[tc1234c]

We had a wonderful July 4th in NYC. The highlight is to fly around the lower half of Manhattan. Before reaching Governors Island, we got clearance from La Guardia tower (126.05) to cross Central Park. At 1,000' we had a panorama view of the city. Here is a link to our trip photos:
Click here for photos

 

[plehrke]

Cool, I did not know they let GA fly over Central park or circle the Statue of Liberty. I will have to plan a trip.

 

[bsacks05]

I, too, did not know you could overfly the city. Those are some fantastic pictures!

 

[aviationgeek84]

Great write-up and photos! My wife would be in heaven.....

 

[rv7boy]

Ted's NYC Trip

Ted, I always enjoy your trip photos and reports. THanks for making the effort to share with us.

 

[tc1234c]

Yes, you can do it.

This is part of the NY TAC. See note on East River, a deadend street. A little higher on the chart there is another note "CTC LA GUARDIA TWR ON 126.05 OR 263.0 2000' OR BELOW PRIOR TO 6 NM OF LA GUARDIA ARPT". If you don't want to do a 180 over East River over Roosevelt Island you better get an clearance before reaching the mouth of East River.

The helicopter chart show all the routes. They will approve fix wing to fly some of (may be all) those routes. When I called, I was number three to enter East River, following a fixed wing and a helicopter. ATC call all my traffic for me until I was south bound on Hudson. As for Statue of Liberty, I followed a low wing. It is better to get lower since just west of the statue the floor of KEWR is 500'. With moving map GPS it is not hard to fly that area. To be honest I did not see as much as my wife. I have to fly the airplane and she got to enjoy every minute. With this kind of trip she is 100% behind my flying hobby.

 

[Vlad]

Ted knows some tricks

Ted knows some secrets when and how to operate in this airspace Ted what about the trip to Tampa? You never mentioned it on VAF... or am I missing something?

 

[tc1234c]

Okay, no more secrets. Here are picture to Tampa:

http://picasaweb.google.com/tc1234c/6252009CruiseVacation#

 

[AndyRV7]

Great Pics!! I moved to the city last year and I would have sworn I took some of those shots!! The river tour is defintely a must-do for pilots in the area.

 

[boom3]

Wow very nice pictures! I've been to NY once but never flown over. It's amazing how many buildings there really are.

 

[Tonard Bales]

Remember NY Yankee Cory Lidle

[This is part of the NY TAC. See note on East River, a deadend street. A little higher on the chart there is another note "CTC LA GUARDIA TWR ON 126.05 OR 263.0 2000' OR BELOW PRIOR TO 6 NM OF LA GUARDIA ARPT". If you don't want to do a 180 over East River over Roosevelt Island you better get an clearance before reaching the mouth of East River.]

PLEASE BE AWARE THAT A 180 OVER ROOSEVELT ISLAND IS WHAT KILLED CORY LIDLE. The buildings in Manhattan on the west side of the East River are higher that 1100 feet and with an easterly wind you won't have enough room to make the turn. I live on Long Island generally stay clear of the East River altogether. The Hudson River corridor is a great and safe flight which includes the Statue of Liberty, Ground Zero, The Intrepid, Central Park, Yankee Stadium, etc. It will tickle your wife's fancy.
If you want to make some extra points fly east along the Long Island shoreline(a short part will entail flying at 500' ASL along the beach under the JFK airspace) to East Hampton Airport(KHTO. Call a cab and get lunch in East Hampton. Very nice.
Another option is to fly to Mattituck Airport (21N) and get a tour of the Teledyne Mattituck Engine facility. Then, take a tour of the area's vineyards. Get a room in an area Bed and Breakfast. Also good for browny points.

 

[tc1234c]

Not wise to do 180 on East River (may end the flying carrer)

Totally agree with not doing an 180 on East River. It is not worth the risk making such a tight turn. Clearance to cross Central Park is not difficult to get from La Guardia. Last time I did south bound on Hudson and this time cross Central Park to Hudson from East River. The lighting (in the morning) is just right from East River.

I did the 500' over the water south of JFK to Republic Airport a few times. Next time I go, I will fly 7,500' over the class B and come down between Republic and Mac Arthur to land on Republic. It will be faster. One of these trips, I will go further east to visit the airports you mentioned.

 

[Jamie]

Ted:

Very cool pics. Thanks for sharing! I was supposed to take my wife up to NYC several weeks ago but the prospect of us walking around in the rain the entire time was not uplifting, so we scrubbed and went somewhere else (Outer Banks of NC).

Jamie