Flight Planning
Pilot Getaways content was available on AOPA Online for a limited time, and is no longer available; we apologize for the inconvenience. Please enjoy some of the articles from AOPA Pilot magazine showcasing incredible destinations:
Fly-Outs: Best of both worlds
Whether you're a fisherman who flies, a pilot who loves to fish, or simply someone who enjoys a restful retreat, Gaston's White River Resort may be your perfect destination. World-class trout fishing is a few hundred yards' walk from the resort’s 3,200-foot turf runway (3M0) in Lake-view, Arkansas.
Fly-Outs: Visiting Moton Field
The next time you're in east-central Alabama, between Montgomery and Auburn, take a few minutes to immerse yourself in the history of the Tuskegee Airmen, black pilots who during World War II received their primary flight training at what is now Moton Field Municipal Airport (06A) in Tuskegee.
Fly-Outs: Hot rolls!
When you hear the warning, "Hot rolls!" at Lambert's Cafe; in Sikeston, Missouri, you'd better be ready to catch one - or duck. The servers literally whip softball-sized rolls, fresh from the oven, to your waiting mitts.
Fly-Outs: Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome
Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome in New York's Hudson River Valley redefines the word "old." Or should we say "really old"? For in 2011, a World War II vintage aircraft, at more than 60 years old, is old, but a World War I aircraft? That's really old. And not only are these aircraft really old, but they are performing, active flying machines from a time when aviation was in its infancy.
Above NY
At the Downtown Manhattan Heliport (JRB) - the first heliport in the United States to offer scheduled passenger service and the only place today where one can begin commercial tours of the city in a helicopter - people are happily anticipating their 15- to 20-minute rides. There are five operators here, each offering a bird's-eye view of the city that never sleeps, the home of Hearst and Trump and Giuliani - and, of course, the worst terrorist attack in the twenty-first century.
Fly-Outs: Great cuisine by the runway
Yes, AOPA Summit will have good food and you'll be near Hartford, Connecticut's finest restaurants. But, if you also want to see one of the neatest little airport restaurants in the country, stop by Barnes Municipal Airport (BAF), which serves Westfield and Springfield, Massachusetts. Called "B'Shara's The Runway Restaurant and Lounge," it's located 100 feet from your aircraft parking spot - just tell the ground controller you want a progressive taxi to "the restaurant."
Epic Flights: 88 magical aerial miles
This is the fourth and final day of a dream assignment: ferrying a nostalgic-looking but thoroughly modern biplane from Frederick, Maryland, to AOPA Aviation Summit in Long Beach, California. The next leg - a short 88-nm hop from Moab to the Lake Powell area on the Utah/Arizona border - is the part I've most looked forward to since I began planning this journey 10 weeks prior.
Epic Flights: Greenland adventure
Towering and timeless, the icy peaks of Greenland's remote west coast rise slowly into view at a distance of more than 50 miles.
Fly-Outs: Fly-in in the sky
Why is Catalina Airport (AVX) called the "Airport in the Sky?" The approach end of Catalina's Runway 22 begins at the edge of a 1,500-foot cliff. It gives the airport characteristics similar to landing on an aircraft carrier that is 1,602 feet in the air. The single 3,250-foot-long runway was constructed by blasting and leveling two adjacent mountain peaks, and then using the resulting debris to fill in the gaps.
More destination information is available from AOPA Pilot’s “Postcards” >>
