NYC area plane rental?
 

Any NYC area folks have recommendations on good places to rent a plane for the fun of it? I'm looking to take my girlfriend (who lives in Manhattan) down the Hudson VFR corridor for her birthday. I haven't flown a civilian prop since before I entered the AF, so I'll need to get checked out by the FBO or whatever. From my understanding, my AF medical (1042) counts as a Third Class Medical, but will FBOs know that?

Anything special I should know about flying the Hudson? Is this going to be more hassle than it's worth? It's going to be hard enough trying not to flare at 30 feet after flying the -10 for so long...

Im jealous, i want to fly for the military, but you can rent cessna 172 with glass cockpits out of panorama in white plains out of the westchester county airport..and for the hudson you need to get the terminal sectional for that area, i havnt flown it yet, my buddies have and there certain pts u have to report yourself. From white plains it would probably take 10 min to get to the area so it wouldnt be too bad. And i believe the rental rate there is around 130 i want to say.

Panorama at HPN for sure! That's where I trained.

But fly through the corridor with an instructor first and also take the FAA safety quiz. It's controlled chaos at best. Wouldn't want you sweating bullets trying to look cool with your girl by your side :cool:

Thanks guys. I'll check out Panorama. The Hudson can't be more dangerous than the Afghanistan airspace, dodging Predators and Russian cargo planes in thunderstorms at night. Or can it...

I went down the Hudson once as a section. It was a blast and very scenic! Lucky for us they just told everyone to get out of our way :D having to get checked out, pay for the instructor, and then rent the plane sounds awfully expensive for a GF ;) Have fun!

USMCFLYR

First off, thank you for your service!

Secondly, there's no way I can relate to that experience, but there's certainly more to the Hudson then many would think like reporting points, altitude separations between rotorcraft and fixed wing traffic, flying on one side of the river going southbound versus northbound. Just some small things to know that will make your flight much safer. At the very least take the FAA SFRA quiz on the Hudson or talk to a CFI before you go flying.

I actually recommend doing the flight at night. Not only is there less traffic, frequency congestion, and way easier to spot others, I personally find it much more beautiful at night!

Would love to show you pictures if you like.

Took my girlfriend flying at night too ;)

Cheers,
Mike

Btw, if you do go to Panorama, tell Chris G. that Mike from "Aruba" says what's up! He's the director of training there. Awesome awesome guy.

Flew the corridor in December. +1 for panorama, heard nothing but good things. This seminar about the corridor really helped me before taking the flight, here is the link if you want to watch it. The speaker was also my examiner for my PPL checkride. Enjoy the ride!

Flying the New York VFR Corridor - YouTube