How To: Fly the Hudson Corridor

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.

1. Make sure you take the NY SFRA course.

2. 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.

1. When you get within 10nm of the corridor, give New York approach a call.

2. Let them know that you’d like to fly the skyline route in the Bravo at 1,500 feet.

3. 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.

4. 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.

1. Refer to the kneeboard document.

2. Tune in your frequency. I suggest backing it up on COM2 if possible - this is not a place to lose radios.

3. Keep your altitude in check - I usually like to leave a 100 foot buffer and prefer to fly at 1,200 feet.

4. Self-announce diligently - and frequently. If you’re not from the area and are unsure of landmarks, refer to the Google Maps satellite view.

5. Follow all guidelines - speed, lights, frequency and position reports.

6. 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.

NYC Skyline at Night

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.

Hudson Corridor and Over Central Park

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/

East Hampton Airport

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.