There have been thousands of flights bringing in tens of thousands of pounds of relief supplies. The vast majority of those flights are done by a private individual with his or her own plane. One of those pilot/owners is Joe Budge from Annapolis Maryland. Joe recently came back from spending a week of hauling supplies from Ft. Lauderdale and Nassau to Haiti. Here’s his story.
Day 1: Saw an announcement on the internet that a non-profit in the Bahamas had organized an all-volunteer general aviation supply train for Haitian relief. Bahamas Methodist Habitiat had organized a similar effort several years ago when Eleuthra was devastated by hurricane. They were re-activating it in the wake of Port-au-Prince’s devastating earthquake. Spent several days trying to get through to them via email without luck. Finally called the FBO in Nassau where they’re basing the effort and talked to Abraham. He said “get down here!”
I just learned that Red Bull has chosen NYC for it’s United States location. The Air Race World Championship course will be laid out in the Hudson River Corridor – or it’s new name – NYC Class B Hudson River exclusion zone. What it means is that millions of people will get a ring-side seat to some of the best competitive aerobatic flying in the world.
Here’s a video giving an overview of how the races are set up:
Tickets (if you want super-prime viewing) are not on sale just yet. When they do go on sale, you’ll be able to buy them online here.
As a local, I’m really excited to have the opportunity to see this up close with only a short drive or train ride.
As a pilot, I’m blown away that Red Bull was able to negotiate to use this airspace – some of the busiest airspace in the world. Or course the FAA just reconfigured this airspace, simplifying the rules, last November, so maybe that actually paved the way for this to happen.
Nonetheless, I think this is going to be a great tourism boost for Jersey City and New York City.
[B18] officially opened a couple of days ago. About a dozen of us from PurpleBoard.net met there today.
It was an exciting flight for me as this was my first ice airport landing in my low wing, retractable gear, new-to-me (about 20 hrs in her to date) Mooney 205. I was slightly apprehensive about getting snow jammed in the breaks or hitting a snow bank with a wing, or the pitot tube. I confirmed that the runway and taxiway was wide enough that snow banks would/should not be a concern – even if the NOTAM said that the tallest banks were 16”.
I couldn’t say no. I know that flying into Alton Bay is on my “must do” mission list when choosing a new plane. I know that other low wing planes regularly fly into Alton Bay (though the Mooney does have lower wings than most). But I also know that last year’s landing was essentially a non-event.
Short Final for Rutland, VT
8:20am. Wheels off and enroute to Rutland (KRUT) to pick up Dave, my first “civilian” (non-CFII) passenger in my Mooney. I’m loving my Garmin 530 / Aspen PFD / King autopilot combo and practice a coupled IFR approach into RW3. Dave is out on one of the taxiways snapping some awesome pics of my approach. I taxi to the FBO (who seem very friendly), wait for Dave to put his car away and climb in. 9:40a we power up and launch for Alton Bay.
It’s a bit bumpy climbing through 1-2000′ but then as we level off for cruise at 5500 it’s a smooth ride with 150 mile visibility! A few minutes pass and we can see the skyline of Boston! Wow whata day.
Approaching the southern end of Lake Winnipesaukee from the west we have to go over some steep hills/mountains. Turning downwind, along the western edge of the lake and eastern feet of the mountains, the air gets really rough. We’re getting bumped and whacked around. Man I hope this stops when we get into the open air of the base and final approach area. Andy, who’s approaching from the south, calls a straight in final. Click to continue »
Twas the night before Christmas, and out on the ramp,
Not an airplane was stirring, not even a Champ.
The aircraft were fastened to tiedowns with care,
In hopes that come morning, they all would be there. Click to continue »
Working on my transition training for my Mooney, I’m getting drips of dual time. I’ve had this plane for one week now and have only been able to eek out 6 hours of dual. The slow pace it almost excruciating. The only thing that makes it bearable is that there are TONS (almost literally) of manuals to read in between flights.
The good news for today though is… I earned my Complex Aircraft endorsement!
That means my instructor has deemed me safe to fly an airplane with a constant speed (variable pitch) propeller, flaps and retractable gear.
Now all I need is 4 more hours of dual and my (insurance) leash will be severed and I can solo Katie. Not sure when that will happen. Hopefully sometime next week. These crazy holidays are getting in the way. I don’t want to eat, drink and be merry….wait… I want to be merry…FLYING!
I was extremely excited, and as a result pre-mature to announce the last Mooney I thought I was going to purchase. I was hurt morally and financially when it failed the pre-buy and the owner didn’t want to make concessions.
But things are different this time! I actually waited for it to clear the pre-purchase before making this public announcement (again) – I’m going to be an OWNER!
Now THAT'S what I call a PANEL!
Meet Katie, my new plane:
1987 Mooney 205 SE
2500 TTSN
200 SMOH from Gann Aviation with GAMInjectors
1015 Lbs Useful Load
Check out this list of goodies:
Garmin 530 WAAS Aspen EDF 1000 Pro PFD – eat your heart out! (which is linked to the 530 and includes GPSS* *will fly a FULL approach, INCLUDING holding pattern and missed, hands off. ) PMA8000b Audio Panel (includes connection for cell phone)
WX-950 Storm Scope Click to continue »
Following the August 8th plane and helicopter accident that claimed nine lives, the FAA developed new airspace rules for the Hudson Corridor, or as it’s officially known, the NYC Class B Hudson River exclusion zone, which become effective today.
First I want to say that these are decent rules that we can live with (pun intended). Fortunately cool heads prevailed and the most scenic airspace in the world is still open and accessible.
In a nutshell, the FAA did three things: 1) Took was was suggestions previously and made them requirements. Pilots must:
* Maintain a speed of 140 knots or less.
* Turn on anti-collision and aircraft position/navigation lights, if equipped.
* Self-announce their position on specific radio frequencies.
*Carry current charts for the airspace and be familiar with them. 2) Adjusted the floors of the surrounding class B airspace to a consistent 1300 MSL. 3) Added a Transient and a Local airspace layer.
*Planes passing through the corridor stay between 1000′-1299′ MSL
*Planes flying local route (sightseeing, etc) stay under 1000′ MSL
Thankfully, no draconian rules. All quite reasonable. I feel optimistic that this wonderful jewel of aviation will be preserved for the foreseeable future and more people will be able to enjoy breathtaking scenes such as these:
OMG. I’m so devastated and so happy. Devastated because the plane of my dreams turned out not to be. Happy because I’m out of the deal and got (most) of my deposit back.
As you can see in my earlier post, I was totally excited to be purchasing Mooney N58105. Trust critical to a purchase such as this and it quickly eroded as the pre-purchase was performed.
Cracked rib. Would you trust this?
Background: The plane had damage history from an emergency off airport landing. I was very apprehensive about about owing a plane with damage history. I was told by many pilot friends that if it the repairs were done properly, it would be OK. Claim: The owner assured me that the repairs were done “professionally and were imperceptible”. He further added that it “was a better plane after the repairs and paint job were done. Reality: The first phone call from the Mooney shop started like this “I’ve started the inspection and these are some of the worst repairs I have ever seen. Are you sure you want me to continue”. I was devastated. The list of items he found early on washed over me and I saw my dream slip away. I had to sleep on it, clear my head.
The Piper Cub is an iconic light airplane that’s perfectly suited for flying “low and slow” (less than 200′ above the ground (AGL) at 65 knots). Almost 20,000 of them were built between 1937 and 1947 and a flight in one time-travels you back to the barnstorming days of early aviation. I long for a ride, or perhaps even a shared ownership in one someday. In the mean time I’ll have to make due with the Cessna 172’s I have available to me.
I was really in the mood for some low and slow today. The sun was streaming in my office window, warming my back and beckoning me to come out and play. By 2:00 I couldn’t resist anymore. I wrap up my work and head out to the airport.
Wow, what a lovely autumn day. The air is still. The bright gold, yellow and rust colored leaves of autumn are a beautiful sight against the deep blue cobalt sky. I can’t wait to get up in the air. Preflight goes smoothly and I’m up in the air before long. Click to continue »
