Flying into KHPN

benyflyguy

benyflyguy

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benyflyguy
since I started flying more I try to always find a way to Make life easier with the plane. If we can shorten a trip and avoid some serious hassle, why not fly.
I usually cal calculate that just based on time and Uber distance to destination from field.
Some trips are 1.5-2 hour car vs 30 min flight. Easy swish to convince wife to hop in the 182.
Trip to the beach 3-4 hour drive, 1 hour less flight. Easy.
My sister in DC- easy visit. (Haven’t don’t yet though)
My sister in law lives in NYC upper east side. My wife’s friends have kidded around that I can just fly my wife to nyc to visit her sister and pick her up after a long weekend. I’ve always laughed and said NYC is the one place you just can’t to GA. Airports are too far away from where you want to be. For me it’s about 2.5 hour drive to NYC with medium traffic. Flight time would be under an hour ~50 min. To white plains. But IFR plans put it just over an hour.
Is it worth it?? She would have to take a train from white plains to upper east side. Maybe 20 min??
NYC airspace is spooky. Probably something I’d do with my CFI the first trip anyway. Any of you East coasters use the NYC GA fields???
 
Yes, I do it several times a year from NC with my wife. My home location makes it worth it IF we are both going to NYC. If it’s just her, which is quite frequently (right now) she gets on an airliner.

With that said, our usual destination is Jackson Hts in Queens which puts both KHPN and KFRG in play. I have a pretty good deal with Hertz so I often relied on a rental car which I could conveniently drop off at say KLGA without penalty and be within a long walk of my destination. When visiting Manhatten I used to fly into KCDW in Jersey because I used to live and fly there but that doesn’t make sense either unless a car is involved.

I’ve never done the train from KHPN but I’ve done the LIRR from KFRG (or was it KISP) and I know it requires a ride to get to it - either the FBO or Uber. I never call ahead for such things and just take it on the fly. A smile and request for help usually works.

An Uber to Metro North from KHPN sounds like a pretty clean move. If the FBO takes you even better. Same with the LI airports. I think the FBOs in LI are easier to deal with than KHPN as of late but that’s always a generalization.

Flying-wise everyone should do NYC a few times. You have to ‘up your game’ so to speak, just like you have to do if you’re driving. Things go quickly and if you keep up, it’s fun. The controllers can be quite entertaining for the uninitiated. They make you feel 6” tall if you screw up twice in a row.

You didn’t say where you come in from but if coming from the south, KHPN will require an extended low altitude tour of NJ - VFR or IFR. Leaving requires climbing to 6K as fast as you can then passing over JFK. Great view on a good day. Don’t expect to be cleared direct anything but you might some of it once up.

KFRG is much more pleasant coming from the south and you exit high via JFK the same as KHPN.

I went in to KEWR once to drop a passenger. That was big fun, seriously. They mixed me in with the jet traffic with some 3D vectoring that blew my mind. We deplaned, had lunch in the Ironbound with our drop offs and got out ahead of a conga line of airliners waiting for some weather. We were fast tracked for reasons that escape me but best of all, the FBO never got around for charging me for anything! Not a first but always welcome at the big ports.

No great options but you still have access. Bring $$$ and NY is fine. The controllers are free (and unfortunately unpaid).




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In fly out of KHZL so I think they’d route me way up north. I’d have to review the terminal area chart to see what the best way to ask for to avoid a lengthy in flight clearance amendment.
 
If you’re going VFR, HPN still wants you to contact approach so they can coordinate you in the airspace.
 
jordane93 said:
If you’re going VFR, HPN still wants you to contact approach so they can coordinate you in the airspace.
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I would wait until I could file an IFR flight plan so they know I’m coming long before. Hopefully soon. Checkride rescheduled this wed!
 
James331 said:
HPN ain’t that bad.
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Agreed. I’ve gone there more than anywhere else. When the FBO I used changed management, I wasn’t impressed but they seem to just be getting started so...


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I do NYC through HPN regularly. I use Ross West, found them to be the most small GA friendly on the field. It's a 15-20 minute Uber to White Plains Metro North and then about 30 minutes into Grand Central, about 20 to 125th St which might be more convenient depending on how far Upper East you're going.

Oh, and for ATC on the way it. NY Approach is excellent, but it will be rapid fire (especially at peak times) on the radio, you just need to be on your game. As someone mentioned above, approach will often give you the pattern entry before handing over to tower, they coordinate very closely.
 
I don't use IFR flying into HPN unless weather requires it because routings from the south can be quite circuitous. Point is don't be afrId to arrive VFR; just pick up flight following and you'll be fine.
 
Coming from HZL would be easy peasy vfr. The only shelf of the B you'd have to worry about has a base of 3000, so no worries about getting squeezed down low. Just get flight following, pay attention to the radio, and you'll be fine. NYC controllers are awesome, but they have very little patience for morons. Don't be a moron.
 
I live in NJ and am pretty familiar with the airspace. If your coming from the south your best bet is to get VFR Flight following and then dive into the Hudson river VFR corridor at about 500AGL. It is a beautiful scenic ride that every pilot should have on his/her flying bucket list honestly. Be on your game in there too. You must report your position at specified points on the hudson river CTAF. On a nice busy day there is tons of small fixed wing and helicopter traffic buzzing around and the local pilots are not afraid to fly much closer than what I would assume is your normal comfort level. Stay on the right side of the road! Once you finish the corridor on north side your basically right at KHPN.
 
AnthonyS1 said:
I live in NJ and am pretty familiar with the airspace. If your coming from the south your best bet is to get VFR Flight following and then dive into the Hudson river VFR corridor at about 500AGL. It is a beautiful scenic ride that every pilot should have on his/her flying bucket list honestly. Be on your game in there too. You must report your position at specified points on the hudson river CTAF. On a nice busy day there is tons of small fixed wing and helicopter traffic buzzing around and the local pilots are not afraid to fly much closer than what I would assume is your normal comfort level. Stay on the right side of the road! Once you finish the corridor on north side your basically right at KHPN.
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Not that it applies to the OP coming from the west, but there is a course and test for flying the Hudson River SFRA and I recommend it.

https://www.faasafety.gov/gslac/ALC/course_content.aspx?pf=1&preview=true&cID=79

For through traffic, altitudes are 1000 - 1300 feet, stay above 1000 to avoid the prodigious helicopter traffic in and out of the airports on the west side of Manhattan. Stay below 1300 feet to avoid the class B at 1500.

Brad Z said:
I don't use IFR flying into HPN unless weather requires it because routings from the south can be quite circuitous. Point is don't be afrId to arrive VFR; just pick up flight following and you'll be fine.
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I agree with Brad that coming from the west, VFR with Flight Following is sufficient for a flight to KHPN.
 
CMongoose said:
I do NYC through HPN regularly. I use Ross West, found them to be the most small GA friendly on the field. It's a 15-20 minute Uber to White Plains Metro North and then about 30 minutes into Grand Central, about 20 to 125th St which might be more convenient depending on how far Upper East you're going.
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Yes, that’s where I used to go when it was Landmark/Panorama. When I returned to pick up my plane at Ross West, I got that greeting you never want to get, “the guy with Nxxxx is back”.

What happened? “Well, it looks like you have a fuel leak. We put a pan underneath to catch it”. Oh great, let me go take a look.

Turns out they overfilled a tank and spilled at least a gallon of the $7 fuel on the ramp. There was a half gallon in the pan along with a bunch of water from rain. I sumped a good bit of water as well. No leak, nothing wrong.

Haven’t been back since but when I do, I’ll check them out again. Sure it was just one of those days.


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I had a similar situation at Ross West a few years ago. Our club had standing orders to fill the tanks when a club airplane returned and tied down. When picking up the PA-28 I had reserved for the day, one of the linemen approached me and reported that my plane was leaking a lot of fuel. We went to look and sure enough, he was looking at the small volume dripping from the tank overflow. Fill it to the gills and let it sit on the ramp in August sun... expansion... and dripping!

This was a new line guy and I took the time to 'splain it to him, letting him know that on a Cherokee "full tank" means to the bottom of the filler neck, not the top. Now could Ross West (actually Landmark back then...) teach its line guys to fill it all the way up to sell an extra 1/4 cup (per side) on each fill up?

Naah.

-Skip
 
DXR (Danbury, CT) the FBO will take you to the train station in downtown Danbury.
Friendlier then HPN, and cheaper to tie down.
 
Shepherd said:
DXR (Danbury, CT) the FBO will take you to the train station in downtown Danbury.
Friendlier then HPN, and cheaper to tie down.
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Flew in there for the first time over NYE despite the fact that I lived there for 2 years back in the 90s. Never took the train either.

But the FBO there, Reliant, was fine, prices reasonable and not a bad choice as long as you’re not trying to drive into the city (long drive and you pass KHPN on the way in). Good liquor store is walking distance - cheaper than NC and NY.

You need to pay attention to the terrain there.


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Pity the old Ramapo Valley airport isn't still there, was in Spring Valley just off 287 and much closer to NYC than any currently open GA airports.
 
would MMU be an option? I don't know if there's a bus or train option at the airport to NYC.
 
with approach fixes like BADDA and BINGG, how can u NOT fly into Morristown?? fugedaboudit

mmu.jpg
 
Glad you started this, I’m wanting to do a NY trip sometime soon too. From all I’ve read it does seem like HPN is the best all around option, with FRG being the other most common suggestion. I don’t know much about that specific area of Long Island, and everything else I hear about it is pretty bad, so I just decided I’d skip that one.
 
Bill Watson said:
Flew in there for the first time over NYE despite the fact that I lived there for 2 years back in the 90s. Never took the train either.

But the FBO there, Reliant, was fine, prices reasonable and not a bad choice as long as you’re not trying to drive into the city (long drive and you pass KHPN on the way in). Good liquor store is walking distance - cheaper than NC and NY.

You need to pay attention to the terrain there.


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I was up at KDXR a few months ago. That airport is in a bowl!! Some pretty cool approaches. Would hate to go in there at night for my first time not paying attention.
 
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