Special NASA Clearance (Cape Canaveral)

[stormchaser]

So who's to say this job doesn't have its perks?!

I was mapping out Cape Canaveral today (yes, that DOES require a special NASA clearance), and after I finished up, I requested a lower altitude to take a picture of the Space Shuttle assembly building. I dropped down to 2500, then headed out of the Restricted Airspace. But my mind just couldn't resist. I HAD TO TRY.

"Control, it's probably too much to ask for a touch-and-go on the runway, isn't it"? ha! Hey, it was worth a shot.

But you know what he said? "Yes, sir, I can't allow you to do that. But I tell you what, you are cleared for a 500-foot low-pass over the runway."

ARE YOU SERIOUS?! I flew at 500 feet down the ENTIRE 15,000-foot runway. Yeah, sure, it's just pavement like every other runway. But as I flew that approach, I told myself that there are literally VERY few pilots that have had that same sight as me. The assembly plant just off to the right, the 3 miles of surface up ahead.

The runway pic didn't turn out as planned...ALWAYS make sure you have a clean windshield before departure, but hey, it happens.

What an honor. Anyway, just wanted to share a memorable experience! Not too many folks can say they've had that opportunity...

 

[Malko]

Very Cool....Indeed.........:rawk:

 

[AviatorGator]

That's really cool. I've always wanted to do a touch and go on that runway.

What type of aircraft are you flying?

 

[Polar742]

Nice shots....I saw a yellow trimmed 206-ish looking Cessna with PIPELINE running up and down I95 today in the area. Same guy?

 

[flyingmaniac]

You da Man!

 

[N519AT]

Extremely. Jealous.

 

[tlewis95]

Extremely. Jealous.

:yeahthat:

Very Cool.

 

[Superfly7XAF]

That's pretty awesome, a memorable once-in-a-lifetime experience, thanks for sharing.

 

[vikingair]

Great pictures! Before 9/11 approval for the shuttle tour was pretty straightforward..just call up on the radio and ask. They had the same restriction on the runway back then too.

 

[Tworotor7]

That sir, is awesome! :rawk:

 

[mooneyguy]

Very cool! Thanks for sharing. It's hard to believe that runway is nearly 3 miles long from what it looks like in the photo

 

[ZeroPapaGolf]

Very cool! Thanks for sharing. It's hard to believe that runway is nearly 3 miles long from what it looks like in the photo

I think it's an optical illusion because it's so wide too. It makes it look like he's a lot lower than 500' in the photo.

 

[MikeD]

You guys never seen a 15,000' runway before?

 

[mshunter]

Wow. Thats really cool. Would have been great to do the touch and go though. You could have probably done about 6 in 15k feet. You lucky dog!

 

[sharkey]

Very cool, it reminds me of a story I heard about the first plane to land on the reef runway here in HNL. Photo plane was keeping track of the progress of the construction, after the first layer of asphalt went down he made up something about needing a real low pass to photograph the texture of the surface and made a quick T&G of it.

 

[mooneyguy]

You guys never seen a 15,000' runway before?

The biggest I have landed on was 12000X200 (if I remember correctly) at Whiteman AFB. Talk about an illusion though I started flying on a 2200X49 I dropped it in bad landing at whiteman. I thought I was lower then what I really was. That was a blast...not every day you get to park an archer 2, 100 yards away from a B2:rawk:

 

[TallFlyer]

You guys never seen a 15,000' runway before?

Longest I've been on is about 11,000 feet. It was a former AFB in northern NY that was being used by the county as a 'regional' airport. Had about 200 acres of ramp space for the 6 airplanes that were there. In any event, it's a fun exercise to slow flight at very low altitudes from one set of numbers down to the touchdown zone markings and the other end.

And just because I'm a nerd:

According to Wikipedia there are 27 paved runways in the US that are greater than 4,000 m (13,123 feet) long. All but three are current or former military installations. There are only 5 runways that are 15,000 feet or longer.

The largest runway of any type I can find is 17/35 at Edwards AFB. 39,907x900.

 

[EIR]

That's pretty cool:beer:

 

[ppragman]

Biggest one I've ever seen was Cold Bay, and that sucker was huge

 

[youngflyer]

Longest I've been on is about 11,000 feet. It was a former AFB in northern NY that was being used by the county as a 'regional' airport. Had about 200 acres of ramp space for the 6 airplanes that were there. In any event, it's a fun exercise to slow flight at very low altitudes from one set of numbers down to the touchdown zone markings and the other end.

And just because I'm a nerd:

According to Wikipedia there are 27 paved runways in the US that are greater than 4,000 m (13,123 feet) long. All but three are current or former military installations. There are only 5 runways that are 15,000 feet or longer.

The largest runway of any type I can find is 17/35 at Edwards AFB. 39,907x900.

Plattsburgh?