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99.99% of airports are public use. Not just big ones either: there are only about ~200 airports in the US serviced by airlines, but there are thousands of small
by frisco 11y ago
99.99% of airports are public use. Not just big ones either: there are only about ~200 airports in the US serviced by airlines, but there are thousands of small airports you go can land a Cessna at mostly for free. But that's not really the problem with OP's ideas.
- nemothekid 11y agoSorry to be off topic here, but does this mean I can go out and but plane, then just go land it at JFK or SFO?
- ddinh 11y agoIf you have a pilot's license, yes. Big airports often have hefty landing fees, though, and you'll spend a lot of time waiting for your turn to take off or land, which is less of an issue at smaller general aviation airports.
- dogma1138 11y agoIf you don't have a pilot's license you can't be in air in the 1st place. The landing fees alone would probably make it nonviable for small charters Lufthansa and American Airlines would probably pay smaller fees for landing a 747 than you would landing a 2 seater Cessna.
- frisco 11y ago> The landing fees alone would probably make it nonviable for small charters Lufthansa and American Airlines would probably pay smaller fees for landing a 747 than you would landing a 2 seater Cessna. Not true at all. Landing fees are usually nominal, and FBO fees even for overnight rarely exceed ~$50, or less with the purchase of fuel.
- will_brown 11y agoNo but there are ~15k airports in the US so for every JFK (airport that has restricted air space) there are far more regional/executive airports where you could.
- dcgoss 11y agohttp://aviation.stackexchange.com/questions/751/can-you-fly-a-light-ga-airplane-into-a-major-hub-what-operational-consideration http://aviation.stackexchange.com/questions/751/can-you-fly-...
- rosser 11y agoInterestingly, and apropos of the grandparent comment, the pictures of the Lufthansa 747 in the third answer to that question were taken on approach into SFO.
- prostoalex 11y agoAs others mentioned, it's doable, but can involve long wait times and hefty landing fees. From the safety standpoint, the airspace that is that congested with large aircraft is not really a safe zone for a smaller plane to be in, due to wake turbulence. Even experienced pilots can end up in a situation they have not encountered before and lose control of the aircraft http://articles.latimes.com/1993-12-17/news/mn-2813_1_fiery-crash http://articles.latimes.com/1993-12-17/news/mn-2813_1_fiery-...
- nightski 11y agoTLDR Yes, but you probably wouldn't want to.