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The Famous, Infamous Teterboro

They write songs about it. Pilots complain about it. If you’re going to the Big Apple, you will find yourself there, sooner or later.

[Credit: Jeppesen]
Gemini Sparkle

Key Takeaways:

  • Teterboro Airport (KTEB) is presented as a historically significant and challenging airport near Manhattan, central to the author's extensive aviation experiences.
  • The author recounts a lifelong connection with Teterboro, spanning over 55 years from a novice private pilot in the 1960s to a professional Part 135 pilot and current private jet owner.
  • The article highlights the evolution of flying at Teterboro, from less regulated early days to the complex, congested operations and procedures of modern commercial and private aviation.
  • Personal anecdotes, including early navigational challenges, meeting his future wife on a flight, and professional go-around incidents, underscore the airport's lasting impact and demand for skill.
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Teterboro. It’s an airport in New Jersey—known as KTEB. It is only 12 miles by car or bus from Manhattan. They write songs about it. Pilots complain about it.The neighbors abhor it. Many corporate drivers loathe it. Many private pilots fear it. If you’re going to the Big Apple, you will find yourself there, sooner or later.

My own Teterboro experiences go back a ways—a long ways. With a newly minted private pilot certificate, I first rented a Cessna 172 at what is now Atlantic Aviation in the fall of 1967, just 55 years ago. In those days, there was no Class B airspace over LaGuardia, Newark, and Kennedy airports (KLGA, KEWR, and KJFK, respectively). I was living in a dorm room in Manhattan. To get to Teterboro in order to rent an airplane involved a subway ride to the port authority bus terminal and a bus ride to the airport or, I should say, to the corner of the airport. The FBO was a good half-mile walk from the bus stop.

Dick Karl

Dick Karl is a cancer surgeon who appreciates the beauty and science involved in both surgery and flying. Dick’s monthly Gear Up celebrates the human side of flying. He writes about his enthusiasm for both the machines and the people who fly and maintain them.

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