Flying down the Hudson River

I'll be flying out of White Plains, NY (HPN) to Allentown, PA (ABE) in early
June and would like to fly down the Hudson River to the Statue of Liberty
then west. It looks like the Class B and TEB's Class D would allow this at
1000' MSL without any clearance or approval, am I right in this assumption?
Anyone done in recently, especially after 9/11? The tops of those bridges
look mighty tall, like less than 500' clearance flying below the floor of
the Class B. Is this a busy and heavily traveled corridor? It'll be a
Saturday.
Thanks, Chris

I flew it just yesterday. If you stay below 1100MSL, you need no
clearance. Monitor 123.05 which is the river CTAF


On Sun, 21 Mar 2004 18:21:08 GMT, "SeeAndAvoid"
wrote:

I'll be flying out of White Plains, NY (HPN) to Allentown, PA (ABE) in early
June and would like to fly down the Hudson River to the Statue of Liberty
then west. It looks like the Class B and TEB's Class D would allow this at
1000' MSL without any clearance or approval, am I right in this assumption?
Anyone done in recently, especially after 9/11? The tops of those bridges
look mighty tall, like less than 500' clearance flying below the floor of
the Class B. Is this a busy and heavily traveled corridor? It'll be a
Saturday.
Thanks, Chris

Like Bill said; and treat the river as a highway. Keep to the right in
both directions. A Class B chart is mighty handy if you've never done
this before. There's a lot of little details (like the 500 foot airspace
floor behind The Lady).

Rip

Bill Zaleski wrote:

I flew it just yesterday. If you stay below 1100MSL, you need no
clearance. Monitor 123.05 which is the river CTAF


On Sun, 21 Mar 2004 18:21:08 GMT, "SeeAndAvoid"
wrote:


I'll be flying out of White Plains, NY (HPN) to Allentown, PA (ABE) in early
June and would like to fly down the Hudson River to the Statue of Liberty
then west. It looks like the Class B and TEB's Class D would allow this at
1000' MSL without any clearance or approval, am I right in this assumption?
Anyone done in recently, especially after 9/11? The tops of those bridges
look mighty tall, like less than 500' clearance flying below the floor of
the Class B. Is this a busy and heavily traveled corridor? It'll be a
Saturday.
Thanks, Chris

Make sure to have the NY terminal area chart. Treat the river like a road,
keep to the right (Northbound on Manhattan side, Southbound on Jersey side).
Frequently self-announce your position on 123.05 and watch out for sometimes
heavy tour helicopter traffic, especially around the "Lady." If you circle
her, do it at 500 feet and go in the same direction as the helis. They are
pros and know what they are doing but can't read your mind, so when you get
close to the lady announce your intentions; now is not the time to be shy on
the radio. When coming in from the North be at 1000 feet by the Alpine
tower and that is also your first reporting point. Keep your speed at 90
kts and for this trip have every light and strobe on that you have. Keep
your head on a swivel for other traffic. Stay over the river, but close to
the sides. For crossing the bridges you may want to be more in the middle
as the towers are somewhat high. Monitor 121.5 on comm 2. And make
absolutely sure to get a briefing for any last minute TFRs (sporting,
whatever). A Saturday with nice weather will tend to be a busy time there,
but if you are careful it is quite safe.

Peter

"SeeAndAvoid" wrote in message
news
I'll be flying out of White Plains, NY (HPN) to Allentown, PA (ABE) in
early
June and would like to fly down the Hudson River to the Statue of Liberty
then west. It looks like the Class B and TEB's Class D would allow this
at
1000' MSL without any clearance or approval, am I right in this
assumption?
Anyone done in recently, especially after 9/11? The tops of those bridges
look mighty tall, like less than 500' clearance flying below the floor of
the Class B. Is this a busy and heavily traveled corridor? It'll be a
Saturday.
Thanks, Chris

I agree with everything else posted, except in a fixed wing, I circle
the statue @900' and stay well about the helo's. They don't usually
go above 500'. Stay tight when on the West side, as the Class B goes
down real quick.


On Sun, 21 Mar 2004 21:11:01 GMT, "Peter Gottlieb"
wrote:

Make sure to have the NY terminal area chart. Treat the river like a road,
keep to the right (Northbound on Manhattan side, Southbound on Jersey side).
Frequently self-announce your position on 123.05 and watch out for sometimes
heavy tour helicopter traffic, especially around the "Lady." If you circle
her, do it at 500 feet and go in the same direction as the helis. They are
pros and know what they are doing but can't read your mind, so when you get
close to the lady announce your intentions; now is not the time to be shy on
the radio. When coming in from the North be at 1000 feet by the Alpine
tower and that is also your first reporting point. Keep your speed at 90
kts and for this trip have every light and strobe on that you have. Keep
your head on a swivel for other traffic. Stay over the river, but close to
the sides. For crossing the bridges you may want to be more in the middle
as the towers are somewhat high. Monitor 121.5 on comm 2. And make
absolutely sure to get a briefing for any last minute TFRs (sporting,
whatever). A Saturday with nice weather will tend to be a busy time there,
but if you are careful it is quite safe.

Peter

"SeeAndAvoid" wrote in message
news
I'll be flying out of White Plains, NY (HPN) to Allentown, PA (ABE) in
early
June and would like to fly down the Hudson River to the Statue of Liberty
then west. It looks like the Class B and TEB's Class D would allow this
at
1000' MSL without any clearance or approval, am I right in this
assumption?
Anyone done in recently, especially after 9/11? The tops of those bridges
look mighty tall, like less than 500' clearance flying below the floor of
the Class B. Is this a busy and heavily traveled corridor? It'll be a
Saturday.
Thanks, Chris

"SeeAndAvoid" wrote in message
news
I'll be flying out of White Plains, NY (HPN) to Allentown, PA (ABE) in
early
June and would like to fly down the Hudson River to the Statue of Liberty
then west. It looks like the Class B and TEB's Class D would allow this
at
1000' MSL without any clearance or approval, am I right in this
assumption?
Anyone done in recently, especially after 9/11? The tops of those bridges
look mighty tall, like less than 500' clearance flying below the floor of
the Class B. Is this a busy and heavily traveled corridor? It'll be a
Saturday.
Thanks, Chris



Doing stuff like that is what makes GA awesome.

"Darkwing Duck" wrote in message
...

Doing stuff like that is what makes GA awesome.


I always try to take visitors to the area on such a flight. My favorite
time is late in the day as the orange sun lights up the Manhattan buildings,
but I also like doing the flight at night - truly awesome also.

I'm going to do the helicopter tour (or two) one day also.

You can also pick up the New York Helicopter Route Chart, which,
at 1:25,000, shows even more detail than the VFR terminal area
chart. All the FBOs in the area are likely to stock it.



rip wrote in message .com...
Like Bill said; and treat the river as a highway. Keep to the right in
both directions. A Class B chart is mighty handy if you've never done
this before. There's a lot of little details (like the 500 foot airspace
floor behind The Lady).

Rip

Bill Zaleski wrote:

I flew it just yesterday. If you stay below 1100MSL, you need no
clearance. Monitor 123.05 which is the river CTAF


On Sun, 21 Mar 2004 18:21:08 GMT, "SeeAndAvoid"
wrote:


I'll be flying out of White Plains, NY (HPN) to Allentown, PA (ABE) in early
June and would like to fly down the Hudson River to the Statue of Liberty
then west. It looks like the Class B and TEB's Class D would allow this at
1000' MSL without any clearance or approval, am I right in this assumption?
Anyone done in recently, especially after 9/11? The tops of those bridges
look mighty tall, like less than 500' clearance flying below the floor of
the Class B. Is this a busy and heavily traveled corridor? It'll be a
Saturday.
Thanks, Chris

It was better before 911: http://users.erols.com/viewptmd/Liberty.jpg,
http://users.erols.com/viewptmd/Trade Center.jpg
(taken from a Cherokee a few months before)

--
Bob (Chief Pilot, White Knuckle Airways)


"Peter Gottlieb" wrote in message
et...

"Darkwing Duck" wrote in message
...

Doing stuff like that is what makes GA awesome.


I always try to take visitors to the area on such a flight. My favorite
time is late in the day as the orange sun lights up the Manhattan
buildings,
but I also like doing the flight at night - truly awesome also.

I'm going to do the helicopter tour (or two) one day also.

Yeah? Like who? I've asked everywhere I've been and nobody had it.

"RM" wrote in message
om...
You can also pick up the New York Helicopter Route Chart, which,
at 1:25,000, shows even more detail than the VFR terminal area
chart. All the FBOs in the area are likely to stock it.



rip wrote in message
.com...
Like Bill said; and treat the river as a highway. Keep to the right in
both directions. A Class B chart is mighty handy if you've never done
this before. There's a lot of little details (like the 500 foot airspace
floor behind The Lady).

Rip

Bill Zaleski wrote:

I flew it just yesterday. If you stay below 1100MSL, you need no
clearance. Monitor 123.05 which is the river CTAF


On Sun, 21 Mar 2004 18:21:08 GMT, "SeeAndAvoid"
wrote:


I'll be flying out of White Plains, NY (HPN) to Allentown, PA (ABE) in
early
June and would like to fly down the Hudson River to the Statue of
Liberty
then west. It looks like the Class B and TEB's Class D would allow
this at
1000' MSL without any clearance or approval, am I right in this
assumption?
Anyone done in recently, especially after 9/11? The tops of those
bridges
look mighty tall, like less than 500' clearance flying below the floor
of
the Class B. Is this a busy and heavily traveled corridor? It'll be
a
Saturday.
Thanks, Chris