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I have been trying to make a trip up to Block Island, RI for some time now in the RV. In the past, my friend had a sailboat in New London, CT and we took it to Block Island a few times every summer until he sold the boat. It was time to go there. My friend Dave was my passenger for the day. Here I am preparing the mobile flight navigation device for flight (AKA iPad).  Topped off with a 1/2 quart of oil.  Taxiing out to the pumps.   Diligently topping off the tanks. Dave was nowhere to be found when it came time to pay for gas....  Writing down the flight plan up to Block Island.  Departing KDMW. It was extremely green out, and the visibility was perfect. We could literally see 100 miles out.  Passing over the Susquehanna river.  We decided to take the VFR corridor up the Hudson River next to Manhattan. There is a special procedure for doing so, with specific altitude requirements and self reporting points. I was extremely nervous doing this for the first time, as there is a lot going on. Here we are approaching the Verizano Narrows bridge. I drove across this bridge less than a week prior to this trip. I believe it costs $15 to cross it by car!   Bell Parkway in the background.  Coming up the East river.  Approaching Manhattan.  Awesome view of downtown. You can see the Brooklyn bridge to the right.    This was the shot of the day with the new World Trade Center off my wingtip.   Central Park.  George Washington bridge.  Once we got through the VFR corridor for the Hudson river, we snaked East. This is over the Long Island sound.  Coming up on Montauk, NY. I have been here by boat before. Very fun town in the summer months.  Approaching Block Island.    Chatting with the ground crew. Very friendly airport. I believe it was only a $5 landing fee.  My RV @ Block   We met up with Captain John from KPYM. He flew in with his buddy Bill who built a beautiful RV-6. Absolutely top notch craftsmanship.  John and I talking about landing light configuration.  Goats on the island...cheaper than a lawnmower for this large field.  One of the many bars on the Island. Block Island has great night life...unfortunately not to be enjoyed on this day trip.  We went to the north of the island. The water is perfect out here. Clear and blue.  The temp of the water was a little on the cold side.   Most people visit the island via a Ferry as seen in the back left.  There are many transportation options on the island - Bicycles, scooters and rental cars. We decided to rent some cheap bikes for $16/pp for the day. We first encountered a pretty big hill which reminded both of us how out of shape we were. After being passed by a scooter effortlessly, I communicated with Dave how thrilled I was with our choice of transportation.  The first stop on our self-guided bike tour was a lighthouse on the east side of the island.   Seemed appropriate to take a picture of our great flag on this Memorial Day.   Next stop was the bluffs. There was a large amount of stairs going down the cliffs. Oh, it was also quite breezy on the island - 15kts gusting to 25.  Lots of steps. We knew going down them would be the easy part.  Once down, we enjoyed a great view. Hard to believe this place is only 2 RV hours away.   The steps didn't go all the way to the beach. The last 100 feet was some pretty rough terrain.  Back on our bike tour, we went to the North side of the island. The beach was very nice up here, although way to cold to get in the water. You could easily see Connecticut and Rhode Island from here (about 8-10 miles away).  Tired and thirsty from biking, we found a location for refreshments.  On top of refreshments, the bar had quite the view. This is the Great Salt Pond of Block Island. It is a very protected cove, and in the peak of the summertime, filled with literally hundreds of boats. Being this was a colder memorial day than average, it was quite sparsely occupied.   Back in the airplane to blast off for our next stop - Montauk, NY. Montauk is on the eastern-most end of Long Island. AOPA or EAA wrote about this destination and how there is a good seafood restaurant within walking distance of the airport.  About 10 minutes later we were landing at Montauk. It was an awesome approach over the beach and some sand dunes.  Parked at Montauk...for a $17 landing fee! Pretty steep if you ask me. But that's NY for ya!   As advertised, Rick's Crabby Cowboy Cafe was about a 5 minute walk from the Montauk airport.  The only airport I've ever been to accessible by 3 main modes of transportation.  I was in the mood for lobster....and the Lobster Roll sounded good. It even looked good. However, upon closer inspection, it was served on a Hot Dog bun! It was mediocre....and it was the same cost as the parking fee at the airport.....  The restaurant had an awesome view overlooking the bay at Montauk.  Filled up with dinner, we took off for back home. Looking South from the departure out of Montauk.   Shortly after takeoff my GPS2 (Garmin 18X) went Tango-Uniform.  Belmont Park....this place should be lively in 2 weeks for the last leg of the Triple Crown.  And somewhere over Long Island, my GPS came back to life.  We were above NYC airspace and had some nice views. JFK airport.  We were basically on top of LaGuardia.  Another great view of NYC.  Hazy picture of downtown and the Statue of Liberty.  Sandy Hook, NJ off the wingtip.  Somewhere over PA, my buddy Dave asked me why it looked like I was trying to slit my wrists. For a few moments I couldn't figure out how I received these random pen marks across my wrists.  The it became obvious.... We finished off the flight with some Aileron rolls. I wanted to wait until we were almost home in case Dave got sick from them. We had a bunch of fun and did about 5-6 rolls then headed back to the airport. $180 in fuel for the trip in 4.4 hours. What a great machine! 
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Last Modified: October 5, 2024 |