Proud Parents

 Patrick continues to progress through his college classes, preparing to wrap up his sophomore year in just a few weeks.  Since starting college, he has become a pilot, earned his "instrument rating" (he can fly through the clouds, not just on sunny days), and completed aviation and "core" classes toward his BS in Aviation Science.  It's hard to believe he is almost half done with college.

Currently in his "commercial" training, this semester has been about building flight hours, learning some additional skills (he calls them "maneuvers"), and fine-tuning his control; where he might have had to maintain an altitude of +/- 100 ft in Private Pilot training, now that number starts getting smaller showing that he can more strictly control the plane.  This phase of his training has involved a lot of night flights, late nights, and last minute dashes out the door when a plane becomes available or the weather is just perfect for something he needs to do.  It has also included filing under IFR (Instrument Flight Rules) for most of his flights meaning that he has much stricter rules to fly by and practices more complicated approach and landing procedures.

On Friday, he had the opportunity to fly the Hudson River Exclusion Special Flight Rules Area...known to us mere mortals as the "Hudson River Corridor".  This particular flight is unique in that he was first required to take an online course with the FAA and pass an exam about the very particular requirements associated with flying this tiny little tunnel of air space.  He flew the corridor with his CFI (Certified Flight Instructor) who has flown this route several times before.  He flew most of it himself while his CFI took pictures, but a couple of times they switched so that Patrick could take pictures.

This is not Patrick, but you can see what he probably looked like, and you can get an idea of the view.

This is a flight map.  Now, I'm not going to try to tell you what all those symbols mean (because I'll get it wrong), but those solid blue circles represent airports, and the larger rings represent the airspaces those airports control.  Just to the left of center you see a long skinny channel that runs roughly north/south.  That is the Hudson River Corridor.  Basically, the rules are that you may not fly below 1,000 feet or above 1,299 feet.  Fly too low and you interfere with local air traffic, law enforcement helicopters, and fairies on the river.  Fly too high and you enter the airspace controlled by NYC which is heavily trafficked and requires explicit permission to enter.  You are also not allowed to fly over land - you can only fly over the Hudson River.  Oh, but you have to stay on YOUR side (the right hand side...like on the roads) of the river since there are likely planes flying back up the corridor having completed their turn around the Statue of Liberty.  This is why it's called a corridor; you have strict boundaries above, below, and on either side of you.  And, of course, there is a speed limit (<140 knots).

As you fly along the corridor, there are mandatory reporting points where you must communicate on the CTAF (Common Traffic Advisory Frequency).  You're basically saying, "it's me, I am at the Brooklyn Bridge George Washington Bridge heading north".  This allows other planes to know what plane you are flying (what type of traffic they need to look for), which direction you're going (what side of the river to expect you on), and at what point along the river you are, without having to bother the very busy NYC controllers.

Here is my little "find your friends" app showing Patrick on the Hudson River.  He has already made his turn around the Statue of Liberty (that little point just below "N" in New York) and is now homeward bound.

Now, remember, he's been doing a lot of night flights.  And this one was no different.  Here is Patrick flying the Hudson River Corridor.  Check out those lights!

So now I'm crossing my fingers that I'll get to go on this ride with him.  What a beautiful view.  I'm not much of a city girl, but even I can appreciate the beauty of twinkly lights.  They are even more amazing when you get to see them while your son flies the plane!

PS  I have to tell you a little story.  I wrote up the text for my post and then asked Patrick to review it.  I wanted to make sure that I wasn't saying anything egregiously wrong (elevation...altitude, tomato...tomaaato) or that might get him in trouble.  For the most part I was fine, although he did correct my bridge name in the Corridor since the Brooklyn Bridge crosses the East River, not the Hudson...silly me.  And he provided the official name for the Hudson River Corridor, which it turns out is much longer and less descriptive...unless you're a pilot.  So you can just assume that pretty much everywhere you see a three-letter-acronym or some other aeronautic lingo, that information was provided by my expert resource.  After all, what self-respecting author doesn't keep subject matter experts around to quality check their work?  Ohhhhh, I know what you're thinking.  I didn't think of them.  You're right.  Well, you can trust me and my expert. :)