Flying Over NYC!

A couple of months ago, I had my first “non” Young Eagles flight over New York City with my mentor Mr. Soco and my mother. It was incredible! My mother and I woke up very early in the morning and headed to Waterbury-Oxford Airport (OXC) to meet Mr. Soco. After the fog cleared and some breifing, we were in the sky before you knew it! It was a beautiful, clear morning. I had initially taken an FAA online course and passed the test to become comfortable in the Hudson River special flight rules area. Once we went past some lakes and mountains, I was awestruck by the picturesque beauty of the Hudson! We flew down the river, towards the Statue of Liberty. Along the way, I recognized the various checkpoints such as the Alpine Tower, GWB, and Intrepid. Once we got to the Statue of Liberty we were able to go down to 500 feet! I had never seen the Statue of Liberty before and I was esctatic! There was barely any traffic at all, except for this fleet of about five helicopters that I spotted beneath us – so neat! My eyes gazed upon unfamilliar sights of sky scrapers, their shadows looming along the river; ground zero, trains moving like toys on the tracks, and lots of boats in the water beneath us. My favorite part was actually getting to fly the plane (A Cessna 172). Flying for over a half hour was a big change from flying for five minutes. It was complicated, but it was exciting. It’s good that I’m a perfectionist! That was the longest time I ever flew in a small plane and I loved it – I can’t wait to start flight lessons! I truly learned a lot. I had a wonderful experience I’ll never forget.