Our conversation with ATC at La Guardia Airport was what we sort of expected:

ATC: “Cirrus, are you a jet?”

US: “No, single engine piston.”

Silence.

ATC: “And you’re VFR?”

US: “Yes.”

Silence.

Still, they soon cleared us to Runway 13 and we were on our way to Hyannis is less than 15 minutes.

Flight instructor Jeff Herskovitz and I flew the Cirrus SR22 from LGA to Barnstable Municipal Airport (HYA) in a brisk 55 minutes. Jeff agreed to reposition the plane from Republic-Farmingdale on Long Island (FRG) to LGA to pick me up. General aviation aircraft park at SheltAir Aviation at the Marine Air Terminal. If you wish to fly out of LGA, arrive and depart before 8am. The landing and parking fee for an aircraft weighing less than 5,000 pounds total $80. After 8am, add an additional $150. You also need to make a reservation with LGA before arrival or they won’t be happy.

Once at HYA, there are a few FBOs to chose from. We parked at Air Cape (not to be confused with Cape Air, the airline). For single engine pistons, there is no landing fee, which will make this the most affordable part of your stay in ritzy Cape Cod. While the FBO employees offer that New England hospitality, the services are largely bare bones. They will call you a taxi, though.

Cape Cod is of course the playground of the Kennedy family. There are 100 miles of beach in Barnstable County. For pilots who also spend time as boaters, Cape Cod provides some of the best sailing on the east coast.

-Andrew

Don’t Check the Bags, Spend the Savings on Good BBQ
from 2Fly.com Special Correspondent Satch:

When at Dallas-Fort Worth Airport (DFW), try Dickey’s BBQ @ gate C6. It’s worth the Skylink ride if you have the time, not to mention that people fly hundreds of miles for it (ok maybe that’s a coincidence) . I had the two meat plate with beef brisket and dark chicken meat. Probably not the best BBQ you ever had but certainly among the best in the airport and judging from the other food offerings I made a good choice.

The green beans were surprisingly good, but what do I know I’m a baked bean guy from Boston. The price was on the high side. My plate and small drink ran $13.44 but it was worth it after my flight with no food.

PS. I saved like $25 bucks with just my carry-on bags so I treated myself- take that American Airlines.

-Satch

(ed note: If you are not at terminal C, but nearby at terminals B or D, and are in the mood for bbq, try Cousins near gate  B27 and D28). For a complete list of DFW eats, click here.

 
Those of us who live in Manhattan tend to think that anything north of the Bronx is upstate New York. There are many ways to travel upstate- driving on the boring and bland NYS Thruway or the more scenic Taconic Parkway. But upstate New York really should be experienced by air.

This week, we traveled to the state capital, Albany, for a business meeting. The Cirrus SR22 took us from Westchester County Airport (HPN) to Albany International (ALB) in a speedy 38 minutes.

These days, there’s a lot going on in the Albany region. At the airport, Eclipse Aviation is building a giant maintenance facility. And Million Air has never looked so good as it does at ALB.

 
Who needs fighter jets when the Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome Airshows in Rhinebeck, NY, offer something far richer: an upclose, personal experience with aviation history. It is one of the few places where you can see original World War I and World War II-era planes fly on a routine basis.
Old Rhinebeck offers airshows and other aviation events throughout the weekends each summer. (map) It may be the only airshow that is home to three original Curtiss bi-planes. To add to the event, the pilots dress the part, wearing vintage aviator gear. And, for $50, you can catch a ride in a bi-plane.

On Saturdays, the show features aircraft from 1909 to 1939. Sundays, the focus is on World War I planes.

Volunteers put this show on each week, support the grass airstrip, and maintain the museum. Their current big project is building an almost-exact replica of the Spirit of St. Louis.

The Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome was the work of Cole Palen, who learned to fly for the military at the old Roosevelt Field Airport on Long Island (today, a mall). He collected vintage planes and opened Old Rhinebeck in 1960.

Today, ORA is in the steady hands of Hugh Schoelzel, the former chief pilot of TWA, who is now the President of ORA, and a group of dedicated volunteers who give flight to history every weekend in the summer.

-Andrew

Groton, Connecticut is where many of the Navy’s nuclear subs are built and it’s the location of one of our favorite airports. What puts an airport on our favorite list? The main criteria is that I can find it easily. And that it has big runways. And GON is easy to locate. It’s on the water, across from Fisher’s Island. I used to take friends to lunch at GON frequently until one day I landed and the tower asked “Where do you want to park?” and I said “At the restaurant”. And the tower responded, “The restaurant closed a year ago.” “Oh.”

But the restaurant is back, with the newly opened Demarinis Family Italian Restaurant.

Now, it’s true that the standard of food quality at an airport restaurant doesn’t have to be at the level of Peter Lugar or even Cracker Barrel, to merit a visit, but I was disappointed. We all returned our chicken parm heros because they were cold. And we were the only one’s at the restaurant, so it’s not like they were too busy to cook the food. Luke warm reviews for the burger too.

So, we hope the restaurant improves because GON needs and deserves one.

-Andrew

As a somewhat snooty Manhattanite, I don’t often find myself on the upstate side of the Hudson River in New York. Afterall, I consider “upstate” anything north of the Bronx-Yonkers line.

But when I found myself with business in the college town of Ithaca on Friday- home of Cornell University and Ithaca College- I figured this would be a good time to take a Cirrus SR20 on a spring cross-country flight to Ithaca-Thompkins Regional Airport (KITH). And it’s another example of how flying youself is better than commercial. US Airways did not have a schedule that matched the time I’d have to be in Ithaca. Thankfully, the weather across New York has finally turned to spring. Even Ithaca, known for an average July temperture of 19 degrees (kidding), was a balmy 70. But there was still snow on the ground.

Flying across the western portion of New York is remarkable at this time of year and I highly recommend it. Leaving from Republic-Farmingdale on Long Island, we crossed through Connecticut and headed northwest, just south of Poughkeepsie (KPOU) then across the Hudson River. The terrain changes from flat to mountaineous as we pass through the ski areas near Hunter Mountain. Then we’re through Binghamton (KBGM) and into Ithaca (KITH). I like Ithaca Regional because it has only one paved runway- though I almost mistook a farm for the airport at first. (It also has a grass strip) The 194nm VFR trip on a severe-clear day took about 1hr10m in the Cirrus SR20.

Pulling off runway 32, the FBO Taughannock Aviation (don’t ask me how to pronounce it) is right off the taxiway. And for $10, they’ll let you borrow the crew car for a couple of hours. If you have time for lunch, check out the Rose Diner near the mall which is around the corner of the airport (ask for directions).

Ithaca is not just a place for higher learning, it’s a solid cross-country flight on a great spring day.

-Andrew

We have all run to catch a flight, now you can run on the runway. A JFK runway. This Sunday runners will pound the pavement for a 5k race benifitting the JFK Rotary Club.

“It is a very unique race as the main runway is actually closed to aircraft landing and taking off. Aircrafts are routed to land and take off from a secondary runway during the race. During its history the race has never been canceled. As a result of 9/11, security has become a major issue in planning the race. The Rotary Club works very close with the Airport authorities ensure the security programs in place are strictly adhered to. Runners actually run on the longest Runway at JFK which is almost 14,000 feet, although only a short portion of the main runway is used for the 5K race.”

Click the link below to find out more. (Airline tickets are up for grabs for particpants!)

http://www.jfkrunwayrun.org/

Good luck to all racers.
-Guy

One of our favorite airports, Sky Acres (44N) remains up for sale.  The one runway, non-towered private field in Kingston, NY is a great lunch and weekend brunch destination.  The price tag is still $5 million, but the owners are now willing to sub-divide the lot up to different buyers.  One thing that won’t change, however, is that Sky Acres must remain an airport because it accepted Federal funding for runway improvements.  That’s good news to those worried about airport-shrinkage.

This could be a perfect opportunity to build an airpark.  There appears to be enough acreage to support private homes or condos.  You can download to prospectus here. Prospectus.pdf

-Andrew

After several years of sitting empty, Groton-New London Airport (GON) in Connecticut will be home to a new Italian restaurant.

According to the airport’s website, Demarinis Family Italian Restaurant will begin serving pilots and passengers this Saturday, February 3 at 4pm.  We reported earlier this month on the airport’s efforts to bring a new eatery to the field.

Pilots should park their planes in the GA transient ramp.

-Andrew

January 9

A couple of years ago, I had the embarrassing misfortune of flying a couple of friends to lunch at the Groton-New London Airport (KGON) in Connecticut. I landed and stopped on the runway when the controller asked me “where would you like to park?” I said, quite confidently, “next to the restaurant.” The controller replied “you’ll need to taxi down the highway. The restaurant here closed two years ago.”

KGON is still looking for someone to occupy the 2,500 square foot space and is now advertising it on the airport’s homepage. It boasts an “outdoor bbq area.”

The would-be restaurant is located in the main (read: only) terminal and should be a good fit. But KGON is a very seasonal airport, as it’s a gateway to Block Island- which is a summer spot. If you always wanted to run a greasy-spoon at an airport, call KGON at (860) 445-8549 OR EMAIL them at gon@po.state.ct.us.

-AS