Lake Placid, NY

Jim Lewellyn · #1 11-10-2009, 07:43 AM

My wife and I had planned a weekend trip to Lake Placid, New York to celebrate our 21st anniversary. But, we or should I say, I had a bit of a problem with that. Sun-N-Fun just happened to be scheduled for 2009 during the week of our anniversary. After a brief discussion, my understanding wife said that I should not miss SNF. “We can go to Lake Placid later in the summer.” Well, summer came and went and we just never seemed to find a weekend that worked for us. But this past weekend it would finally fall into place.

High pressure was dominating the northeast weather pattern on Saturday morning. We loaded up the 6 and pointed north for the 224 nm flight. The weather at home (Bloomsburg, PA) was overcast at about 12,000 feet, and winds were calm. The temperature was in the mid 40’s. Once airborne, my wife and I discussed the wisdom of heading further north on such a cold morning. More than once we joked about doing a 180 and heading toward a warmer climate. But the heater in the 6 was working fine. In fact, I barely had it cracked open. Level at 5,500 the OAT was 41. Somewhere around the half way point, I decided to switch fuel tanks just to keep things leveled out a bit. The ceiling was beginning to creep down which was not what I had hoped for. I decided to check the XM weather on my GRT Sport to see what things were looking like ahead. XM was reporting a 6,000 foot overcast at Saranac. Saranac is about 12 nm northwest of Lake Placid. The sectional shows that the highest peak (obstacle) we needed to cross was at 5700 feet. My original plan was to climb up to 7,500 to cross the mountains. But since the ceiling was low, I decided to fly around the west side of the mountains and fly through the pass between Saranac and Lake Placid. Following this route, I could stay a couple thousand feet above the terrain. The XM report was correct and the ceiling was down to about 6,700. I nudged up against it since it seemed like the safest place to be. The last 40-50 miles of this trip are a bit lonely. There is nothing beneath the wings except for snow covered trees and scattered lakes. I kept a constant scan for places to ditch if the unfortunate reality of engine problems occurred. There were very few places that looked inviting down there. But, the Lycoming purred like a kitten and soon the Saranac airport was in sight. I turned right and could begin to make out the Lake Placid airport. I cancelled flight following and began a fairly rapid decent down to 2,700 MSL. I followed a spam can upwind for runway 14.

Once on the ground, my wife went to the FBO to call a taxi, and I began to tie down the 6. I didn’t even have the first rope in hand yet and a friendly voice was welcoming me to LKP. The voice turned out to be Phil Blinn a Lake Placid based builder and owner of an RV6. Phil and I hit it off right away and chatted RV stuff while he helped me tie down. Phil offered to drive us to town, but my wife had already got her hooks into a taxi.

We got a room at the Mirror Lake Inn, which overlooks… you guessed it, Mirror Lake. There are a ton of things to do in Lake Placid, like taking the Olympic tours of the ski jumps, bob sled runs, etc. but we had done these things a few years earlier and decided to relax for the day. We spent the day strolling through the shops in Lake Placid, the evening at a youth Hockey game at the Olympic Center, then off to The Cottage for some grub.

Sunday morning we took the 2.7 mile walk around Mirror Lake. The entire lake has a side walk around it. This is simply one of the most beautiful walks a person could ever enjoy. The mountains are all around you and Mirror Lake beside you. The fresh cool morning air is just what this body needed. With one lap around the lake behind us, we decided to check out of the Inn and head for the airport. Phil met us at the FBO and helped us fuel up the 6. Once again we chatted about RV stuff. As we taxied out to runway 32, my wife and I talked about all of the nice people we have met in our travels. Phil is another that I will never forget. He made us feel very welcome and at home. We launched off runway 32 into a 7 knot cross wind. We circled up over the airport to 8,500 feet into a crystal clear blue sky and watched as Lake Placid faded off behind us. Another fantastic weekend made possible by our RV6.

Here is a link to some video that we shot. It is not the best, but its what we got... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RY9f7OlO0Jo

tc1234c · #2 11-10-2009, 11:36 AM

Jim,

Beautiful place! Glad you had a wonderful belated anniversary trip.

KirkGrovesRV8 · #3 11-10-2009, 11:55 AM

Great write up Jim
Hope to see you soon!!

Jeff Vaughan · #4 11-10-2009, 01:58 PM

Sounds like you are enjoying that panel upgrade!!!

Capflyer · #5 11-10-2009, 02:23 PM

Went to Paul Smith's College about 20 miles away and spent a lot of time in Lake Placid and skiing at Whiteface. The highest viewing point I've had up until your video was from the top Mt. Marcy. It's been a while since being up there and with the RV I really have no excuse to make the trip. Now all I need to do is figure out how to get 2 pairs of skis in an RV4.....and get the heat to work in 30 below!

jsharkey · #6 11-10-2009, 07:19 PM

Lake Placid is a beautiful place all through the year - and home of Eddie the Eagle, Britain's one time Olympic ski jumping hopeful.

Here are some pictures of Lake Placid from a trip a few years ago in an asthmatic club C172. I can't wait to go back when my RV6 reaches Phase 2. As described by Jim the climb out over the mountains should be much less worrying than the last time

I wonder if the RV6 below is the same one you describe?

Ski Jumps

Jim Sharkey

Jim Lewellyn · #7 11-11-2009, 08:03 AM

Hi Jim,

Yep, that's Phils RV6. I bet that is a looooong climb up out of there in a 172! When I departed Lake Placid (1750 msl), I circled around the airport 2 1/2 times and I was at 8,500 msl. You will really appreciate your 6 the next time you make the trip!

Quote:

Originally Posted by jsharkey

Lake Placid is a beautiful place all through the year - and home of Eddie the Eagle, Britain's one time Olympic ski jumping hopeful.

Here are some pictures of Lake Placid from a trip a few years ago in an asthmatic club C172. I can't wait to go back when my RV6 reaches Phase 2. As described by Jim the climb out over the mountains should be much less worrying than the last time

I wonder if the RV6 below is the same one you describe?

Ski Jumps

Jim Sharkey

Threetracker · #8 11-11-2009, 10:27 AM

for the nice write-up and the video of Lake Placid. I grew up in Schenectady, NY and remember the Adirondack Mtns. very fondly. Mirror Lake is special and there isn't a colder ski area in the US than Whitface!

Oregon is home now and it is beautifully green in the valley during the winter months. I don't love the rain but it does beat the snow...thanks for refreshing my upstate NY memories.

Jay Sluiter
Albany, OR (S12)
N124CS...RV-12...getting close!

bhassel · #9 11-11-2009, 11:16 AM

I spent 4 years stationed at the 'Grif' in Rome. Love Upstate - especailly in the fall - just incredible.

It was great seeing those pictures again. The beauty and wilderness of upstate is incredible, even though I've now adjusted to the southwest.

Thanks for sharing,

bob

wilddog · #10 11-11-2009, 11:18 AM

I had my first airplane ride in a J-3 at Lake Placid when I was 8-9 years old a long time ago. My parents had no idea of the airplane addiction they were starting. My grandmother used to live in Jay just east of Lake Placid and we used to visit during the summer to escape the heat in Va. Beautiful country, my wife thought New York state was all city until I took her hiking in the Adirondacks.