch any F16s .

An all female line crew!?  That is pure marketing genius. 

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I would personally stop at Tallahassee.  Million Air has decently priced self-serve and I normally ended up with a Mercedes crew car when I stopped there.

 

Bay Minette has free lunch with a gas purchase...no crew car necessary.

At least that was the case when I used it as a regular stop 4-5 years ago.

Edited by Parker_Woodruff
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Destin, FL (KDTS) is not a bad stop either. Nice crew cars, good FBO, and plenty of gulf-side restaurants within about 5-10 minutes of the airport. With the new tower there, clearances and traffic is much better than it was in the past. Less than 3 hours from Houston and less than 2 hours from Orlando.

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I'm based at 1R8 (Bay Minette). We do have a freshly resurface and grooved runway, food for visitors, and probably some of the lowest AV Gas prices around. Be aware that our only runway is east-west though, so during windy seasons, you'll usually be battling a crosswind, as prevailing winds are typically north-south at the airport. Lots of military Helio, T5, and V22 Traffic on nice days there, and we're uncontrolled, so expect a communication from about 10 miles out.  Let me know if you happen to stop through the area and need anything. My cell is 251-605-5351.

All the information in this thread is true and accurate. KJKA is a bit further south of us, but closer to the Beach as it's locate in Gulf Shores. Their courtesy/rental cars are limited, but the staff is awesome and will work every way to assist.  Destin (KDTS) is only 20 mins further out from 1R8. The Donut Hole and AJ's are a couple of my favorites there. 

Don't know if you'd want to stop an hour further west, but KNEW is one of my personal favorites. Great customer service, as well as an on field restaurant next to the FBO and an "Almost always" availability of crew car.

 

Hope this helps!

Abe

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On ‎3‎/‎6‎/‎2018 at 8:47 PM, N601RX said:

Jack Edwards/Lulu’s is good, but the girls up at bay minette are hard to beat and will have a faster turnaround. 

D5548299-D9A6-4615-9F58-692429D2E764.png

I've stopped a Bay Minette a few times. I've seen some very attractive crew gals working, but when they saw an old Mooney landing and a grey headed, "older" heavy set pilot unwedging himself from the plane they always send the second squad out to help me. Usually it's a big ole' stout gal with a hairy upper lip. They keep the A squad in there for those young future TopGun guys.. :) 

-Tom

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Tallahassee is nice, fuel is expensive I think (at least for this CB), but they do have nice crew cars. The only problem is the Navy likes to fly in so between the 4-5 Citations and the 10x T-34Cs' parked out on the ramp, you might be waiting for a crew car.

Let's not forget our friends at Sheltair in Panama City Beach!

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10 minutes ago, Raptor05121 said:

Tallahassee is nice, fuel is expensive I think (at least for this CB), but they do have nice crew cars. The only problem is the Navy likes to fly in so between the 4-5 Citations and the 10x T-34Cs' parked out on the ramp, you might be waiting for a crew car.

Let's not forget our friends at Sheltair in Panama City Beach!

Having flown extensively around the panhandle of Florida for the past 5+ years, I am convinced that the Tallahassee approach controllers hate pilots.  I initially thought it was just military pilots, but they were inconsiderate A-Holes while flying my Mooney in there as well.  I have used MilllionAir at TLH for Pilots-N-Paws a couple of times and also for Operation Airdrop, post hurricane relief flights.  Those times they offered fuel discounts, but they are still not a CB option.

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19 minutes ago, kpaul said:

Having flown extensively around the panhandle of Florida for the past 5+ years, I am convinced that the Tallahassee approach controllers hate pilots.  I initially thought it was just military pilots, but they were inconsiderate A-Holes while flying my Mooney in there as well.  I have used MilllionAir at TLH for Pilots-N-Paws a couple of times and also for Operation Airdrop, post hurricane relief flights.  Those times they offered fuel discounts, but they are still not a CB option.

I beg to differ, I flew into Tally many times when my kids attended Florida State and I always got great service from them. I also found that Million Air's self-serve pump was reasonably priced.

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Abe is right. Bay Minette is a good stop. The lunch is amazing, the fuel prices fair, the welcome warm, even for a chubby grandmama. And a chance to meet Abe, if his schedule permits, is icing on that cake. JKA is good, a fairly  brisk stroll from canal-front Lulu’s, with very good seafood. If you intended to spend the night in pretty Pensacola for some reason, FBO Innisfree is excellent. Crew cars a fleet of vintage classics.

 

 

Edited by Amelia
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4R9....Dauphin Island airport is a fun airport to land on.  It sticks out into Mobil bay.  Gives you the feeling of landing on an aircraft carrier!

However, you get exactly what you pay for.  There are no fees, there is no FBO, there is no fuel, there are no crew cars, there are no pretty line-girls, or any line-people at all.  Just a wide spot to park and walk the short distance to a couple of restaurants that feature terrible service and mediocre food.

If you're a real CB you'll love it.  :lol:

http://www.airnav.com/airport/4R9

Aerial photo of 4R9 (Jeremiah Denton Airport)

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