flying to U.S. which airport of entry

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raff
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flying to U.S. which airport of entry

Post by raff »

I am planning a trip to atlantic city from southern ontario at the end of july. Looking for input on which airport of entry to use. My inclination is to put down just over the border so I have maximum flexibility once inside the united states in case i need to divert or otherwise change my plans.

The alternative is to do a straight shot to atlantic city, but frankly i don't really want to be sweating my arrival time the whole way.

Any thoughts on airports. Two obvious choices are buffalo or Niagara Falls. I am thinking niagara falls would be less busy?
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baron_dude
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Re: flying to U.S. which airport of entry

Post by baron_dude »

I'd use BUF, IAG or even Rochester all are good options, maybe out of the way though.
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C-GKNT
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Re: flying to U.S. which airport of entry

Post by C-GKNT »

It was a few years ago but the last time I went in that direction, I was going to clear at Niagara Falls. When I called, they asked me to make sure my ETA was accurate as they close one of the lanes at the bridge and have one their agents drive over. Mind you, they were not complaining but the lineup at those bridges can be terrible. I just couldn't do it.

I cleared in Rochester. It was quick and easy, didn't even get out of the airplane.

Glenn
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Re: flying to U.S. which airport of entry

Post by PilotDAR »

If it fits along your route, I've always liked Sandusky, Ohio. I avoid any distance in the states without having cleared. It adds variability to your arrival time, and if you have to divert the problems grow....
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Re: flying to U.S. which airport of entry

Post by Rookie50 »

Weather permitting, I try to go farther for long US trips before clearing. Richmond VA is good (KRIC) I've cleared KROC, too, might be out of the way, though
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photofly
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Re: flying to U.S. which airport of entry

Post by photofly »

C-GKNT wrote:It was a few years ago but the last time I went in that direction, I was going to clear at Niagara Falls. When I called, they asked me to make sure my ETA was accurate as they close one of the lanes at the bridge and have one their agents drive over. Mind you, they were not complaining but the lineup at those bridges can be terrible. I just couldn't do it
+1

Deffo KBUF not KIAG. I had an agent chew me out for making him drive to KIAG on a Sunday. I was thinking "Dude, if you don't want to drive out, don't offer the service." But I didn't want to get thrown in jail or shot, so I just kept quiet.
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Johnny#5
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Re: flying to U.S. which airport of entry

Post by Johnny#5 »

Yep BUF is good.

Rochester is fine too, with nice customs guys however Iève heard the FAA guys like to do checks more than most places.
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howard40
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Re: flying to U.S. which airport of entry

Post by howard40 »

BUF is much friendlier and less apt to get the iag treatment (it pulls someone from the bridge and is a hassle for them), I personally like to clear close to border so if weather or my kids needing bathrooms etc cause a need to stop (even mechanicals etc) then I am good to stop, without a whole pile of jail time. . If you aim 3 hours down the road, its easier to miss the eta, need a stop, have bad weather etc, and none of those things are any fun if you have not yet cleared. There does seem to be slightly better treatment the further from the border.....
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Re: flying to U.S. which airport of entry

Post by Rookie50 »

howard40 wrote:BUF is much friendlier and less apt to get the iag treatment (it pulls someone from the bridge and is a hassle for them), I personally like to clear close to border so if weather or my kids needing bathrooms etc cause a need to stop (even mechanicals etc) then I am good to stop, without a whole pile of jail time. . If you aim 3 hours down the road, its easier to miss the eta, need a stop, have bad weather etc, and none of those things are any fun if you have not yet cleared. There does seem to be slightly better treatment the further from the border.....
Better treatment -- I think so too. I avoid clearing close to the border if I can, it works for us. Extra stops take a lot of time.

Couple of thoughts on that. Foreflight uses upper winds and it's pretty accurate on ETA -- then I add 10-15 minutes for routing, taxi time ect on a 3 hr flight -- if I'm late leaving the hangar (not uncommon with a family ) -- a quick call takes care of that before I leave.

Next -- weather -- well always possible -- I pick where I'm sure I can get in. Also, if one picks a major port like Richmond, they are always there -- so no big deal if a few minutes late -- being nice helps. They do moniter, I believe, either approach freqs sometimes, or flight aware, so I've had them tell me they knew I was coming (Dayton Oh I think).

Also non border stops are less busy, I waited awhile in KBUF, as other planes there, combined with how big it is, means a long stop.
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photofly
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Re: flying to U.S. which airport of entry

Post by photofly »

If you're going west, Oakland County Intl (NW Detroit) was lovely-jubbly a couple of weeks ago - taxi over the blue dot and shut down, with an entire customs hall and four desks entirely to myself and the very bored CBP officer; much better than my experience at St. Clair County Intl west of Sarnia - and isn't that where a GA pilot got threatened with a gun then handcuffed to a chair by a CBP officer a couple of years ago?
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Rookie50
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Re: flying to U.S. which airport of entry

Post by Rookie50 »

photofly wrote:If you're going west, Oakland County Intl (NW Detroit) was lovely-jubbly a couple of weeks ago - taxi over the blue dot and shut down, with an entire customs hall and four desks entirely to myself and the very bored CBP officer; much better than my experience at St. Clair County Intl west of Sarnia - and isn't that where a GA pilot got threatened with a gun then handcuffed to a chair by a CBP officer a couple of years ago?
Anyone know -- they used to mostly clear right at the aircraft. Lately at several places they are making us go inside. That a new standard or something?
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Re: flying to U.S. which airport of entry

Post by AirFrame »

Here on the west coast, we've always had to go inside to clear since EAPIS. The only exception i've had is flying to the Arlington, WA fly-in, where customs was available on the field... With the volume of planes coming in, CBP meets you at the plane instead... And when they're done, the FAA talks to you briefly before you go park.
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Broken Slinky
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Re: flying to U.S. which airport of entry

Post by Broken Slinky »

PilotDAR wrote:If it fits along your route, I've always liked Sandusky, Ohio. I avoid any distance in the states without having cleared. It adds variability to your arrival time, and if you have to divert the problems grow....
Sandusky is now closed as a Port of Entry. We've been using Port Clinton (KPCW) for about a year now. Super friendly staff and they're always looking for an excuse to run out to the airport. Self serve fuel is right next to the Customs trailer so it's quite convenient. There's a restaurant on the other side of the runway that has decent eats. Another good option on the south side of Lake Erie is Erie, PA (KERI). Both airports have a lot less traffic than the Buffalo area if that's a major concern.
I'm like PilotDAR, I prefer to get Customs out of the way as soon as possible. It just eliminates one headache if you have a passenger with a weak bladder. As you stated, once you're checked in on the US side, your options are raised exponentially. Fuel prices tend to be lower too, that's always a good reason to ferry less fuel from Canada.
The whole East Coast (especially from Washington to Boston) has a crazy amount of GA traffic below 3500'. Flight following and staying above 3500' will make your flight a lot less stressful.
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JasonE
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Re: flying to U.S. which airport of entry

Post by JasonE »

Was at Port Clinton 2 weeks ago. Friendly and straight forward. We had to wait 15-20 min for them to arrive though. Self serve fuel was not exactly cheap. Worked out to 0.10/litre less than my home field.
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photofly
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Re: flying to U.S. which airport of entry

Post by photofly »

Midway was excellent for CBP service, surprisingly, if you're going to Chicago.
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Broken Slinky
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Re: flying to U.S. which airport of entry

Post by Broken Slinky »

JasonE wrote: Self serve fuel was not exactly cheap. Worked out to 0.10/litre less than my home field.
Was that with or without the exchange? That works out to $0.3785/gallon in my pocket :D
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xchox
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Re: flying to U.S. which airport of entry

Post by xchox »

KYIP just west of KDTW
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