I know the answer but will ask anyway...

orange

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Orange
I'm pretty sure what the answer will be but will ask anyway...

I live in Queens, NY, exactly 4 miles directly south of LaGuardia (LGA). I see planes on approach for RWY 4 flying by my house all the time. Obviously, I'm right in the heart of Bravo country. :rofl: I have never seen a GA aircraft over my house, only airliners and helicopters (NYPD and news).

Is there any chance that I could ever get cleared to be able to fly over my house/neighborhood? Definitely not when 4/22 is active. But if they are using 13/31 maybe?
 
I'm pretty sure what the answer will be but will ask anyway...

I live in Queens, NY, exactly 4 miles directly south of LaGuardia (LGA). I see planes on approach for RWY 4 flying by my house all the time. Obviously, I'm right in the heart of Bravo country. :rofl: I have never seen a GA aircraft over my house, only airliners and helicopters (NYPD and news).

Is there any chance that I could ever get cleared to be able to fly over my house/neighborhood? Definitely not when 4/22 is active. But if they are using 13/31 maybe?


One way to find out...

Call LGA Tower...
 
Maybe. You won't be allowed to get in the way of airliners, but Class B is not generally verboten. They may want you at a high altitude.
 
Sure you can but it will require you to precoordinate it with tower (and probably NY depending on what you want to do). Contract the tower before hand, tell them what you want to do and see what they can accommodate. If they can't do it the same day, ask them for a time and date.

Make absolutely sure that you're familiar with all the local waypoints (mostly stuff that's on the helichart) and their's departures/arrivals. If you're unfamiliar, it could help to take one of the local helicopter guys with you.
 
Call and tell them you want to overfly the Bronx zoo. They'll call back and say 'waddyatalkingbout?' Then say your 6YO niece wants to see the camels in the zoo from the air, and she's only got 8 months to live, and you want to overfly the Bronx zoo transition. 'Spamcan 12345, cleared for the Bronx zoo transition. Maintain vfr' ;)
 
Call and tell them you want to overfly the Bronx zoo. They'll call back and say 'waddyatalkingbout?' Then say your 6YO niece wants to see the camels in the zoo from the air, and she's only got 8 months to live, and you want to overfly the Bronx zoo transition. 'Spamcan 12345, cleared for the Bronx zoo transition. Maintain vfr' ;)

Brilliant.
 
Just use a drone. Then you can fly over your house any time without telling a soul! :D
 
I'm pretty sure what the answer will be but will ask anyway...

I live in Queens, NY, exactly 4 miles directly south of LaGuardia (LGA). I see planes on approach for RWY 4 flying by my house all the time. Obviously, I'm right in the heart of Bravo country. :rofl: I have never seen a GA aircraft over my house, only airliners and helicopters (NYPD and news).

Is there any chance that I could ever get cleared to be able to fly over my house/neighborhood? Definitely not when 4/22 is active. But if they are using 13/31 maybe?

Call LGA tower or NY TRACON. NY controllers are actually usually quite accommodating. Clearly LGA traffic pattern is going to be an issue here, but if it's on a day when they're not sending traffic over your house then they just might help you out.
 
You'll probably need to try it late at night given how busy and tightly controlled that airspace is. Like after midnight.

I've heard of guys getting clearances into KORD like that.
 
I'm pretty sure what the answer will be but will ask anyway...

I live in Queens, NY, exactly 4 miles directly south of LaGuardia (LGA). I see planes on approach for RWY 4 flying by my house all the time. Obviously, I'm right in the heart of Bravo country. :rofl: I have never seen a GA aircraft over my house, only airliners and helicopters (NYPD and news).

Is there any chance that I could ever get cleared to be able to fly over my house/neighborhood? Definitely not when 4/22 is active. But if they are using 13/31 maybe?

Another vote for coordinating in advance. 4nm south of LGA is 5nm NW of JFK, so you've got all sorts of traffic to content with. Take a look at the helicopter chart and figure out where you're heading to. On your call, be prepared to provide a radial & DME to your destination, requested altitude, how long you will be on point, and what route you intend to take to get there. Looks like some transition off the east river following the Williamsburg helicopter route would be the easiest way for you to get up in there.

Good luck, and be prepared for a "no", even after you're airborne and got an initial OK. Things change, traffic, winds, etc. Do your research before hand; if you sound like you don't have a clue, they're gonna tell you to go away; too much risk for them.
 
Well, you're not going to get it tonight, because the mets are playing at home. :D

When I was learning to fly I read rumors on the prehistoric internet that one might just maybe be able to get a Class B clearance for "Tower Cab; Central Park; Hudson River" (the last of which may now be called "Skyline Route" if done high enough to be in the Class B). In all honesty, I've never tried to ask for it. Check out the NY Heli chart, Throgs route. By all means LGA tower in advance to coordinate -- I wouldn't bother with TRACON, that's LGA's airspace anyway.
 
My house is where the red square is within the black circle south of LGA.

lga.jpg
 
You can, they coordinate all sorts of traffic around busy airports all the time but not as a complete noob who doesn't know where he's at, where he's going or what he intends to do. They're not going to do any babysitting.
 
Thanks all for the advice. I'm actually a little surprised that there may be a chance at all. I was sure you would all say no way.
 
Thanks all for the advice. I'm actually a little surprised that there may be a chance at all. I was sure you would all say no way.

Just pre-coordinate it, you'll get what you want.
 
After thinking about it, I think its pretty possible. I'm not familiar with New York airspace at all, but I would imagine it is somewhat similar to Atlanta's. I recently flew over the top of KATL on a Tuesday night around 9ish with absolutely no problem. They were super accommodating. I would give it a shot.
 
After thinking about it, I think its pretty possible. I'm not familiar with New York airspace at all, but I would imagine it is somewhat similar to Atlanta's. I recently flew over the top of KATL on a Tuesday night around 9ish with absolutely no problem. They were super accommodating. I would give it a shot.

ATL is a little different. Its got 5 runways... but all east west. So they just vector you towards the approach end, where the airliners will be lowest, and send you straight north or south. New York has 3 major airports in a very small space. New York approach washes out 50% of its controllers. Before a controller can even get to NY they have to be certified somewhere else, so they are all capable and proven controllers but still 50% washout.

A day with a NW wind looks like it would be best for you. The LGA arrivals will be far enough north and the JFK departures will be high enough for it to be possible.
 
I've been watching this area of the B since I started flying 10 years ago. I always thought how amazingly closely you can creep next to a NY Bravo airport. You can legally fly just NE of your house before you hit surface B.
Just have your people drive to the 1200' area then look up ;-) Or once you're circling around in flushing at 1100' call ATC and ask for direct Long Island Expressway exit 34.
it's easy to see on the NY heli chart.
 
ATL is a little different. Its got 5 runways... but all east west. So they just vector you towards the approach end, where the airliners will be lowest, and send you straight north or south. New York has 3 major airports in a very small space. New York approach washes out 50% of its controllers. Before a controller can even get to NY they have to be certified somewhere else, so they are all capable and proven controllers but still 50% washout.

A day with a NW wind looks like it would be best for you. The LGA arrivals will be far enough north and the JFK departures will be high enough for it to be possible.

and not to mention Atlanta ATC is a thousand times nicer than NY.
 
LGA will gladly take you right over the top of the airport at 1500', which is pretty close to your house. They'll also probably be able to take you right over your house if you're flexible with altitude. Or, go above the Class B at 7500' and enjoy the view, navigate as you please.
 
I've been watching this area of the B since I started flying 10 years ago. I always thought how amazingly closely you can creep next to a NY Bravo airport. You can legally fly just NE of your house before you hit surface B.
Just have your people drive to the 1200' area then look up ;-) Or once you're circling around in flushing at 1100' call ATC and ask for direct Long Island Expressway exit 34.
it's easy to see on the NY heli chart.

That notch in the LGA class B used to accommodate Flushing Airport. The airport is long gone, and there's not even enough of the runway left to keep it shown on the chart as a closed airport. Changing the airspace takes longer, and no one really cares to bother with it unless and until some pilot screws the pooch playing around in there. I know I wouldn't fly into that blind airspace canyon unless I was supremely confident of a warm welcome from LGA tower.

If you follow the conventional wisdom about that route -- south stanchion of the Throgs Neck Bridge direct to the tower cab -- you'll ride within the northern edge of that airspace cutout.
 
My house is where the red square is within the black circle south of LGA.

lga.jpg

It looks like you're not actually on any of the final approach courses. Maybe it will help if you can figure out a concise way to communicate the location.
 
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