To begin, Dad and I arrived at our home base airport and were greeted with a windsock (this indicates the speed and direction of the wind) that was completely limp, and as far a flying goes, it is a welcome sign. The airport was buzzing for a February weekend; the gas pits were full, aircraft were taking-off and landing in abundance and the air had a Spring-like feel. And since the temps were in the 30's the night before, we decided against an engine pre-heat. Once we wiped the thick layer of frost still remaining on the front windshield, we boarded our craft, cranked her over and in seconds it sprang to life. Soon, we were positioned on Runway 26 (a heading of nearly directly West) as I applied full throttle. The plane lifted-off quickly in the cool, dense, morning air and we quickly were climbing and turning to the southeast, en-route to our first destination. This is where we noticed the hazy conditions, but knew it was still rather early in the day and the haze usually burns off and dissipates as the sun's heat gets cranking later in the afternoon. So I continued climbing and leveled off at 1,500 feet. No sense in climbing to the moon if you can't see the ground due to the haze. Ok, that's an over-statement, but we flew lower than usual today so we could see more ground details and make the flight as enjoyable as possible.
Flying south, we noticed the Sourland mountain just northeast of Trenton, New Jersey. Princeton airport was on our left as we were now approaching Princeton University. I side-stepped to the left so Dad could get a good look at the happenings in this university town on a Spring-like Sunday morning. Continuing, we crossed Route 1, straight as an arrow from left to right, from Edison to Trenton. Up ahead, we spotted Allentown and the Route 33 bypass around this bustling town. It was at this point that I realized I needed to make a correction in my course and turned about 20 degrees to the right. Finally, after crossing the New Jersey Turnpike and the Assunpink Wildlife Management Area, we could see Kingda Ka's "spike" protruding into the horizon. Kingda Ka is Great Adventure's tallest coaster at over 400 feet, and can be seen from all directions and for many, many miles away. This is a great landmark in hazy conditions, and I used this to my advantage to locate the park.
Six Flags Great Adventure was now in my sights yet again:
as I wanted to shoot photos of the construction of their newest indoor coaster, Batman: The Dark Knight. The construction site can be seen below:
Upon arriving at the front gate, so to speak, I throttled back and set-up the plane in a nice, slow, CCW turn as Dad was now doing the piloting. The air was "butter smooth" as I like to call it, and allowed me to really zoom-in and focus on what I needed to capture. Dad flew three circles around the park, and on the last circle, I asked him to fly out further, past the boundaries of park property, so I could shoot pictures of the park's Wild Safari. I was finally able to get some good aerials that showed just how vast this area is...Take a peek for yourself at my latest Great Adventure Wild Safari gallery HERE. We then flew one last pass over the parking lot, then climbed and headed due west.
I wanted to continue flying south but did not want to call McGuire AFB's control tower, so we flew the circumference of their airspace until we were past the base and back on course. Just then, I signaled to Dad that I thought we should land at South Jersey Regional Airport near Mount Holly, NJ for a break. We weren't ready to eat yet, but figured we would grab a cup of coffee and a snack from the restaurant on the field. There was no one in the traffic pattern, which was odd, being the weather was so perfect. I set up for a landing and my approach was steep. Altitude was no match, though, for the Cessna 172's fowler flaps. I put in a full 40 degrees as I pointed the nose to the end of the runway and was now descending at 1,500 feet per minute. After a brief flare we touched down gently and were now taxiing to the airports main ramp and parking area, directly in front of the restaurant. Once I shut down the engine, we noticed a bi-plane getting ready to take-off, complete with a shiny, powerful radial engine built in Russia. Of course the propeller turned the opposite direction of an engine built here in the states, which looked rather odd. The take-off performance of this craft was fascinating, and was airborne in no more than 200 feet as it climbed almost out of sight into the hazy sky. We then went inside and had a hot chocolate and a brownie, sat and chewed the fat a bit, then boarded the plane. This time we were destined for yet another amusement park.
After departing the airport, we flew south once again and directly over the Columbus Farmers Market near Bordentown, NJ:
This was an impressive sight indeed, and it was incredible that that many folks had showed up at an open-air event in the beginning of February. The warm weather definitely brings out the crowds in droves. I now had my sights on Clementon Amusement Park, and knew it was just a few miles ahead. I quickly spotted the lake that the park resides on and flew in that direction:
This is a small amusement park just outside of Camden, yet still features a roller coaster and rather long flume water ride. There are other rides as well, plus a well stocked water park called Splash World, complete with slides and pools and such (though no fish of course). An addition to this popular water park is under construction and is called Laguna Kahuna, and is expected to open this Summer:
After circling the park only once, we noted the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and just how hazy it was around this area. We could barely make out the buildings as I then turned to the east to try and find Camden County Airport in Berlin (New Jersey, NOT Germany, of course). It took both of us to scout out the airport since it sits all nestled in the trees. This and the fact that I didn't program the GPS. The final approach to this airport is a sight to be seen, and I'm just sorry I didn't have Dad shoot a few pictures of this while I was landing. Next time we definitely will, though. The runway is over 3,000 feet long, but there are trees on both ends and along the western edge of the runway, and homes are present just behind this line. The end we were landing over had a house that sat smack dab under our landing path. I was noting the home's possible living room, bathroom and kitchen as we zoomed over at about 200 feet, skimming the remaining trees and power lines, and finally the runway as I flared and settled the plane down gently. We taxied to the parking area, shut her down and ate our picnic lunch INSIDE of the cockpit. We knew there was no place inside to eat, so we did like we do many times and transformed our Cessna's cabin into a portable cafeteria. The usual fare was in order; Sandwiches, pickles, olives, chips and Powerade drinks. After a relaxing recharge, we ventured in the office and quickly (and quietly) ventured out due to the sign we saw posted. A whopping $10 is charged for a ramp fee which is unheard of in such a tiny, little airport with no services offered. Needless to say, we were soon zooming down the runway and lifted off not long after, noting the row of homes to the west of the runway. Dad could see one home's deck and chairs in such plain view that it looked as if we were taking off in this persons back yard, and in a sense, we were.
The next part of the journey involved traversing the central part of New Jersey, directly east from the airport which we just departed, which would take us over the vast Pine Barrens. The haze partially obscured the horizon, but it was still solid VFR (visual flight rules), with good visibility north and south of our route of flight. I then noted some cranberry bogs and captured some interesting pictures that resemble a patio made up by pavers. Take a look and see what you think:
After passing this area, we could see a building far, far in the distance and figured it could only be the Oyster Creek power generating facility. It was later revealed to us that it was indeed this structure, and we could see this clear across the state. Before we reached that point, though, we noted Coyle field, which is a private/restricted dirt field in the middle of the scrub pines. Long, grooved, dirt runways make up this field and it is used mainly for military practice by both McGuire AFB and Lakehurst Naval Base. Take a look and see just how vast this field is:
It was now that we could really see just how interesting and different looking the Scrub Pines are. These pine trees, about 4 feet in height, clutter the land from north to south and east to west. From the air it looks like a giant carpet, and I tried to capture this as best I could:
Finally, we could see the Barnegat Bay ahead, and just before that the Garden State Parkway and the generating station we saw many miles back. I readied the camera and shot some pictures of a bay coast housing development, complete with streets in front of the homes and canals behind them, with mooring posts abound. Yes, these boating communities are all over the western shore of the bay, and make for quite a photo op as you can see below:
I then noticed other communities north of our course, then prepped my camera and took a few pictures of the intricate beauty of patterns produced by the grassy marshlands in this area:
Quite a sight indeed. We then flew across the bay and over Island Beach State park, giving us a splendid view of the shoreline to the north:
First up on our flight north towards Sandy Hook was Seaside Heights and their two amusement areas, Funtown Pier and Casino Pier. Following was Lavallette and the multitude of tiny guest houses available for rent come summer:
Next I noticed Bay Head, the town where the NJ Transit trains turn around for their long haul back to Newark, New Jersey and New York City:
Moving right along, literally, Point Pleasant and the Manasquan Inlet was just ahead. There was fishing boat just passing the outermost portion of the jetties on each side of the inlet when I pointed the camera and snapped a few pictures:
Dad pointed out a tour boat as well, or so it looked like one, and maneuvered the plane so I could get a few shots of this too. In the distance we could see the tall(ish) buildings of Asbury Park, then spotted the area where major renovations are taking place, transforming this area into hopefully what it used to be like up until the 1970's. I wanted to shoot some pictures of Ocean Grove and the distinct Victorian-Era homes that populate this area, but Asbury Park came up so quickly that I plain forgot. Next we approached the wealthier areas of the Jersey Shore, namely Monmouth Beach, Sea Bright and Rumson, and I shot some pictures of some of the Resorts that dot this area of coastline:
Sandy Hook was up ahead, and the Twin Lights of Navesink were off to the left perched high on the hill, overlooking the area where the Lower New York Bay meets the Atlantic Ocean:
The entire time we were flying north we were at an altitude of 800 feet, and about 500 feet off-shore, cruising at a spiffy 140 mph. There is usually no turbulence present over the ocean due to the even heating of the water, and today was no exception. Not one bump, blip or jolt was felt the entire way up the coast, from Island Beach State Park to Sandy Hook.
It was at this point where we turned westbound and headed towards home. But first, I wanted to fly along the southern shore of the bay, just north of the Atlantic Highlands and over to Keansburg Amusement Park. The Raritan Bay bridges that carry the Garden State Parkway and Route 9 overhead were in view by now, and after passing them, I noted the twisty, roundabout path that the Raritan River takes as it meanders into the bay. And of course, since we were now over land and away from the tranquil air that existed over the bay and ocean, the heated afternoon air made its presence in the form of light turbulence. Actually, not even turbulence but rather some bumps now and then. Just then, the New Jersey Turnpike was in our path once again, only this time we were over the portion where the car and truck lanes exist. 12 lanes of pavement, complete with shoulders, traversing the Raritan river, just east of New Brunswick. Take a look a this massive span of asphalt:
Passing this behemoth of concrete and asphalt, we crossed Route 1 once again as well, then Dad spotted the Rutgers campus just north of New Brunswick. I then took a gander at this campus' football stadium and shot a few pictures as well:
We could see the Raritan river up ahead as it curved around the town of Bound Brook, crossing under Interstate 287 twice within a few miles. Then I spotted something interesting in the distance. Bright, twinkling lights by the hundreds outside of the town of Manville. Turns out it was a giant automobile holding area, and you can see just how many cars were there at this time:
Of course, not as many as a mall parking lot at Christmas time, but nonetheless, the sun was at a perfect angle to give us a spectacle worth photographing. The Bridgewater Commons Mall was ahead and to the right, and we could see Solberg Airport just beyond this as Route 202 passed underneath. The two mounds surrounding the Round Valley reservoir were now clearly in sight as we passed just south, then noted Route 31 north of Flemington. After passing a small but noticeable plateau to the west, we was Sky Manor airport in the distance. It was after passing this airport that we finally spotted our home base airport, marking the end of a fascinating "winter" journey through central New Jersey. I setup the plane for a landing to the west and plunked her down gently. It's sure nice when there is little wind, and the wind that was present that evening was straight along the runway no less. It's not every flying day that you are treated to weather like this, so we took full advantage of it today and enjoyed EVERY moment !!!
Thanks for Reading, and I hope that the pictures that I am now including in ALL future Flight 'B'log entries makes following our Flying Adventures that much more Entertaining and Informative !!!
