The Let’s Go Flying blog has posted a really cool video of flying the Hudson Corridor to do laps around the Statue of Liberty at 150 miles per hour with 17 year old pilot Neil Hershman, a High School Student in New York, at the controls of the aircraft. Neil is actually a first generation private pilot who started flying with RC planes and home flight simulators at a very young age before getting a pilot’s license as a teenager.
Neil flies out of Westchester Country Airport, about 20 miles north of New York City, and he calls the Hudson Corridor a pilot’s best kept secret because its both legal and fun. To fly the corridor, Neil will visually follow the west side of the river and tell Air Traffic Control his intention (to head to the Statue of Liberty and back again). ATC then gives him an altitude along with a bunch of traffic warnings.
If you don’t want to watch the entire eight minute video, you can skip to the following sights:
- KHPN Departure (4x fast): 0:09
- LaGuardia Tower Clearance: 0:52
- NYC Skyline: 3:50
- Statue Of Liberty: 4:45
- Freedom Tower: 6:31
- Outro: 7:54
If you thought that video was cool, check out Neil’s YouTube page as well as his blog where he posts more pictures and videos of his flying adventures.