Expect the unexpected

Another mouthful of thinly sliced steak smothered with grilled onions and coated in orange Cheez Whiz was devoured as the sun warmed the outdoor dining area at Pat’s King of Steaks in Philadelphia. I thanked general aviation for delivering me here, inside Philadelphia International Airport’s Class B airspace, and proclaimed it the best Philly cheese steak sandwich I ever ate.

AOPA video producer Josh Cochran and I had hatched a plan to gain real-world experience navigating the airspace system at a GA-friendly Class B airfield. Although Class B airports are primarily the domain of airliners and business jets, private pilots are allowed to land if properly cleared. It’s a good idea to check with experienced pilots for a suitable Class B airport near you before flying into the busy airspace. We vowed not to disrupt the arrival flow and planned to stay out of the way as much as possible.

Our preparation began with scrutiny of the airport diagram. Four runways, myriad taxiways, and a slew of passenger terminals filled a full-page airport printout.

We practiced approaches to Runway 26 on simulators. A handful of ship cargo cranes dotted the intersections of the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers and are noted on the sectional near the approach end of Runway 26. We also flew a couple of simulated approaches to Runway 8 before learning it was a waste of time. A call to the FBO revealed that landing on Runway 8 involved flying directly over the commercial passenger terminal and it just isn’t done.

That left Runway 17/35, so we previewed approaches over the Delaware River to the south and practiced flying in from the north.

We planned to depart from Frederick Municipal Airport at 9:30 a.m. for the 1.25-hour flight via Cessna 172. We had flight following and were cleared through the Class B airspace by Philadelphia Approach when we heard a controller advise another pilot most of the runways were closed. Cochran called up ForeFlight and sure enough, three of the four available runways had just been closed with a notam advisory highlighted in red. ATC vectored us away from the city and toward New Jersey.

I called to verify the runway situation and was told not to expect a landing “for an undetermined amount of time.” Since we had predetermined not to become a nuisance, we discussed a return to home if we faced an afternoon of vectors around the city.

Just then a new, friendlier voice came on the radio. “Cessna three-two-zero-six Echo, turn left heading two seven zero degrees and make straight-in for Runway 27 Right. Cleared to land, number two, behind a Learjet on short final. Keep your speed up if you can.”

The Skyhawk nudged 125 knots in the descent and we quickly passed the cargo ships and their cranes on the right. With the help of a stiff headwind, we touched down with plenty of time to exit the runway at the first turnoff. “Zero-six Echo, stay with me on this frequency and follow the Lear just ahead of you to the FBO,” said the controller. “Welcome to Philadelphia.”

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