I must be the only Ppruner who didn't know about Meigs Field - after being put to shame by an 8 year old long ago, I decided that MS flying wasn't for me!
Although landing fees are rare in the States, I thought the $12 fee at Meigs was worth every penny for the wonderful experience. They charge $12/24hour for parking which I thought was reasonable given the location - their overheads must be quite high.
I didn't make it to the Shedd aquarium this time - I only had a couple of free days on a working trip to BFGoodrich Avionics at Grand Rapids, Michigan, and used the time to fly over the lake to Chicago from there. Next time!
I was surprised to read about the overshoots/undershoots - the runway is 3900'long (displaced 550'on 18) and 150' wide. People usually manage to land on the black stuff surrounded by grass - I wonder why the water makes a difference?
On the subject of undershooting: Has anyone flown to Catalina Island - about 20 miles of the LA coast?
The threshold is on top of a 1500' cliff so undershooting isn't an option - unless you want to leave your mark (literally) on the cliff face. It certainly concentrates the mind!
Getting it right means you live to sample the famous Buffalo-burgers in the airport cafe. They seem to be safe - no reports of Mad Buffalo Disease yet.
Happy Flying - including MS Sim!
[This message has been edited by Flying Lawyer (edited 06 November 2000).]