Whidbey Island Navy Flying Club / General Aviation in the PNW

[Godspeed]

Just selected Prowlers out of advanced down here in K'rock, and am psyched to get back home to the Pacific Northwest and get flying again.

I was looking in to getting back into general aviation in the meantime (not classing up for a while), and have been looking around in the Puget Sound area for the best FBO's and flying clubs.

The most reasonable one i've found so far is the Whidbey Island Navy Flying Club. Open to military and civilians, it's $25/mo. They have a Cherokee, an Arrow, a Citabria, a 172, and a T-34B (which is down for maintainance). The rates can be found on their website, but seem quite reasonable.

Is anyone a member of the WINFC? How is it?

I wanted to get the opinion of anyone that does any flying up in the Pacific Northwest... Where do you fly/rent at? Any good deals to be had? I have family all over the Puget Sound, so I don't care if the good deals are in Seattle, Olympia or anywhere else really.

I'll take any input you've got! Thanks.

 

[MIDNJAC]

Congrats on Prowlers!

 

[P3 F0]

Got my PPL from there in the Cherokee. Loved every minute of flying, and I really miss the place. Having the airfield let us take off and land on Bravo N really made things easy. The rates were the most reasonable I've ever seen, although this was pre 9/11, so things have probably changed. Not sure how the place and the rates are now. If I was back at KNUW, I'd re-join in a heartbeat.

ETA: being in the Navy, you're probably going to have a hard time over the course of your career finding a better club, with a more reasonable join fee, no required monthly flight time, so close to where you're living (at least, this has been my experience).

 

[JD81]

Look into Regal Air out of PAE. Did all my flying there, they are a little pricey but their cessna's are top notch, from a 152 to a glass panel. If you don't mind making the trip down the island and a ferry ride, they are about 15 mins from the mukilteo dock.

 

[Carlos Caliente]

Great club, great planes and great flying. John the manager was a standup dude when I went there.

 

[Recovering LSO]

Everyone else seems to have better things to say than I do about the NUW Flying Club. My experience must have been an outlier. I strongly recommend the airport in Anacortes. Great planes, place is owned by an old A-4 guy and Delta captain. No dues. Much more laid back atmosphere. Rates might be a few bucks more expensive, but I think its well worth it.

 

[Godspeed]

Everyone else seems to have better things to say than I do about the NUW Flying Club. My experience must have been an outlier. I strongly recommend the airport in Anacortes. Great planes, place is owned by an old A-4 guy and Delta captain. No dues. Much more laid back atmosphere. Rates might be a few bucks more expensive, but I think its well worth it.

Awesome pictures Crowbar! Can't wait to get up there.

Paddles, what complaints did you have about the club?

 

[Recovering LSO]

Awesome pictures Crowbar! Can't wait to get up there.

Paddles, what complaints did you have about the club?

Take this with a grain of salt because it was almost 8 years ago when I was first showing up here with a long wait to kill. Got a lot of "you may be a jet guy, but this is a whole 'nother kind of flying and you're gonna do it our way. You're experience wont do you any good here. You're going to have to start from scratch to get us to think about checking you out".

That is a near verbatim quote from my first meeting with the dude running the place at the time. I chalked it up to him having a bad day. I flew a few times with a buddy's wife who was instructing there for a bit. She was awesome. She quit. I flew a few more times with assorted characters and decided that while I may have been a novice in the world of GA, I was also not a reTard. I could appreciate them telling me that I shouldn't take the Archer out and try aerobatics, but again, I'm not a reTard. I extended them mountains of professional respect as instructors and got nothing back - which was fine. I chose to stop flying there.

Came to ATA at 74S (Anacortes Airport), flew about 8 hours with a 23 year old CFI who began instructing the week before I showed up in their office. Gave him the same respect I would give any instructor, he did a fine job of teaching me what I didn't know - and at the end I was able to help him a little bit with instructional technique stuff. Win win for everyone. Great airplanes there, super nice guys. Full disclosure, its also literally around the corner from my house - that may have factored in a bit too.

Go with you who you feel more comfortable, but do know that there are options out there.

 

[scoolbubba]

Not a fan of the 'chip on the shoulder' GA crowd. I've gotten that at a few places I've asked in Jax about getting checked out in a plane when they see my logbook and ratings and have taken my business elsewhere every time.

 

[A4sForever]

Take this with a grain of salt....

Mebbe ... but I agree.

The NUW Flying Club has been substandard for many, many years, although it could be GREAT. What's not to like w/ the location, facilities, and potential ???

It has been run by a bunch of non-Naval Aviators who have a 'penis problem' when they have to 'deal with' people who know how to fly ... people who have logbooks. Let's make that they even have a problem when they have to say: 'hello' to people who know how to fly. I suspect it's 'cause they feel 'threatened' ... they will 'lose control' of their little world ... and they don't 'like' someone who doesn't need to kiss their ass ... i.e., a 'real' flying person.

I 'almost' joined twice -- spaced 10 years apart -- because it would have worked for me -- but the guys who were in charge were supreme losers and they were very, very boring and felt 'threatened' -- they had MAJOR problems w/ someone being a member who might 'know more than they did' ... for example, a 747 Driver w/ beaucoup hours .... ???

If you know nothing or need basic training/ground school -- join it. You'll belong and probably be happy.

If you know how to fly and don't feel like kissing ass just to save a couple of bucks per hour -- look elsewhere.

 

[TrunkMonkey]

129 Paddles, I second the bad vibe from the club. I am not a "jet guy", and not a guy at all, but I understand what you are saying. To me, it all seemed to go downhill after the Arrow crashed last summer.

 

[jfulginiti]

I got my private license there in early 2002. Didn't have any issues with them but I think the new guy took over about that time. Couldn't beat the prices either..... $30 for the 152 and $45 for the 172. Loved flying out there!

 

[Jim123]

Couldn't beat the prices either..... $30 for the 152 and $45 for the 172. Loved flying out there!

Dry (wow!) or wet (wow and wow again!)?

 

[P3 F0]

129 Paddles, I second the bad vibe from the club. I am not a "jet guy", and not a guy at all, but I understand what you are saying. To me, it all seemed to go downhill after the Arrow crashed last summer.

Can you elaborate on that? How'd it crash, and how did the club react?

 

[Godspeed]

I got my private license there in early 2002. Didn't have any issues with them but I think the new guy took over about that time. Couldn't beat the prices either..... $30 for the 152 and $45 for the 172. Loved flying out there!

I'm not really sure what you're talking about.... Their website has the 172 for $85/hr wet. It doesn't look like they even have a 152... Please explain....