Noel Bennett 1159876 Posted January 4, 2014 at 03:27 PM Posted January 4, 2014 at 03:27 PM I was looking over the NY SFRA Hudson & East River exclusions, since I'm planning on making regular VFR trips from the Schenectady area down to 6N7. I noticed the following statement in the rules: VFR flight operations by fixed-wing aircraft (excluding seaplane fixed-wing aircraft landing or departing the New York Skyports Inc. Seaplane) in the East River Cl[Mod - Happy Thoughts] B Exclusion... are prohibited unless authorized and being controlled by ATC. To obtain authorization, pilots must contact LaGuardia Airport Traffic Control prior to Governors Island. Self announce on the appropriate CTAF. So... if I'm taking my VFR Piper Super Cub on floats into the SFRA, I know I'm good flying down the Hudson river exclusion, then back up the east side until I hit the tip of Governor's Island. If I understand the rules correctly, were I to be flying the East river route, I'd want to contact ATC at LaGuardia (tower?) prior to Governor's Island. But if I'm arriving at 6N7, I'm excluded... so I don't need to contact LaGuardia ATC? 6N7 clearly lies within the Cl[Mod - Happy Thoughts] B airspace, since the Cl[Mod - Happy Thoughts] B drops down to the surface just north of the Williamsburg bridge. I'm not sure how ATC would differentiate between an aircraft utilizing the East River exclusion without authorization versus a seaplane landing at 6N7. Seems to me that contacting LaGuardia tower would be a good idea, period. Can anyone shed any light on this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christopher Coon 1097126 Posted January 5, 2014 at 08:30 PM Posted January 5, 2014 at 08:30 PM 6N7 is within the cl[Mod - Happy Thoughts] B exclusion -- in that area cl[Mod - Happy Thoughts] B starts above 1100 feet (up to 7000 feet) over the river until the northern tip of Roosevelt Island. Only fixed-wing aircraft that are not landing or departing 6N7 need a clearance. It's probably because the East River exclusion is a dead end and there's not much room for fixed-wing aircraft to turn around. ATC would rather be talking to anybody who's going to attempt it rather than disrupt LGA traffic in case they bust through. They don't have that worry with 6N7 or helicopters which is probably why they don't require a clearance for those. On VATSIM going through that SFRA I've had mixed results. Most controllers leave me alone, but some will send a contact me message. Just tell them what you plan to do and that you'll be outside of cl[Mod - Happy Thoughts] B and they should understand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Everette Posted January 8, 2014 at 08:13 PM Posted January 8, 2014 at 08:13 PM That Sea Base is more fun when you're coming under the Williamsburg Bridge in a 690 ton ship, look up and are staring down a Caravan... http://www.arcticspinnaker.net/gallery/index.php/personal/album45/EastRiver Although I didn't get the pleasure of seeing the "maneuver", I have personally witnessed a float plane heading up to 6N7, round the Battery at ~ 500 ft, with an extremely low ceiling creeping in from the sound (I know ceiling dropped from around 800 ft at the Battery to just about road level at the Queensboro Bridge). Didn't get to see him turn around, but saw him running back out, around the Battery about 3-4 minutes later. -Dan Everette CFI, CFII, MEI Having the runway in sight just at TDZE + 100 is like Mom, Warm cookies and milk, and Christmas morning, all wrapped into one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noel Bennett 1159876 Posted January 17, 2014 at 01:37 AM Author Posted January 17, 2014 at 01:37 AM Ah! I had missed the "70/+11" text just north of the Big Allis on the SFRA map. That explains it. Thanks! Nice pics, Dan. That's got to be an experience Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts