New York State of Mind

It was Tommy’s suggestion: “Dad, why don’t we fly ourselves to New York?”

We have a very capable Cessna 210-5 that we’ve co-owned for the last decade. In that time, our family has taken several trips south to Florida and everywhere in between, but never farther north than Pennsylvania. With a lot of enthusiasm and the reassuring help of ForeFlight, we discovered that it wasn’t only doable but looked like a lot of fun.

We studied all of our options going into New York via general aviation. Many Google searches would reveal that Linden, New Jersey (KLDJ), was an easy and preferred way to reach the city. Also in the mix were LaGuardia (KLGA) and Teterboro (KTEB) due to proximity, but Linden won out because of a nearby train station promising to take us into the city for minimal cost and in only 30 minutes. 

The day before we left, I had already worked the flight plan dozens of times, looking for potential pitfalls and hiccups. I read online about the Hudson River Skyline Route, where we can actually fly our airplane up and down the Hudson River at 1,300 msl for some spectacular views of NYC. It all sounded a little intimidating until I watched a couple of YouTube videos on it and took the FAAST online module training. I ran my plan by my son, and he agreed that we were very capable of having this added adventure.

We departed early on a Tuesday morning from the Capital Jet Center FBO in Charleston, West Virginia (KCRW), filing direct to KLDJ at 7,000 feet. It was a beautiful morning without the typical fog that resides at KCRW in the summer. A 10-knot tailwind was also in our favor as the Cessna tracked around 150 knots over the ground. This made the direct trip to KLDJ less than two and a half hours. 

Two hours later, Allentown (Pennsylvania) Approach handed me off to Newark (New Jersey) Approach when I was 30 miles east of the city. From this point on, things happened fast. My original plan was to stay under Newark’s control until I was around 10 miles east of Linden, then descend underneath the Class Bravo, cancel IFR, fly toward the water, and contact LaGuardia Tower. The kind controller at Newark Approach asked me, “Skylane 8320Z, do you want to go straight into Linden or do something else?” as if he was reading my mind. 

I keyed the mic and told him what I had rehearsed (and even had printed out and laminated on my lap).

“Yes, sir, 20Z with VFR request,” I said.

“N8320Z, go ahead with your request.”

“Yes, sir, we are requesting Bravo clearance for the Hudson River at 1,500. I’d like to enter from the south over the VZ (Verrazano-Narrows Bridge) and track north up the Hudson up to Central Park, cross Central Park to the East River, then track southbound over the East River.”

I held my breath and crossed my fingers after the long transmission.

“Approved as requested, turn right to a heading of 110 degrees,” said Newark Approach.

Tommy and I looked at each other and smiled, followed by the first of many of the day’s fist bumps.

At ATC’s request, we descended to 3,000 feet, then to 1,500 a few minutes later. I was informed by Newark that I would be handed off to LaGuardia tower when we get close to Staten Island and to tell controllers my plan exactly like I did before.

The views of the city were already incredible as we approached the water. I called LaGuardia tower and gave it my plan then was cleared into the New York Bravo airspace at 1,300 feet.

From this point on, Tommy and I had different jobs. Mine was to keep us at 1,300 feet, hugging the right side of the Hudson River, and listen for our tail number. His was to watch for traffic, take pictures, and monitor that my altimeter stayed at 1,300 feet msl.

Flying north from lower New York Harbor through the Narrows and into upper New York Bay was nothing short of magical. We immediately located Governors Island and then the Statue of Liberty to the left. Again, more mind reading from ATC: “N8320Z, would you like to circle the Lady a few times at 1,300 feet?” 

Hell yes, we would! 

We circled the Statue of Liberty a few times, all the while with touring helicopters beneath us at 500 feet. I then asked to proceed north up the river. LaGuardia asked me to report when over the USS Intrepid, an aircraft carrier turned into a museum near Central Park. 

This part of the flight went fast as we crossed the park, got handed back to Newark Tower for our southbound trip down the East River and back out of the Narrows. At this point, I asked to fly direct to Linden Airport. Tower gave me directions to KLDJ and had me squawk VFR.

Linden Airport was difficult for me to find in the sea of concrete and fuel tanks. My low altitude made getting the visual tough as well, but with the help of my GPS and my son’s keen eyes, we stayed below the Bravo at 800 feet and entered the left downwind for Runway 27. None of our unicom calls were answered and our ADS-B showed no one else in the area.

After a great landing, we taxied to the fuel pumps, shut off the engine, and embraced. 

The FBO at Linden was great. The gas was expensive, but I knew that coming in. We tied down next to the only other transient airplane on the lot, went to the train station, got on the New Jersey transit, and arrived in Penn Station in New York City around 30 minutes later for around $8 each.

Tommy and I spent three fantastic days in the city, dining at great restaurants that he found online, seeing a wonderful Turnpike Troubadours concert, and walking more than 10 miles each day. We enjoyed our stay at the Moxy Hotel in Chelsea.

Our departure on Friday was as easy as the arrival.

Taking the train back to Linden, we preflighted, untied, and filed our flight plan on ForeFlight. Great weather with only a slight headwind. After taxiing to Runway 27 and doing a thorough run-up, I called Newark Clearance. We couldn’t get in contact with Newark Clearance after several tries, so we departed VFR and stayed low and underneath the Bravo until far enough west. We later contacted Allentown Approach for flight following.

This was by far the best-ever combined usage of airplane ownership, vacation days, and fatherhood. It was a trip that I will always remember and hope to repeat soon.