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IT’S UP TO YOU TO GET AWAY!
Off to Manhattan!
I know its winter. It’s usually cold but, is there a better place to be with your spouse, best friend, or family, than the big city?! In our northeastern part of the country, that place is New York City. Shopping in New York during the holidays, pure white snow gently drifting over sidewalks, and swirling around brightly decorated store windows at night, is the stuff of romance and movies…Miracle on 34th Street, Macy’s, Radio City Music Hall, Rockefeller Center. New York City is the epitome of the holiday season. Can you think of a better gift than being with your special friends or family for a day of shopping, or a weekend of shows, and people watching? You may have the ability to give a gift that will be remembered, and talked about, for years.
I can’t blame you, if you aren’t just delirious about driving all that distance to the city, through speeding, crazy traffic, and 4 lane highways of salt and sloppy slush. Say, doesn’t your plane have a heater? If it does, it means you can fly when it’s cold!
Sometime after Thanksgiving, when the weather guy says the weekend looks promising, check the weather again, open the hangar doors, check the fuel tanks, the oil, warm the engine and prepare for flight! The time between Thanksgiving and Christmas in New York is truly beautiful, and worth the trip. Of course, others feel the same way, so stores and streets may get a little crowded, but there’s so much going on, and it’s just part of the scene!
Let’s talk about the fun part, though…flying there! First, lose any trepidation you may have about flying into the New York TRACON. If it worries you, take Bob Miller’s New York trip, or do it yourself ahead of time, for practice. You’ll quickly find that, while the controllers are all business, and busy, they are the best. They are also helpful, interested only in keeping traffic flowing throughout the Metropolitan area, and helping you along, if you need it. Be sure to pay attention to them while you’re flying, though, and never carry on a conversation with anyone else in your plane while in their airspace, unless it’s flying business (remember…sterile cockpit). They’re busy taking care of multiple pilots like you, and don’t like to continually repeat. Otherwise, you’ll find it totally uncomplicated, with few problems.
We always file IFR, because it’s helpful entering a busy area on a flight plan, but, not essential. To me, though, it’s comforting to fly “in the system”, with all the professionals that know right where you are. That doesn’t mean you have to. If it’s a decent day, VFR is fine, as long as you call ahead, on the radio, for permission to enter their airspace. As a matter of fact, I’m always amazed at the number of planes flying VFR into the major airports of New York.
Which airport to use? It’s a personal preference. We’ve nested in about all of them at one time or another, and there are lots to choose from…from the home of the wide-bodies, at the major commercial links of JFK, LGA or EWR, to the busy corporate airports…which are often actually busier. The nearby corporate fields include Westchester County (White Plains)(HPN), Stewart (SWF), Teterboro, N. J. (TEB), Republic (Farmingdale, Long Island)(FRG), and MacArthur (Islip)(ISP). There are others, but generally considered a little far out.
For the New York area, we generally use Westchester County (HPN), at White Plains. The reasons are simple. First, while it’s one of the busiest New York area airports, the facilities are great, and easy to access. The landing fee is only 3 bucks (the airport authority will send the bill to the address of your registered tail number. Incidentally, be sure to pay it, if you ever want to go back!).
The FBO we use is Millionaire (formerly Westair). They’re a great group of friendly folks, have reasonable fuel (we have usually found them to be LESS than Syracuse, N. Y. for 100LL), and charge $20 nightly for a tie down. One night tie down fee is waived with the purchase of 15 gallons of fuel. The overnight parking fee, for your airplane, is much less than you would pay for parking your car in NYC! On top of it all, the smiling attendants greet you by your name after you fly in once or twice. Even though we’re sure it comes from their all-knowing computer, it’s a nice touch! Then, they always seem to be taking luscious hot, chocolate chip cookies out of the oven when we arrive!
This airport is VERY convenient, just north of the city. To make it even easier, the FBO will drive you the ten minutes to the train station in their courtesy van. From the Metro North Station, it’s $6.80 for a ticket into the city. If you hit it right, and get the express, it’s only 32 minutes, right to Grand Central. The local takes about 15 minutes longer, but you’re still dropped smack in the heart of the city, and shopping! It’s FAR less cost than a taxi ride ($40 - $60) from any of the other close-in airports if you fly commercial, and there are no hassles!
Incidentally, when you return to the airport on the train, just call the FBO from the train (about Scarsdale). They will pick you up at the train station, and bring you directly back to your plane.
A couple of practical notes…Try to avoid flying in, or departing, during peak times of the day. Remember those airlines that constantly blame “small planes” for all their delays? Well, they’re here as well, and can often be found clogging the taxiways and runways during the times they love to depart, or arrive…between 7 to 9 a.m., and 4 to 6:30 p.m. If they aren’t spraying kerosene on your windshield as you follow them along the taxiway, they are being vectored along the same airways, inbound or outbound, that we’re all obliged to use, especially in more congested metropolitan areas (same holds true for Boston, Chicago, Atlanta, etc.). That could slow up your departure a little.
If you’ve filed a flight plan, it may occasionally mean a runway (ground) hold before being cleared to depart, even though there may be little traffic at your airport. Don’t forget, all those commercial flights, from nearby major airports, are being funneled along the same airways you’re about to use. The longest wait for me has been about ½ hour, although some pilots cancel their IFR flight plan, in decent weather, and take off VFR, without having to wait for a slot. Up to you.
You’ll love the flying, the interaction with professionals, and the experience. The folks in the towers, and at the FBO’s, are usually terrific, and professional. Don’t be intimidated by anything you may have heard. It’s actually quite simple. I would say rewarding, but that depends on how much of your plastic the great stores of the city have gobbled up in the short day, or weekend, you’ve spent there! Spur of the moment traveling, or a planned weekend in New York, is exactly why you want to fly. It’s one of the incredible vistas you have opened with your pilot license.
If you are able, bring others with you to share the experience, even if it’s for a day. It will show them the comfortable, convenient, exciting, AND amazing world you have chosen to enter, that the earthbound just can’t appreciate. They’ll especially love, at rush hour, looking down on the 4 and 6 lane highways below, stuffed with stressed drivers and idling cars, resembling elongated concrete parking lots…or setting up for long final, on a clear, crisp morning, wisps of steam floating from chimneys below, while you look over the spectacular Manhattan skyline just a few miles beneath your wing. If you’re adventuresome, and have the time, fly down the Hudson, in the VFR corridor, below the towering skyscrapers of midtown, and salute as you circle the Statue of Liberty, before returning north to the airport. It will truly remain unforgettable for yourself, and everyone with you.
Don’t become stuck on the familiar sod runways of your neighborhood. It may be fun for the weekend, but there’s lots more you’ve opened up with that license. You’ve cracked the outer shell, into a new, wide world that’s now open to you. It’s taken time, and a great deal of sweat, and money, to enter the ranks of flyers. You’ve learned it, now you’ve earned it…the opportunity to travel, in a short time, to distances impossible for those hunched over the wheel of a car. You don’t have to wait for an excuse. Listen to the forecasts. If the weather for the day, or the weekend, sounds great…you’re outta here!
John Bouck lives in upstate Auburn, N. Y. He is a commercial and industrial real estate broker, licensed in New York and Florida. John flies a Cessna 210, as well as a Cessna 180 on amphibious floats. With over 2,000 hours of flight time, he holds a commercial license, with instrument rating, as well as seaplane rating, and is a CFI. He can be reached at: jcbouck@verizon.net. |
December!
It’s almost the end of another year! With December come the sounds,
songs and sights of the holidays. The days before Christmas have
begun their countdown. Sharing time with family, enjoying the
colorful, brightly lit Christmas trees, and listening to traditional
holiday songs are part of the romance of the season, so…here’s an
idea. 
Make
hotel reservations early if you’re traveling to any of the big
cities. Then, call for tickets at Radio City Music Hall, or
whatever else you may want to see, and book your seats. My wife and
I fly to the city quite a bit, as our daughter, son in law, and
grandson live on the east side of Manhattan. When we go, we find
just about everything we need on the internet…at the best prices. We
try to take advantage of all the information available on the net.
For a hotel, I would recommend logging on to Expedia, or
priceline.com, and bidding for your 3 ½ to 4 star hotel.
Expedia.com works on occasion, but we have found Priceline to be
consistently best, in terms of price. You may already have
different sources, though. If so, we’d love to hear about them.
However, we’ve been able to book rooms at the Grand Hyatt, as well
as other higher end hotels, for between $125 and $175
(regularly…over $400) a night, which is a bargain.