White
Plains, New York, October 29th, 2004
This
is it, the big day is finally here! There's no turning back now, the big
adventure together with my 5 buddies has started. I arrived at White Plains last
night. The flight down from my home, CSC3 – Drummondville, was very
interesting. It was hard to say goodbye to my loved ones. A small group of
onlookers and local journalists were there. I even got a mention in the local
newspaper! I had had to become active in my local community in order to raise
some funds to help towards the cost of fuel and other expenses.
The
skies were a little bit foggy for my departure, but had cleared up by the time I
arrived in the US. The sunset was spectacular! There was a lot of traffic
between Albany and New York, filling the sky with blinking lights. After a
perfect landing at dusk, I soon became acquainted with the new security measures
in America.…
A
friend of mine, Jon Finch, lives nearby. He came to pick me up and I spent the
night at his place so I could save a few bucks from my tight budget.
Waking
up was not too painful the next morning, thanks to the weak alcohol content of
American beer! I had to get back to KHPN fairly early to get on with the last
preparations to the aircraft and to do the flight planning. News of our great
round the world adventure does not seem to have spread yet, since there was only
one New York journalist there to ask me a few questions. Of course, since the US
is in the middle of a Presidential election, maybe their priorities are
elsewhere.
It
was already 16:40 local time when I started my engine. I was number 2 for
takeoff from runway 34 beneath a magnificent sky.
My
flight plan took me right over Manhattan. I had a great view of Central Park,
the sky scrapers and of course the Statue of Liberty. My route took me between
John F. Kennedy, La Guardia and Newark, so you can imagine what the traffic was
like in the skies around me!
The
flight itself was without incident, and I landed at KPHL number 2 behind a US
Air 737.
Distance : 145nm
Time : 0 :53
Fuel consumption : 350lbs