Aerobatic Flyer,
That’s the Land of the Free for you. Even after something as dreadful as 9/11, they were very reluctant to put the TFR’s in place.
March last year (just 6 months after 9/11), when I was being checked out for the US, my instructor suggested we did the Hudson / Central Park / LGA route that you mention. “Yeah right” I thought.
The conversation went like this:
Us: “La Guardia Approach, Piper Warrior N2280Q, 2000’ Tappen Zee bridge, request transition through your airspace”.
LGA: (barely masked incredulity) “N2280Q – do really mean to speak to us?”
Us: “Affirm, 80Q”
LGA: “standby”
2 long minutes later – we got clearance ending with:
LGA: “… and DON’T, repeat DON’T go south of Central Park”
From which I assumed that the patrolling F16 overhead had us locked up and was ready to fire…
And agreed, flying over a major airport at 2,000’ in a spam can was fantastic…
