Phoenix flyers: Need PIREPs on hangars at GYR, GEU

Hi guys,

I'm contemplating a move to West Phoenix (Litchfield Park?, Goodyear?, Avondale?) down the road...maybe in four to five years. Just wanted to get a feel for hangar availability and cost at GYR & GEU, and overall friendliness/vibe of each airport. Thanks!

I live in Sun City West and just finished building an RV-12. I looked into hangars at Goodyear (long waiting list and expensive) and Glendale (you buy your hangar). Considered Buckeye but ended up in Wickenburg. Great community of RV flyers in Wickenburg. They meet almost every Sunday at the airport and you can find someone on the field almost every day. Also it is outside the busy Phoenix/Luke airspace. Let me know if you have other questions.
Jerry

Goodyear Hangers

I don't think the hangers at GOodyear have more than a few month waiting list and are some of the cheapest in the valley. I think the small hangers are around $150 a month. Not much traffic on the weekends so easy to get out and back in. Tower gets to know your plane and anticipates your requests. Two thumbs up for KGYR.

Thanks, guys. Does spring training traffic make driving to Goodyear difficult?

If I move to the area, I'd definitely consider buying a hangar, so Glendale is on the short list.

Spring training traffic hasnt be a problem for me. I try to avoid rush hour traffic on the freeways though. Can double my commute time.

Hi Doug. I'm based at Goodyear. I have a small T-hangar and pay $154/month. That is by far the cheapest in the valley. The wait for the small T-hangars is not bad...probably just a few months. Call the airport office and ask about timing. They're really friendly and helpful.

As for the vibe at Goodyear, I couldn't be happier. There are usually people around the hangars, lots of airport bums (like myself), and everybody gets along fine. There's no drama with the airport office like at some other places. The FBO is friendly and helpful, but they don't have any maintenance. However, there are a couple mechanics on the field who can help out when needed. There are a handful of RVs on the field.

The runway is long and the tower controllers are great to work with. There's some flight school student traffic, but nothing like the insanity up at Deer Valley or Falcon Field.

You'd think airspace would be a pain with Glendale and Luke AFB so close by, but it's actually really simple to get in an out. There's great airspace to the south in the Rainbow Valley practice area, and the aerobatic box is about 5 minutes off the end of RWY 21.

Shoot me a PM if you have any other questions and I'll be glad to help!

I remember seeing the flyer regarding the hangers at Glendale. The flyer showed buying 10 at a time. It may have just been the specific flyer I saw. They may still offer single sales.

Thanks for the great info, Karl and Frank.

Hangar rent sounds veerrrrrry reasonable at Goodyear. A small hangar would be perfect. I'm paying$328/mo for my T-hangar at Cable (roughly 30 x 40), which is not too bad for the Los Angeles/Orange County area.

I've looked at the airspace and as you've said, it looks very manageable if you just stay to the south. I'm a motorsports fan, so I like that PIR is a reporting point.

I've got some good friends moving to Pebble Creek in Goodyear (just north of the 10, between the prison eek and Wigwam), and I'm considering that community. Need to take a recon trip or two so I can see some of the home models, etc. It looks like the airport would only be a 10-15 minute drive from there.

I like the fact that Luke AFB is close. I have great memories of seeing F/A-18s on approach to MCAS El Toro before it was shut down. Approach end of runway was on my way to work. Now it's becoming what they're calling The Great Park, which is in fact The Great Housing Tract with a small park in the middle.

Is there a restaurant on the field?

rightrudder said:

Is there a restaurant on the field?

Click to expand...

Goodyear no. Glendale yes.

Doug, if you liked watching the Hornets at old El Toro, then you'll really enjoy watching the new F-35s at Luke.

My in-laws live in Pebble Creek and love it. My father-in-law is a sales rep at the model home office, so before you come out let me know and I'll get his contact info to you. Also, you can come over and check out my hangar and I can show you around.

More on the airspace: you don't really need to stay south all the time. The Luke AFB special use airspace and alert area are easy to navigate. You just need 2-way comm with Luke Approach. They give you a squawk and then you're good to go. They are quite helpful and willing to call out traffic. They even let us use the USAF auxiliary runway north of the base for practice ILS approaches. The locals all have a good relationship with Luke AFB.

Thanks, Karl! I'll definitely give you a shout if I'm out that way...maybe as early as this July.