One of the more challenging things about flying IMC is that it is a perishable skill. Despite keeping up with the legal requirements for currency requirements, flying in actual IMC is a whole another ballgame.
Yesterday, my plane partner and I decided to practice flight in real IMC and I can’t want to do more - it’s definitely a very different experience compared to flying under the hood.
One of the most incredible reasons to own an airplane is to fly around with your family all over the country. With a newborn, not only does that become an additional challenge, but also turns into an adventure of its own.
Last month, I flew with my friend, wife and son to Block Island. On any given day this would be just another flight to an island, but this time around it was extra special - my son got to experience the ocean and beach for the first time in his life.
This is why general aviation is such an incredible industry - it creates experiences and memories that very few other things can create.
One of the best parts about having a plane and flying it constantly is the ability to just fly on a weekend or a slow day to grab a meal nearby.
On Memorial Day, we decided to fly from KCDW to KUNV. While we were originally supposed to fly to KBID for breakfast and a beach day, that didn’t end up happening due to the cold front that had been sitting in the area for a few days.
The forecast kept improving with every TAF and we decided to depart from KCDW at 10am. Upon departure, we were in the clouds at roughly 2000 feet and were IMC for nearly 12-15 minutes. The views were absolutely stunning.
While it did get a bit bumpy closer to our destination, it was a pleasant flight with very few other planes in the area.
We grabbed a crew car from the FBO, drove to Cracker Barrel for a very late breakfast and then repeated the same process for our arrival into KCDW.
Overall - a fantastic flying day and a good get away for the day - thanks to the ever improving weather.
Filed under: reason to be a private pilot.
This was a fun trip from KCDW to KMVY for breakfast.
One of the most surreal things about flying an airplane in the New York area is the ability fo fly the Hudson Corridor - seemingly without any guidance.
Freedom Tower
A few of my friends and instructors were incredibly helpful in helping me decipher the FAA training and I’m hoping this post will make it easier for anyone looking to fly the Hudson Corridor.
Make sure you take the NY SFRA course.
Download and save this document on your EFB.
OPTION A: Flying the Skyline Route
For anyone who is nervous about flying the route, I would highly suggest this option - I did it the first few times to feel comfortable and it was a breeze.
When you get within 10nm of the corridor, give New York approach a call.
Let them know that you’d like to fly the skyline route in the Bravo at 1,500 feet.
Nearly 100% of the time, they’ll clear you into the Bravo, provide traffic guidance and will help you navigate the corridor amongst other traffic.
Be vigilant at all times - this is a highly trafficked area.
OPTION B: Flying the Exclusion
If you’re up for the challenge, this is a route that a lot of the experienced pilots prefer - although it does make me a bit nervous since you’re effectively flying in no man’s land.
Refer to the kneeboard document.
Tune in your frequency. I suggest backing it up on COM2 if possible - this is not a place to lose radios.
Keep your altitude in check - I usually like to leave a 100 foot buffer and prefer to fly at 1,200 feet.
Self-announce diligently - and frequently. If you’re not from the area and are unsure of landmarks, refer to the Google Maps satellite view.
Follow all guidelines - speed, lights, frequency and position reports.
Be extremely cautious and careful. If you’re the pilot flying, let your passengers enjoy the views. Don’t get distracted by New York’s beauty.
Regardless of how many times you fly the corridor - it is a sight that’ll make your jaw drop.
When I first started my private pilot training, I was overwhelmed with all the materials that were provided to me by my flight school. However, with my incredible instructor, a lot of help from Google, the /r/flying community and a few other resources - I was able to get an 87 after a few short weeks of prep.
Not having been in school for far more than a decade, it was a bit terrifying to learn how to absorb information that was highly technical in nature — and frankly topics that I dreaded. The tips below helped me feel a lot more comfortable:
Ask your CFI – my CFI was amazing. Anytime I had a question for him, he would try to find different ways of explaining it to me without losing patience. I truly enjoyed learning from him. During COVID-19, we even did a few ground lessons via Skype.
Ask fellow students – if you’re at a flight school - make friends with fellow students and learn from them as well. I ended up being friends with one of the students and we would prep each other for the written and the checkride.
Use Sporty’s – I have no affiliation with them, but get the Learn to Fly Course from Sporty’s. Watch the videos, go through the sample questions and keep taking mock tests until you are getting a 90% or higher consistently. As soon as you’re in that range, schedule your written test ASAP. I found this hard to believe since I was given a mountain of reference books when I first enrolled at school - but just following this course was a lifesaver and gave me a tremendous amount of confidence.
Digital E6B – they’re allowed and they make life a lot easier. Even though I did learn how to use the manual E6B - I never used it once for my written or my checkride. It saved me a tremendous amount of time and also gave me a ton of confidence by simply using the method of elimination on questions I was uncertain about.
Passing the exam felt like I had just won the lottery - and it was worth every minute of effort I put into the process. Just don’t get overwhelmed with all the study tools and stick to Sporty’s - it’ll make your life a lot easier.
A few weeks ago, I wanted to go for a really long flight - in the hope of completing my commercial cross-country requirement. It was a lot of fun - although flying solo for a few hours does tend to get boring after a while.
This was an amazingly flight - while in the middle of doing my night-currency requirements, decided to fly over to New York via the Skyline tour. Absolutely beautiful.
Having done this a few times now, doing this flight during sunset was absolutely breathtaking:
An incredible flight at sunset around New York City. https://www.asareen.com/ https://www.instagram.com/aanaravs/
This will go down in my flying career as one of the best trips ever. Here’s a quick video of the incredible cross-country trip:
In this video, we fly a Cessna 182n from New York to Florida. Plus a special flight over the Hudson Corridor. Airports: KCDW KFFA KMYR KBKV KEYW KGIF KDPL KM...
This was an incredible way to end the accelerated IFR training that I did and we also picked up a passenger to give him a ride over to KHPN!
This was my second or third takeoff on a grass runway and despite all my training, I’m still not comfortable with it. But, it was fun nonetheless. An incredible experience I look forward to exploring more!
Landing at Class Bravo airports especially during COVID-19 is certainly an interesting experience. What an incredibly large airport and so different from landing at all the other untowered fields.
Ever since getting my private pilot certificate, I wanted to fly to one of the airports on Long Island. I’ve had the opportunity of going to either East Hampton or Montauk for the last few years by driving there and it just took too long.
However, with an aircraft - that trip was cut down quite significantly. We loaded up the plane with ForeFlight, some cold bottles of water and departed KCDW at 10am. Despite it being a Saturday in the summer, the traffic around TEB and HPN was quite manageable - and was even pleasant thanks to VFR Flight Following.
It took us about an hour to get to HTO. initially I had called out my position inaccurately while speaking to the tower. Once we got that sorted out, we landed and went to the FBO for a quick lunch. It was also my first time dealing with ramp controllers - which was a unique experience!
Unfortunately the traffic at East Hampton was quite awful and instead of going to the beach for lunch, we were only able to squeeze in a quick slice of pizza before we had to head back to the plane and then fly into CDW.
It was most certainly a memorable flight and I’m glad that the aircraft gives us so much more reach and opens up a world of possibility.
APRIL 25, 2020
With air travel at an all time low, I’d been seeing a lot of GA pilots doing the perfect trifecta of doing touch-and-goes at the three major NYC airports: EWR, JFK and LGA.
This weekend, I flew with a partner of mine and we did a touch-and-go at Newark Airport. It was absolutely incredible, although nerve wracking given that I’m still a low hour pilot.
However, it was absolutely worth it in the end. Hopefully before this thing is over we can do the perfect trifecta.
Also - gas was $3.75 at N40 - insane!
APRIL 14, 2020
Finally had a chance to get on VH spur of the moment. Took a quick flight from HPN to N40 for some fuel and then did a flight in the Hudson Corridor. What an incredible experience and even got to fly over the house.
Refuel Stop
Freedom Tower
Edgewater, NJ