An Ever Changing Sky....

Sunday, January 27, 2008 started out like any other flying day that Dad and I share, though that quickly changed. We arrived at the airport and noted a white colored, twin engine airplane smack dab in the middle of the airport on the shorter of the two runways. It was between the main runway and the taxiway. To make a long story short, it turns out that one of airplane's tires had a blowout and was left there since the night before. The plane had to be jacked by the wings and the tire repaired right there on the spot. Anyway, no one was injured and the field remained open.

Sky conditions that day were clear in the morning, even though a cloudy start was predicted. Soon, though, it became apparent that more clouds than sun would be present for at least the first half of our flying day. And before we even started the engine, many clouds had formed and were moving in. So, after a nice and toasty engine pre-heat we boarded the plane and within one rotation of the propeller, the engine sprang to life. We gave the engine a thorough warm-up and I taxied to runway 08, checked for traffic and off we went.

Almost immediately after breaking ground, we could feel it was going to be a bumpy flying day, due in part to the now apparent formation of clouds and the fact that a front was passing through the area. I wanted to fly east towards Playland amusement park to shoot some winter pictures of the park as a whole, and also their only coaster, Crossbow. As we flew east, though, we noted how the air became more smooth as we flew underneath the dark, gothic-looking clouds that were now ever so present about the entire area. It was only when we entered an area of sunshine that the turbulent air emerged, tossing us around once and a while. En-route, we noted the Bridgewater Commons shopping mall to the north and the town of Somerville to the south. Next we noted the first and second Watchung Mountains ahead and to the north as I was now flying parallel to Route 22 in a northeast direction. The town of Scotch Plains was now visible, and just ahead and to the left, I spotted the park. Just as I remembered it from my Summer 2006 fly-over, it was still very colorful due to the red colored brick walkways that line this child-friendly park. Dad flew a few CCW circles around the park as I snapped away, capturing about 20 shots of both the coaster and the park grounds.

Flying south, Dad mentioned how he wanted to see more of the Casino Riverboat and large Yachts he had seen while driving up to my place before we left for the airport. I then altered our course which took us southeast, directly over the Menlo Park mall:


I seized the opportunity and snapped a few pictures of this shopping mall since I have very little coverage from this location. As we approached the conglomeration of steel and cement traversing the Raritan river, carrying the Garden State Parkway and State Route 9 overhead, I snapped a few pictures, one of which is displayed below:


Finally, we spotted the yachts and the Riverboat moored to the dock on the northern shore of the river:


Again Dad flew a couple of CCW circles so I could shoot some aerials of these vessels, then we flew back west towards the bridges and made a turn to the south.

I said to Dad that I wanted to then fly in a southerly direction to do an aerial photo update of Six Flags Great Adventure and their newest coaster, Batman: The Dark Knight. I pointed the nose south, paralleling Route 9. It was here that the flight became more interesting than we had hoped for. We noted what looked like smoke ahead of us, and very hazy conditions ahead and to the east of our course. The haze was expected as weather system, or front, was predicted to move from northwest to southeast. Just then we realized that this smoky look was in all actuality a snow shower, since the temps at our altitude were well below freezing. Not wanting to experience a head-on collision with a mini-blizzard at 2,000 feet, I turned a bit to the right, now heading southwest. I figured I would just fly around it, then continue southbound once again. But then more snow showers were noted ahead of us once again. The visibility to the north and west was exceptional, however, so we decided to head towards home just in case the weather was deteriorating in that location as well as what we just experienced. So I nixed the Great Adventure fly-over that day. This new route took us just north of the Princeton airport, over the northern edge of the Sourland Moutain and on to the town of Flemington. By this time, the weather had improved immensely, the clouds had thinned out and the sunshine was warm and cheerful.

Not concerned with the weather any longer due to our witnessing the passing of the front with clear, drier weather to the west, we decided to fly to Queen City airport in Allentown, PA for a lunch break. The surface wind in this area was from the northeast, and as I circled around to land, I noticed I was a bit high. Making full use of the Cessna's Fowler Flaps, we descended quickly ending in a smooth touchdown. And since lunch is lunch, and nothing really notable took place while we were there, I'll skip right to our take-off from the airport. The wind had now shifted from the northeast to the northwest with the passing of the front, so we took advantage of the two runways at Queen City and departed runway 33. After departing, I headed directly to Dorney Park to shoot some pictures of their new VooDoo coaster, still in the construction /assembly phase.

Next up was a short flight to the south with the ski slopes of Bear Creek in our sights. This ski area was packed, had all man-made snow and the contrast between this snow and the bare, rocky & tree covered land surrounding the slopes, made for a nice photo-op:


Dad flew a few CCW circles around the perimeter so I could capture some photos. We had never flown over this particular ski area before during the winter months, so this was rather unique. After getting all the aerial photos that I could, I took the controls and circled CW so now Dad could check-out the action below. The plane was getting hammered by the winds riding along the valley, then shooting up the mountain slope. Ok, it was time to start heading back, but I had a slight detour in mind.

I wanted to get some more pictures of the Bethlehem Steel Company near Allentown. The problem was that this facility lies on the border of the Lehigh Valley International Airport's inner limits of their Class C airspace, and I did not want to have to call approach control and the tower for permission to shoot only a handful of photos. Instead, I used my GPS to navigate as close and as safely possible, then zoom in to get my photos. As always, the plant looked as frightening and haunted as can be, and in total disrepair:


Rumors say it will be demolished very soon to make way for a Casino in 2009. Only time will tell, though. Breaking away and climbing out of this area, I pointed the plane in a northeasterly direction, heading for the towns of Clinton & High Bridge, NJ. This part of the flight took us just south of Phillipsburg as we crossed over Interstate 78, then north of Spruce Run Reservoir as we approached High Bridge. I flew some circles of the Ken Lockwood Gorge, then headed south towards Clinton, destined for our home base airport.

As we spotted the airport up ahead, we noted the wind at this location was from the north-northeast, which was again a different direction than what we experienced at Queen City airport. This meant that I had a direct crosswind to deal with, though it was only blowing at about 10 mph. On final approach, I crabbed the airplane to the left, and as I began to flare I already had the left wing down to compensate for the crosswind. After a smooth touchdown, I taxied to the gas pumps for some much needed liquid gold. Avgas at our home base airport is still only $4.25 / gallon, whereas others are charging upwards of $5.00. The gas attendant, who incidentally is one of the owners of the airport, was hunting as he usually does each Sunday during the winter months. This meant we had to gas the plane ourselves. This is not a problem with two of us, but by oneself on a cold, breezy afternoon with a high wing airplane like ours, this is not a fun job.

Anyway, after paying the bill, starting the engine once again and taxiing back to our tie-down spot, I do what I always do before I shut her down for the day. I run the engine to 1700 RPM and check the magnetos in case the plugs loaded up on our landing descent. I then bring the throttle back to a full idle and turn off, then quickly on again the ignition switch to ensure that this switch indeed kills the engine. Finally, bringing the engine back to a nice idle I pull out the mixture control, starving the engine of fuel and bringing it to a standstill. This was a flying day full of excitement and variety, and the sky conditions added this this. Definitely a memorable one, and as always we hope our next flight will be just as memorable...

Thanks for Reading !!!

Amusement Parks, Ski Areas & Choppy Air...

Sunday, January 13, 2008, was labeled as a day to prepare for what could be our first major winter storm, predicted for the day after. And one would usually expect that with increasing high clouds, a rather tranquil day with calm winds would prevail, generally preached as "the calm before the storm". Though today was different. There was a rather stiff breeze from the east, and the air was a bit choppy as we soon found out.

Dad and I decided not to pre-heat the engine today because the temps were already approaching 40 degrees by the time we were ready to fly at 11AM. Of course, the engine sprang to life after only one revolution of the propeller, and within 5 minutes we were airborne and climbing to the north, en-route to our first destination. I had originally wanted to fly east towards a small amusement park in Scotch Plains, NJ called Playland, but because of the hazy conditions in that direction, I decided against this route.

So, next on my aerial photo list was Wild West City in Netcong, NJ. This attraction features a town just like you would find in the wild west, complete with a dirt main street, wooden poles to tie your horse to and many shops like a General Store, Blacksmith, Emporium, etc. In this one of a kind attraction in northern, NJ, there is also a real Stagecoach and train ride, and both get stopped by bandits on horses as part of the show. Dad flew two CCW circles of the attraction as I snapped away, capturing about 20 pictures to my trusty Canon S2. And though it was bumpy, most pictures came out rather clear, with only minor blurriness. I wanted to shoot photos of this attraction in the winter because of the lack of foliage. The train ride and other areas run right through the trees, and the winter season is the best time to capture these hidden areas. Summer, though, is much more cheerful with park visitors present, and I will do another photo flight during this season as well, which makes for a nice comparison.

Next on my list was the Land of Make Believe in Hope, NJ. I spotted Interstate 80 just to the south of Wild West City, and headed southwest, crossing the interstate just east of the town of Hope. I could already see this small children's park to the south, and proceeded to shoot distant pictures as I approached and decreased the plane's airspeed for a closer look. Dad flew only one circle around the park since I already had a number of photos from this place, and I only wanted some update shots and to show what this park looks like in the winter months.

Ok, on to Blairstown and directly over the small, general aviation airport that exists just south of the town. We then spotted Yards Creek, a hydro-electric generating station built into the eastern slope of the Appalachian ridge. This area features a large, aqua colored pipe which diverts water from the reservoir perched high upon the ridge, through the hydro-electric generators to the pond below. I shot some nice, clear photos of this unique power generating station in northern NJ, then headed west over the Appalachian ridge.

We then noticed Shawnee Mountain ski area just ahead of us. The contrast between the man-made snow and the rugged, rocky terrain was a sight to behold, and we flew one complete circle of the maze of trails below, capturing several pictures. I also noted a small area containing water slides for use in the summer months. We continued flying southwest, noting East Stroudsburg airport just ahead. Then I remembered that a few of my colleagues stayed at the Great Wolf Lodge, a giant resort and indoor water park in the heart of the Poconos. I had always said I would get some aerials of this attraction, and so I did. We flew one complete circle of the complex, and found it amusing to see some of the water slides make their way OUTSIDE of the building, though each slide was completely enclosed. They then returned inside of the building at the end of their run. Colleagues of mine said that the water and air temperature suddenly dropped when you exited the building which was a unique feeling indeed. Dad said these slides, or tubes, looked like spaghetti, which I thought was comical.

We then noted a plethora of ski trails ahead, and this could only be Camelback in Tannersville, PA. I also noticed a small, snow covered incline at the base of the mountain, and this was used for tubing. The parking lot was packed, as it was at Shawnee as well. The chalet-type buildings at the base of the trails were booming, and many skiers were out and about either taking in the view, waiting in line for the lift or simply on their way down the trails. It was incredible to see that much man-made snow, and it looked as if each and every trail was open. Again, the contrast between the snow and rocky terrain proved to be exceptional, and I snapped many pictures of this area as we flew one complete circle.

We then notice the clouds getting rather dark to the west, as well as the air becoming very hazy. We knew that a storm was approaching for the day after, but figured it was arriving sooner than expected. This proved false, because as we flew south, the skies opened up with abundant sunshine. The air, though, was still a bit choppy, which made shooting aerial photos that much more difficult. The next area of interest we noted was Blue Mountain ski area in Palmerton, PA. The slopes here are similar to Camelback, from the air at least, and I shot some pictures of this place as well. What's different here, though, is that there exists a large, additional parking lot atop of the mountain with a lodge and all, instead of typically at the base of the ski trails.

With the passing of Blue Mountain and the Appalachian ridge once again, we were soon approaching the Lehigh Valley and Allentown, PA. I wanted to shoot some update pictures of Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom to check on the progress of their newest coaster, Voodoo. On the way, though, we noticed it was a bit hazy, though nothing terrible. I am not used to entering this area from the north, plus the fact that I had to circumvent Lehigh Valley International airport's airspace, meant I was kind of zig-zagging as I descended and approached the Allentown area. We then spotted Dorney Park ahead and to the east, so I pointed the plane in that direction and prepared the camera yet again. I didn't even need to circle the park because there was virtually no progress since the last time we checked on things two weeks ago. I continued on to Queen City airport, entered the traffic pattern on a downwind leg for runway 15 and landed uneventfully, which incidentally is the best landing one can make.

As noted in my last blog entry, this is our favorite stop. We taxied and parked the plane, grabbed our lunch bag and headed toward the operations building. On the way in, we noticed a rather large twin engine aircraft made by the Beechcraft company. Known as the Duke, this is a "HOT" piston engine plane that seats six, in luxurious comfort. Its sleek lines and large engines give it a look of pure speed and wickedness. I have always been fascinated by this plane, and if it was't for a wallet 100 sizes to small, I would own one (well, maybe). Anyway, we entered the office and took a seat in their cafeteria. Let's see, what's on the menu today. Smoked Turkey and Bacon sandwiches with all the fixins, including pickles and olives, and some Powerade to wash it all down. Oh, there's cookies too, well I'll be. After chewing the fat some and enjoying our lunches, we heard what sounded like a large aircraft running, and I immediately went to check. It was in fact the Duke, so we both grabbed our gear and headed outside. While walking towards our plane, the Duke was taxiing to runway 7, and I wanted to see this beast take-off before we boarded our Cessna for home.

Within a few minutes, I heard the Duke's engines come to life as full throttle was applied. The prop tips went supersonic and a low pitch whine could be heard, followed by a roar as this wicked craft made its way down the 4,000 foot runway. Within a few seconds, the Duke was literally "flying" down the runway at incredible speeds that must've been close to 150 mph, yet the wheels were still in contact with terra firma. Then it basically flew off the ground with a minimal angle of climb, maintaining the impressive speed it had gained on its take-off roll. Damn, that was impressive. But the show wasn't over yet. We were just about to board our plane for home when we heard the whine of the engines once again as the Duke was now climbing for the stars and heading southeast, directly over the airport. It was extremely exhilarating to witness the performance of this machine, all without being equipped with turbo-props.

We were soon ready to take-off of runway 7, the same as the Duke had done only a few minutes prior. Needless to say that with a rather strong headwind, we were airborne within a few hundred feet and climbing rapidly. Certainly, the Duke could NOT accomplish this ! I turned to the east upon departure and climbed over the ridge that lines the Lehigh Valley area. Our ground speed was reduced due to the headwind from the east. We noted the Delaware river ahead, with the small town of Milford to our south. I shot a few more pictures of a local park nearby the airport, then entered the traffic pattern. The wind was blowing about 10 mph and was a direct crosswind, or at least it was when I landed. Uneventfully I landed, then taxied to the fuel pumps for gas. Finally, upon securing the plane for the possibility of a winter storm, we commented of the hopes that our next trip would prove to be as rewarding and exciting as today's was.

Thanks so Much for Reading !!!

Last Photo Flight of 2007 !!!

So, like my last post, this flight took place last year. On Sunday, December 30, 2007 to be exact. It was a nice flying day with high clouds, ultra-smooth air and relatively warm temps for this time of year. I always compare flying on these days as flying through butter - Yup, that's how smooth it was, and this was perfect for shooting aerial photos.

Our first destination was Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson, NJ. I particularly wanted to shoot photos of their newest coaster, The Dark Knight, and its construction progress. Our flight took us just to the west of Princeton airport and the town of Princeton. We could see Princeton University and their football stadium in the distance, with Trenton-Mercer airport off to our right (looking soutwest). We crossed Route 1 and continued over the New Jersey Turnpike, noting the rather heavy holiday traffic. Continuing, Dad and I could see Great Adventure ahead, with Kindga Ka's spike protruding into the horizon. I set-up the plane and Dad flew slow, CCW circles while I panned, zoomed and shot many photos of the new coaster, and the park in general. You can check-out my Dark Knight photos HERE, as well as my photos of the park in general HERE. After circling about four times, I figured I had enough pictures. I resumed flying the airplane and headed northwest towards our second amusement park destination, Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom in Allentown, PA.

It was there that I wanted to shoot pictures of the construction progress of their newest coaster for 2008 called VooDoo. You can view my pictures of this HERE. On the way, though, our course took us directly over Trenton-Mercer airport. And because this is a tower controlled field, I decided to climb to 3,000 feet, well over their airspace, and not bother calling-in. We were now just north of the city of Trenton (our state's capital) and heading over the Delaware river and into Pennsylvania. Soon we were traversing the scenic terrain just southwest of New Hope, then just ahead we over-flew the beautiful Lake Nockamixon. Within a few more minutes, we could see the mountainous ridge-line blocking the view of much of Allentown, PA, with Dorney Park just past this ridge line.

Once reaching Allentown, we flew low enough to clear Lehigh Valley International airports airspace, and continued towards Dorney. Once there, I asked Dad to fly a few CCW circles of the park while I did what I love to do - Shoot Aerial Photos. There isn't much to report as far as construction goes. Some track lies in the parking lot, the coaster footprint is defined and some concrete piling are in place. Still a LOT of work to do. After this, we decided to land at Queen City airport just south of Allentown. This is our usual stop because the staff is nice and friendly and the fuel is cheap (relatively speaking), though we did not purchase fuel there that day. We did, however, bring our lunch with us and made full use of their cafeteria as we enjoyed sandwiches, chips, pickles, olives, drinks and even cookies for dessert. Always lots of jealous faces as we eat, while they buy junk food at the candy machine :) - Hey, we ALWAYS plan ahead and bring our lunch with us, unless we've made prior plans.

After departing Queen City, I wanted to shoot a few photos of one more amusement park nearby. This one, called Bushkill Amusement Park in Easton, PA, was just northeast, though I had to fly there by circumventing Lehigh Valley's airspace. Upon arriving at the park, Dad again flew one CCW circle while I snapped away. The park looked a bit depressing, though not only because it was winter, but due to the latest flood that has damaged this classic park that first opened in 1902. You can see my latest pictures of this children's park HERE. The park now sits smack dab in the middle of a house development, and adjacent to a shopping center.

Ok, enough picture taking, and we were now flying east, back to New Jersey. Soon we were crossing the Delaware river once again, passing just north of Easton, PA. I could see the Merrill Creek Reservoir up ahead, perched high above the valley floor, and enjoyed once again seeing this pristine area of Warren County from above. Next we headed south over the valleys and were treated to a magnificent show of white birds (most likely Seaguls) over these fields. I filmed a short video of this and shot some pictures as well, and will post these to my website in the near future.

We were now nearing our home-base airport and I entered the traffic pattern, setting up for a landing. Of course in this ultra-smooth air, the landing was uneventful. We purchased some fuel and taxied back to our tie-down, ending a day to remember, at the end of 2007.

Thanks for Reading...

Chilly & Hazy in Early December...

Ok, so I'm procrastinating once again in that it has taken me almost a month to post my last two flights, both of them in December 2007. The first one took place on Sunday, December 10, 2007. Dad and I had to wait in our car for the haze and low clouds to burn away enough where the weather turned VFR (Visual Flight Rules). Of course our pre-flight was completed, so we just chewed the fat in the car, sipped our coffees and kept our hopes up that the haze would burn-off.

Finally, around noon, the weather began to clear. Other pilots at the airport were now taking to the skies and I figured it looked good enough for us to go flying. Once off the ground, all I kept thinking was, "I'll just keep it in close and land in a few minutes". Yeah, it looked that bad. But as I kept climbing out as I circled the airport, I saw the visibility was not all that bad, even though the clouds were still low and hazy as can be. The distance we could see in front of us must've been about 5 miles or so.

As we flew east, though, it began improving. We decided to land at Central Jersey Regional airport since we spent many, many years there when Dad shared ownership of an airplane with his brother. Of course by this time, the weather was now beginning to clear, and this meant the wind was from the northwest - Yup, a direct crosswind, though nothing I couldn't handle. After landing, we parked and looked around the field, noting the new construction of aircraft tie-downs and a new fuel farm in the works. The newly renovated office wasn't even complete yet, so we had to use the port-o-potty parked outside. Ok, enough of taking a trip down memory lane. We cranked up the engine and within five minutes, we were airborne once again.

Now I headed back west and noted the low clouds were all but gone, yet it was still very hazy and we could only see about 7 or so miles ahead of us. Regardless, it was a nice and relatively smooth flight, and we flew just south of the Round Valley Reservoir and over the many picturesque farms of Hunterdon County. Finally, we agreed not to burn any more fuel for no reason, and decided to land. It was a day you really could not go anywhere far, and by this time, it was already getting late. All in all, we brought the engine to life and enjoyed about an hour of airtime that day which we were very happy about, seeing how only a few hours before we were grounded by haze and low clouds and confined to the car.

Thanks for Reading, and Happy New Year !!!