Flying clubs NYC and New Orleans?

[CBG]

I am off to New Orleans (LA) and New York City next month on business and I'd like to do some flying there.

can anyone recommend a flying club where I can hire a plane?

Thanks in advance

[PhilD]

Can't help with New Orleans, but I was in NYC for 3 months last summer and rented from Caldwell Flight Academy at Essex County (KCDW) in NJ. It's reachable by bus from Manhattan, and they have a reasonable selection of planes and are very hospitable. Can't vouch for the weather though - it's a bit on the chilly side at the moment...

KJFK 281251Z 28006KT 10SM FEW070 OVC100 M11/M17 A3035

[CBG]

Many thanks Phil. I'll be looking into KCDW

[KCDW]

Er… you may guess from my monika that I fly out of there. I fly PA28s, so would be happy to do a flight share if Warriors are your bag. The cost is a miserly $72 per hour!, but you’ll need a checkout or 2 from a CFI if you want to fly solo.

The club is in New Jersey, maybe 30 miles from Manhattan. Teterboro is nearer, but while GA fly out of there, it’s a bit of a major airport, and ramp waiting times can really eat into your rental time, so I’m told.

There’s Westchester about the same distance to the north of Manhattan – don’t know what that is like.

Would agree with the above comments on CFA. Good, no fuss, no thrills club. Like many US clubs, many of the instructors are from Europe, and I found communicating with them quite difficult.

They insist on you packing your own fuel checker thingy, and will force you to buy one, if you don’t come prepared.

The skies are very busy. It’s a fairly busy airfield, and they have both runways 22 and 27 going at the same time. Yes it’s cold at the moment, but the air is clear, so good vis (for New York) and low icing.

PhilD was a little bit cavalier with the journey there! It’s a 30 min ride on the bus from the Port Authority. But then you get dumped on the motorway, and have to walk 1.5 miles on a verge of a busy road to get there (the Yanks aren’t keen on pavements). It’s usually an invigorating start to the day! A taxi/rental car would be $100 from NYC, so no option.

Hope this helps

Richard

[PhilD]

KCDW

Good point about the walk - I was doing it in the summer, so a relatively pleasant stroll - it could be a bit of a problem in winter, although you can often find someone hanging around CFA who can drop you back at the bus stop.
An alternative way to get to CDW is to get the bus to the nearby shopping mall and then a taxi, which works out cheaper. However if you are going midweek it is cheap to rent a car in Manhattan (typically $50 or so), and this may be the best way to get there (rental prices rise significantly at weekends). Agree that taxi from Manhattan is not viable.

CBG

If you do fly in NY don't miss the opportunity of flying the VFR route down the Hudson river past Manhattan, the Statue of Liberty (outside the 1 mile exclusion zone!) and over the bay towards the Verrazano bridge. IMHO one of the great VFR flights. Recommend you do this for the first time with an instructor as it can get busy.

[CBG]

Thanks guys!

Yep - part of the idea is to try - if possible - to fly the VFR route down Manhattan. Given that I only have a couple of days in NYC (10 & 11 Feb) I won't have the time to be checked out. In fact, even if I was checked out there is no way I would want to go up on my own or as P1 in what must be the busiest airspace in the world. Too easy to get it wrong, bust an airspace or whatever. GA does not need this right now, especially in NYC.

What I was thinking of doing was to rent an aircraft with an instructor and fly left seat as P1/s. Alternatively, as you suggest Richard, we can share a flight, you are in charge, I am just a passenger, I enjoy the view and we split the costs.

Can we get in touch? You can e-mail me your contact details at [email protected]

Cheers