WebRuss
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This article is part 6 of a multi-part review of our summer trip from Florida to Idaho then out to Tillamook Oregon then east to NYC then South to Tennessee then home to Florida.
Day 16 July 24th
Today we departed Lockport in the mid-morning for KAQW Harriman and West Airport in North Adams, Massachusetts, where lives my mom. The trip was pretty short and easy. There was no fuel at Lockport, at least I could not find anybody around to unlock the pumps, so I flew to another airport not too far away. About half way to our destination, just west of a beautiful lake was a little private strip, that is open to the public, called Skaneateles Aero Drome in Skaneateles, New York. Pronounced scan-eet-alice. Nice place and inexpensive fuel!
Piper Cherokee Landing Skaneateles:
[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZqsPMVvf41Q[/ame]
The Route on SkyVector
After the refuel we flew pretty much directly to North Adams, which took us right over Albany's Class C airspace. There was a considerable haze on the mountain ridges as we approached our destination, so I had to stay at a bit higher altitude than I planned until I was sure I had cleared the ridge line obstacles. Once I was sure we were clear of the wind turbines along the ridge, I descended into the valley and landed.
Piper Cherokee Landing 29 at Harriman & West KAQW
[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SWjhIu_3da0[/ame]
Landing at Harriman and West is a bit intimidating to the uninitiated, especially when landing on runway 29. The downwind leg takes you just over the reservoir which is a lake that sits on a hill at about 1200 feet. Just after coming abeam the numbers and reducing power you are suddenly looking at a lake just a few hundred feet below you on the side of a mountain. If one is not prepared for this spectacle, they often stay too high for the base leg or extend the downwind much longer and turn late.
A quick note about this airport. It is run entirely by volunteers. The city does not have the funds to maintain it so the local pilots keep it up all on their own. I think that is great and they seem to be doing a fine job.
We stayed here three days with my mom and enjoyed some home cooked meals. We visited a few of the local attractions and even drove up Route 2 to the top of the mountain so we could take a picture of the valley.
Pic of valley
Day 20 July 30th
This day we left North Adams KAQW and flew a southerly route to Wurtsboro Sullivan N82. We were there for the next four days for the wife's 20th reunion of Up With People. The trip there was a bit nerve racking. We were in the lull between fronts as the low pressure system was spinning over upstate NY. I had to time it well to get out of North Adams and get to Wurtsboro before the next wave of storms. Fortunately my calculations of storm movement and direction were accurate and we made an uneventful, if a bit bumpy trip there.
Route on SkyVector
Piper Cherokee landing Wurtsboro Sullivan N82:
[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yTue3HRhHEI[/ame]
Sullivan county is just a few miles off the Hudson river in upstate New York. The premise of the movie Dirty Dancing is based on this area. There are several vacation lodges with cabins and rooms all over the area and we saw many city dwellers dipping their feet in the ponds around the county. We stayed at a really wonderful place with a great bonus. Across the street from the hotel was a coffee shop, with homemade bagels and a microbrewery. It was like a one stop shop for all my vices.
Pic of beer flight
While I was there, I ended up taking a short flight around the area with a couple of the other husbands who got dragged to the event. We got fuel at Kingston Ulster 20N and got chatting with the attendant and he let us in on a little secret. There is a fantastic restaurant at Sky Acres airport 44N. So we flew down to sky acres, which happens to be an uphill runway on the side of a hill. It was kind of fun landing there. We got all excited to eat only to find out it was closed during the week and only open on the weekends. Oh well. We did also find out that the company Sky Geek www.skygeek.com is also based at this airport. All in all it was still a fun day for us and after parking the plane we went and drank beer with other husbands. I put this day in the WIN column!
Day 16 July 24th
Today we departed Lockport in the mid-morning for KAQW Harriman and West Airport in North Adams, Massachusetts, where lives my mom. The trip was pretty short and easy. There was no fuel at Lockport, at least I could not find anybody around to unlock the pumps, so I flew to another airport not too far away. About half way to our destination, just west of a beautiful lake was a little private strip, that is open to the public, called Skaneateles Aero Drome in Skaneateles, New York. Pronounced scan-eet-alice. Nice place and inexpensive fuel!
Piper Cherokee Landing Skaneateles:
[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZqsPMVvf41Q[/ame]
The Route on SkyVector
After the refuel we flew pretty much directly to North Adams, which took us right over Albany's Class C airspace. There was a considerable haze on the mountain ridges as we approached our destination, so I had to stay at a bit higher altitude than I planned until I was sure I had cleared the ridge line obstacles. Once I was sure we were clear of the wind turbines along the ridge, I descended into the valley and landed.
Piper Cherokee Landing 29 at Harriman & West KAQW
[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SWjhIu_3da0[/ame]
Landing at Harriman and West is a bit intimidating to the uninitiated, especially when landing on runway 29. The downwind leg takes you just over the reservoir which is a lake that sits on a hill at about 1200 feet. Just after coming abeam the numbers and reducing power you are suddenly looking at a lake just a few hundred feet below you on the side of a mountain. If one is not prepared for this spectacle, they often stay too high for the base leg or extend the downwind much longer and turn late.
A quick note about this airport. It is run entirely by volunteers. The city does not have the funds to maintain it so the local pilots keep it up all on their own. I think that is great and they seem to be doing a fine job.
We stayed here three days with my mom and enjoyed some home cooked meals. We visited a few of the local attractions and even drove up Route 2 to the top of the mountain so we could take a picture of the valley.
Pic of valley
Day 20 July 30th
This day we left North Adams KAQW and flew a southerly route to Wurtsboro Sullivan N82. We were there for the next four days for the wife's 20th reunion of Up With People. The trip there was a bit nerve racking. We were in the lull between fronts as the low pressure system was spinning over upstate NY. I had to time it well to get out of North Adams and get to Wurtsboro before the next wave of storms. Fortunately my calculations of storm movement and direction were accurate and we made an uneventful, if a bit bumpy trip there.
Route on SkyVector
Piper Cherokee landing Wurtsboro Sullivan N82:
[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yTue3HRhHEI[/ame]
Sullivan county is just a few miles off the Hudson river in upstate New York. The premise of the movie Dirty Dancing is based on this area. There are several vacation lodges with cabins and rooms all over the area and we saw many city dwellers dipping their feet in the ponds around the county. We stayed at a really wonderful place with a great bonus. Across the street from the hotel was a coffee shop, with homemade bagels and a microbrewery. It was like a one stop shop for all my vices.
Pic of beer flight
While I was there, I ended up taking a short flight around the area with a couple of the other husbands who got dragged to the event. We got fuel at Kingston Ulster 20N and got chatting with the attendant and he let us in on a little secret. There is a fantastic restaurant at Sky Acres airport 44N. So we flew down to sky acres, which happens to be an uphill runway on the side of a hill. It was kind of fun landing there. We got all excited to eat only to find out it was closed during the week and only open on the weekends. Oh well. We did also find out that the company Sky Geek www.skygeek.com is also based at this airport. All in all it was still a fun day for us and after parking the plane we went and drank beer with other husbands. I put this day in the WIN column!
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