Airports:Best and worst

[Hemingway Jones]

I like DIA too - the whole mountain look is fun and the subway shuttle is so easy to use.

I agree entirely. It sure beats Stapleton with those terrible crosswinds. :eusa_doh:

 

[ITG]

I didn't like ones in Indianpolis or Frankfurt (Germany) and I detest LAX.

I like DFW from a locals viewpoint but if I was traveling through there, it'd be a pain, as they have five different terminals and to get to another terminal from the other would be a pain. I tend to like smaller airports, like Longbeach Airport.

I also like Atlanta from the standpoint of they have an easy public transportation system that goes from the airport to downtown.

 

[staggerwing]

Unfortunately my two favorites are both closed. The first was Flushing Field (yep, it was really named that!) in the heart of New York City. Had to dodge the clothlines strung between the apartment buildings on takeoff and landing! I think Flushing closed in the late 70s or early 80s. The second was Bader Field in Atlantic City. Used to land at Bader and walk to the casinos. I think Bader closed in the mid 80s. No commercial service to either one though...

 

[Flying Scotsman]

Staggerwing...beautiful plane in your avatar. Is it yours?

I was passed (like I was standing still) by a gorgeous yellow staggerwing, coming back from Reno one year. It was stunning...and fast!

 

[Hemingway Jones]

I haven't been there yet...

...But I love how the airport in Phoenix is Phoenix Sky Harbor International. "Sky Harbor" sounds like something out of Flash Gordon; it has a nice Art Deco ring to it. I am looking forward to seeing whether it lives up to its name.

 

[Lincsong]

St. Louis; old and ugly
O'Hare- Craziness
San Francisco- I've learned to tolerate it
Oakland- great in the early morning and late evening flights. But from 8-3 a nightmare. Their new baggage claim is a mess.:rage:
Honolulu-At least there's a band somewhere playing Hawaiian Music
LAX-
DFW-Learned to like the tram
Orlando- so so
Miami But getting better, but; no hablo espanol.:rage:
Ft. Lauderdale- OK beats Miami
Las Vegas- Who cares? It's in Las Vegas. But, generally not bad. And there's slot machines.

 

[Jack Scorpion]

Worst -- San Juan, PR. Or Sheremetyevo in Moscow.

Best -- ... I personally love Oakland. I've flown out of Oakland maybe 10 times. Each time, completely empty and hassle-free. I can't say that I have any other positive airport experiences.

 

[staggerwing]

Staggerwing...beautiful plane in your avatar. Is it yours?

I was passed (like I was standing still) by a gorgeous yellow staggerwing, coming back from Reno one year. It was stunning...and fast!

Hi Scotsman,

Just a pipe dream at present, although I am restoring a '59 Cessna 310 (think Skyking). Not quite Golden Era, but a cool ride just the same. Actually, my partner and I are exploring the legal issues involved in obtaining the type certificate to the D17S Staggerwing and producing 8-10 new airplanes under the old type certificate. The idea is we'd each keep one and sell the others to cover the cost. If that does not turn out to be feasible, once I finish the 310, a Staggerwing will definitely be my next project. For everyday travel, I'm currently flying a rented Cirrus SR20. All the style of a plastic pickle fork

Jim

 

[Lettow-Vorbeck]

Dear All,

Best: probably Amsterdam Schiphol, I have spend a lot of time there, killing time between flights, some terminals, however, look like a doctor's waiting room. And you cannot buy any chewing gum anywhere in the building.
Really liked the check-service at Beijing Airport. And the waitresses in the tea house are fit.

Worst: London Stanstead, the carpets are filthy, the cues are ill-managed, your luggage takes about three quarters of an hour to get from the plane to the collection belt, and the place is notorious for delays, regardless of airline.
Disappointed with Shanghai Pudong, they closed down everything at 22.30, which was lame and the police patrolling the area didn't speak English.

LV

 

[Flying Scotsman]

Hi Scotsman,

Just a pipe dream at present, although I am restoring a '59 Cessna 310 (think Skyking). Not quite Golden Era, but a cool ride just the same. Actually, my partner and I are exploring the legal issues involved in obtaining the type certificate to the D17S Staggerwing and producing 8-10 new airplanes under the old type certificate. The idea is we'd each keep one and sell the others to cover the cost. If that does not turn out to be feasible, once I finish the 310, a Staggerwing will definitely be my next project. For everyday travel, I'm currently flying a rented Cirrus SR20. All the style of a plastic pickle fork

Jim

I'm familiar with Sky King and his niece, Penny

My neighbor is building, and I am helping as his "apprentice", an RV-8 (he's a licensed A&P, but now is an Ops Supervisor at LAX...used to work for the airlines, so he knows what he's doing...I'm learning a TON about aircraft design, construction and maintenance). Once we're done with that (in a few months now), we'll start on MY RV-10!

Do you have an estimate on the sales price of "new" Staggerwing?

 

[Lee Lynch]

Of the ones I remember clearly enough:

Atlanta- the best we've seen yet, complete with mall and great restaurants close at hand. The terminals are really well organized, and one can zip between them in the fast train. We were able to burn some hours here and enjoy it.

DFW- I like it for the ease of getting in reasonably close to one's gate, getting some coffee, and moving along. I haven't ever found it confusing.

Santa Barbara- Tiny. Y'know, it has it's aesthetically pleasing points, and was nice to land at once. It's like landing on Fantasy Island.There are few ticket counters, one terminal, with three or four gates I remember. The baggage handlers were very simple in that the stuff was taken off the plane, put on a cart, and you pick it out. No waiting for anything to spit it out. I remember a total of two buildings. I found the restroom facilities annoying, though, as I recall not having any after we'd gone through security into the waiting area.

LAX - I remember only that this looked like something from Star Trek. I had had such an abyssmal time on a business trip to LA that before my flight back to the comparative heaven of Dallas, I went to the bar and got smashed, so I don't recall anyhting else about the airport.

Chicago - The worst I've experienced so far. Their idea of a solution to transport between terminals is mechanically sound but an auditory nightmare. It's a series of moving walkways that span the whole place. Fine. The problem is, due to overwhelming liability concerns, there is an all pervading recorded voice that says over and over again something like, " Caution, sidewalk is moving" and near the end, it says "Caution, the moving walkway is coming to an end". Over and over again, and you can't get away from it anywhere in there. I was stuck there for two hours and by the time I took off, I was ready to kill...:rage: It did not help that before the wait, they changed gates on my flight THREE TIMES!, sending me along that cursed talking walkway. I will go out of my way to avoid that abominable travesty of an airport.

 

[staggerwing]

Do you have an estimate on the sales price of "new" Staggerwing?

Well, it depends...plan "A" is the sell a ready-to-fly certificated aircraft. In this case we're anticipating a price in the same range as a modern aircraft of similar capability - $350K - $500K. Plan "B" is to sell the aircraft as a kit, in which case the kit price will be considerably lower.

Jim

 

[Absinthe_1900]

It would be nice to see the D17s come back, though the "G" is my favorite.

If you ever want to get the type cert. for a Kellett K-2 look me up.
I have the designer's papers.

 

[Lady Blue]

worst: Chicago O'hare-I live here and I still always get turned around. I hate that airport!

best-hmm..I like Chicago Midway a lot because its small and easy, Nagoya airport Japan is nice and clean as is Tokyo Narita, and Orlando is beautiful aside from their particuarly close attention to detail in the security lines.

All in all though I'd really not spend time in any airport for very long. Never a 100% pleasant experience!

 

[1950cadillac]

Vancouver international airport in BC is the best airport I've seen.

 

[staggerwing]

If you ever want to get the type cert. for a Kellett K-2 look me up.
I have the designer's papers.

Now that's cool. Little Wing Autogyros www.littlewingautogyro.com sells kits that while of modern design and construction have a definite "Golden Age" look and feel. We're getting really off topic here so perhaps he can talk offline.

 

[Kt Templar]

I used to love the old Hong Kong airport - Kai Tak, you used to come in over the mountains then just over the skyscrapers to "reportedly" one of the hardest to land airports in the world. I remember once staying across the harbour from it and watching one plane after another try and land, give up and have to take another pass.

 

[jkingrph]

Worst international, Istanbul, best international TelAviv(Lod). Worst domestic, DFW, my vote for best Winston-Salem, Highpoint, NC.

 

[AlanC]

Ah, I saw a few that I recognized up there.

Worst airport experience: Bogota--I waited in line at least two hours just to check in (I hadn't even gotten to security!). It was awful.

I saw Milan mentioned above--that place is a dump. Flying over the Alps on the way there was fantastic.

Mumbai, I would like to report, is now better with the addition of both air conditioning and a Subway (the fast food sandwich place). I don't believe there are any good Indian airports, although there's a new one being built in Hyderabad. We'll see how that goes.

Favorite international airport: Amsterdam

As for Atlanta, I know it's big, but I find I don't really mind it.

Favorites are the small airports like my current 'home' airport, Birmingham (BHM) (although horrible parking), also Lexington, Kentucky and Savannah are nice, airports on a human scale, as Dr. Russell Kirk once said of the Grand Rapids airport.

All the way back to the original post, Portland seemed fine, much better than Seattle.

 

[Harp]

worst: Chicago O'hare-I live here and I still always get turned around. I hate that airport!

best-hmm..I like Chicago Midway a lot because its small and easy,

All in all though I'd really not spend time in any airport for very long. Never a 100% pleasant experience!

Midway has expanded and is still preferable to O'Hare, of course, but this
is going to change--unfortunately.