VFR up the Hudson

Polar742

All the responsibility none of the authority
Is there still a VFR corridor and allowances to sight see up the Hudson?

My CA has a 180, and wanted to take his wife and kids on a tour, but didn't know if the corridor was still open or not.

..if it is still available, tips, hints, and other need-to know things would be appreciated.
 
Yes it is open.

Make sure to have the NYC VFR terminal chart. It explains it all quite nicely. Basically northbound traffic on the east side and southbound on the west side, all between 500' and 1100' MSL. The East River does have a corridor as well but it does not go all the way up. LGA must be contacted to keep going up that way.

Seeing New York from the corridor at least once is a must for anyone with a pilot's license that lives relatively close! It is an incredible view.
 
Seeing New York from the corridor at least once is a must for anyone with a pilot's license that lives relatively close! It is an incredible view.

I couldn't agree more! I lived in NC when we took a trip to Maine and flew down the Hudson on the way home. Don't think of trying it without a Terminal chart. Do a good map study before you fly and it's a piece of cake.

There was a lot of helo traffic circling the Statue of Liberty at a pretty low altitude and many going to and from, so keep your head on a swivel. My wife took pictures while I flew. The picture of Lady Liberty and my wingtip is one of my favorite pics of all time.
 
Once you have done it during the day, fly it at night, its even more impressive.
 
Once you have done it during the day, fly it at night, its even more impressive.

I've never flown it during the day, but I flew it at night a few weeks ago and it was great. Much less traffic than I expected, and a fantastic view. My only wish is that I could have lingered longer...I flew it north to south and really wanted to turn around and take it south to north, but I had a schedule to keep and couldn't mess around.
 
I've done this a bunch of times and yes the hudson river is open but the east river is no longer availabe to land airplanes due to the Cirrus crash that occurred there some years ago.

Here's the breakdown:
Get the Terminal map and also take a quick peek at the helicopter map on skyvector.com. The heli map actually has the route names that you will fly should you need to get a clearance.

Depending on where you are coming from, the routes change on how you do the flight. I fly out of FRG on long island and take one of two routes - south along the shore at 500' under the floor of the Kennedy Bravo, climb to 1000 and cross the verezanno bridge, always staying on the right hand side of the river. Be careful for the storm of heli traffic, they usually stay at 500' when doing the tours but if they transition the area they will climb up to 1000. Head north along the hudson and announce on the common traffic freq 123.05 different landmarks - verezanno, the lady, empire state, madison sq garden, central park, george washington bridge. Passing the george washington bridge to the north you can make a u turn and head back south now along the jersey side of the river and repeat. If from the north, just reverse the ordeal. Don't do any turns, manvs. while in the corridor because sometimes it is packed. (the other route is throgs neck bridge, laguardia tower, Roosevelt Island north tip, central park, hudson river southbound, need clearances through the bravo and this is where the heli map comes in hand.)

Watch out for TFR's around sports stadiums, the briefer won't tell you about them. When the yankees are playing, you can't do the tour. When the mets are playing you can't come from the east over laguardia.

You can get a clearance to do this route at 1500 with laguardia tower. They have a dedicated freq. for heli and passing traffic not landing there.

You can PM me if you need any more info, I've done a bunch of these tours already and can delve into more detail if you wish. It is a really spectacular sight. Enjoy
 
I always felt a lot more comfortable getting a clearance whenever I did the corridor. The last time I was doing it I lost all my electric while circling the statue of liberty :panic:
 
I've done the Hudson tour a few times. The last few times I did it I had a Class B clearance and flew it at 1500 feet. I just started with NY Approach quite a few miles out to the south and told them my intentions. It wasn't too hard. I guess you should have the VFR terminal chart with you in case they deny you a clearance for some reason.
 
I've done the Hudson tour a few times. The last few times I did it I had a Class B clearance and flew it at 1500 feet. I just started with NY Approach quite a few miles out to the south and told them my intentions. It wasn't too hard. I guess you should have the VFR terminal chart with you in case they deny you a clearance for some reason.

That's what I did too (at Van_Hoolio's suggestion). Went off without a problem and was one of the coolest things I've done in a plane. There's a bunch of traffic down below so getting the B clearance and doing it a bit higher than everyone else pays off.
 
Did the Hudson 30-40 times, day and night. Couple tips I've leared that really help out.

One: Please call out position, "Cessna 3 Lima Alpha Verizano Bridge north"
Places like "Alpine Tower" "GW Bridge" "Intrepid" "Lady Liberty" North/South

Two: If you come over LGA they are gonna take you over Central park at about 1500ft, it rocks. They every, once in a while, ask if you want to descend down into the corridor, I do not recommend it. Going up into controlled airspace with a clearance works well though, gets u up in the 1500ft AGL range and the city is pretty.

Three: I refuse to do the east river thing. The winds are insane and every banner tow guy I've talked to says the only reason they go in there is because they get paid $50 an hour.

Four: Night time is awe inspiring. Highly suggest it.

Five: Trust the Helo guys and stay out of their way. They run that thing like race car drivers and you might as well be standing still to them. Don't take any offense to them cutting you off or any weird stuff. They are getting their job done and they are very comfortable in that area even if you aren't.

Six: Stay right on the river (tidal estuary), just like a road.

Seven: Don't try to turn in the open area by the Lady, south of the east river, north of Verizano. You look like a tool and it screws everything up if someone is coming north of the bridge. Go south of the bridge and then swing around where there is room.
 
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