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Re: A flight to nowhere?
Posted: Tue Apr 21, 2020 9:47 pm
by Steve
Brings back memories of the way things used to be. I was taking a Flight Review in 1985-6 (I guess it was called a BFR back then). I rented the airplane out of Gaithersburg, MD and the instructor and I flew out to do some air work. Then he suggested that we head over to Dulles for a landing. Which we did. Taxiing back for takeoff, we went past the future site of the Air & Space Museum, with the Space Shuttle Enterprise parked on the ramp! After taking off, the tower controller gave us an immediate right turn, so the Concorde could take off! It was pretty cool seeing that bad boy hurtle past us. Of course, no pictures - cell phones (at least the kind with cameras) hadn't been invented yet...
Steve
Re: A flight to nowhere?
Posted: Thu Apr 23, 2020 5:15 pm
by ememic99
Flying across empty and blue skies to shoot one ILS and two RNAV approaches.
Re: A flight to nowhere?
Posted: Sun Apr 26, 2020 9:04 pm
by CBeak
Re: A flight to nowhere?
Posted: Mon Apr 27, 2020 9:23 pm
by danno2000
Weather was good enough Saturday to do the Hudson River tour. It was my first time - it's about an hour south of my home base, and I figured I wasn't gonna get a better chance to do it in low traffic conditions.
As it turned out, a bunch of folks had the same idea, so it was far from empty. But the lack of helicopter tour traffic from the city made things a lot less complicated. I ended up doing the Skyline Route version, getting cleared into the NYC Bravo at 2000 feet and flying southbound to the Verrazano Bridge. Controllers were amazingly friendly and helpful to everyone - total 180 from the reputation they have.
Coming in, my initial plan was either to turn around and go back north or to descend below the JFK Bravo shelf and fly along the south shore of Long Island at 500 feet. But a bunch of GA planes were asking for touch and goes at Newark and LaGuardia, and I knew I wouldn't get another chance like this. So I joined the lineup, circled the VZ for a while, got cleared direct EWR to get in ahead of a passenger jet 20 miles out.
East turnout from EWR to the Statue of Liberty, then back up the Hudson at 1500 feet. Over to LaGuardia tower, they cleared me for an eastbound turn just north of Central Park to join the downwind for runway 31. Amazing views of everything. Almost no air traffic. LaGuardia was empty. No activity on the ground at all -- people are definitely staying home.
The circumstances are awful, but it was still a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Stay safe out there.
best,
dan
Re: A flight to nowhere?
Posted: Tue Apr 28, 2020 5:12 pm
by Don
danno2000 wrote: ↑Mon Apr 27, 2020 9:23 pm
Weather was good enough Saturday to do the Hudson River tour. It was my first time - it's about an hour south of my home base, and I figured I wasn't gonna get a better chance to do it in low traffic conditions.
As it turned out, a bunch of folks had the same idea, so it was far from empty. But the lack of helicopter tour traffic from the city made things a lot less complicated. I ended up doing the Skyline Route version, getting cleared into the NYC Bravo at 2000 feet and flying southbound to the Verrazano Bridge. Controllers were amazingly friendly and helpful to everyone - total 180 from the reputation they have.
Coming in, my initial plan was either to turn around and go back north or to descend below the JFK Bravo shelf and fly along the south shore of Long Island at 500 feet. But a bunch of GA planes were asking for touch and goes at Newark and LaGuardia, and I knew I wouldn't get another chance like this. So I joined the lineup, circled the VZ for a while, got cleared direct EWR to get in ahead of a passenger jet 20 miles out.
East turnout from EWR to the Statue of Liberty, then back up the Hudson at 1500 feet. Over to LaGuardia tower, they cleared me for an eastbound turn just north of Central Park to join the downwind for runway 31. Amazing views of everything. Almost no air traffic. LaGuardia was empty. No activity on the ground at all -- people are definitely staying home.
The circumstances are awful, but it was still a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Stay safe out there.
best,
dan
Nice Photos Dan.
Re: A flight to nowhere?
Posted: Fri May 01, 2020 1:07 pm
by danno2000
Nice writeup in my AOPA ePilot email on Rick's exploits here:
https://www.aopa.org/news-and-media/all ... to-nowhere
best,
dan
Re: A flight to nowhere?
Posted: Mon May 11, 2020 1:13 am
by Rick
My flight this morning - in honor of Mother's Day:
Re: A flight to nowhere?
Posted: Mon May 11, 2020 7:31 am
by thefoxx
My Flight to "no where" - was Tofino, BC Canada on the West Coast of Vancouver Island.
Absolutely incredible and I am embarrassed to say I have lived here all my life and never been there until now! It won't be the last!
A short 2 hour trip in my DA20-C1
Re: A flight to nowhere?
Posted: Tue May 12, 2020 3:49 pm
by CFIDave
Last week my pilot wife and I folded down both rows of seats in our DA62 and loaded it up with our pair of full-size road bicycles.
We then filed IFR to fly through the Washington, DC Special Flight Rules Area (SFRA) from our home field of Leesburg, VA to Cambridge, MD (KCGE) -- crossing over Chesapeake Bay to Maryland's Eastern Shore.
Landed and rode our bikes only about 3 miles into the town of Cambridge (there's even a nice paved bike path along US Rt. 50), toured the mostly-closed "old town" and waterfront, and then stopped at Kool's Seafood where we picked up more than a dozen steamed crabs "to go."
https://www.kooliceseafood.com
Rode our bikes back to the KCGE airport, flew home to KJYO, and made a huge mess eating crabs out on the back deck of our house.
Highly recommended for east coast/mid-Atlantic region pilots looking for an excuse to fly somewhere for great food.
(And KCGE fuel was only $3.02/gal as JetA prices continue to fall...)
Re: A flight to nowhere?
Posted: Tue May 12, 2020 4:09 pm
by Rich
thefoxx wrote: ↑Mon May 11, 2020 7:31 am
My Flight to "no where" - was Tofino, BC Canada on the West Coast of Vancouver Island.
Vancouver Island has a much more mountainous interior than it appears from the shore areas. A trip some years ago: Flew from Victoria to Tofino, where we spent a few days - then on to Campbell River for a couple more. Returned direct to home base at Paine Field from C.R.