Animosity2k Posted December 26, 2019 Report Share Posted December 26, 2019 So three weeks back after a re test for (of all things busting airspace) I finally passed my checkride. The night before Christmas Eve I decided to make a last minute decision to fly up to NYC with a friend and overfly the Hudson River from Cleveland Ohio! I posted on a few online groups and most everyone thought it sounded sort of absurd as a new pilot, and more so on less than a 15 hour notice before departing. I hopped onto FAASafety.gov and took my "Hudson River Exclusion" class and printed out my paper certificate and slid it into a nice shiny page protector to make it look more prestigious! I called up Kent Wien and let him know we were coming and he met me and a friend at POU! Within 25 minutes of meeting up with Kent we were off again and on the way to the Hudson. I must say as someone who just failed a checkride for busting airspace in the easiest area ever I was a little nervous! Turns out it was quite an easy trip to fly from POU. All I had to do was stay under 3,000 ft ( chose 2,500) then dropped down to 900 by the time we hit the Alpine Tower at the top of the Hudson which was my first check point to start calling out on the Hudson CTAF. After flying down the Hudson and circling the Lady about 5 times I decided why not try and call up Laguardia and ask for a Bravo clearance into the East River and I'll be damned they approved it and handed me off to JFK for the rest of the East River. I had the trip of a lifetime! We flew over 8.5 hours in one day, it was quite the work load but I loved it. It was almost as fun as ferrying the CT home from California! I'm not sure if it's because it was Christmas Eve or what but outside of maybe 6-7 helicopters we were the only Fixed Wing flying in the area! IMG_0512.MOV Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
okent Posted December 26, 2019 Report Share Posted December 26, 2019 Great pics and a great adventure! It's on my bucket list for sure. Thanks for sharing this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AGLyme Posted December 26, 2019 Report Share Posted December 26, 2019 Unbelievable story and pics... that’s a hardcore Christmas story. Well done ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KentWien Posted December 26, 2019 Report Share Posted December 26, 2019 What an adventure! The CT is quite the adventure machine for sure. Nice way to break-in your new license. Good Job! Next time I’ll fly along side! Kent Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coppercity Posted December 26, 2019 Report Share Posted December 26, 2019 Awesome! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Koerner Posted December 26, 2019 Report Share Posted December 26, 2019 I agree, that is a great trip. I went through northbound a couple months ago. Unfortunately, I didn't have the great visibility you had - no point posting my pictures. I saw one other fixed-wing near the north end and at least a dozen helicopters near the south end. That part was a bit unnerving and they were not maintaining strict radio protocol - jerking around with each other on the radio. People who want to make this trip probably should get it done before something happens and the opportunity is lost. Mike Koerner Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trip Posted December 27, 2019 Report Share Posted December 27, 2019 I was on the One World Observatory Monday and about every 5-10 minutes someone was flying by. Pretty cool. I hope I can do that one day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Runtoeat Posted December 29, 2019 Report Share Posted December 29, 2019 Thanks for sharing. This is a technical airspace. I would opt to take along a passenger to provide for a second set of eyes and ears but you handled it well. Mike's comments about doing this before it's closed is well taken! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Animosity2k Posted December 29, 2019 Author Report Share Posted December 29, 2019 2 hours ago, Runtoeat said: Thanks for sharing. This is a technical airspace. I would opt to take along a passenger to provide for a second set of eyes and ears but you handled it well. Mike's comments about doing this before it's closed is well taken! I did have a second set of eyes, ears, and hands with me. Do you guys really think they’ll close it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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