Fly in FOK Long Island, NY 11/14/2020 11am ET

M

Mouseflyer

Administrator
As time marches on, things change.

About 2 weeks ago Cafe Volo opened at FOK Gabreski airport in West Hampton, LI.

I checked it out this past weekend and deemed it worthy of BAC attendance.

FOK is a towered airport with a good deal of jet traffic. Weekends slow down but pay attention.

The restaurant is in the main terminal and free parking is available right in front. Inside and outside tables are available but the temperature dropping seems to dictate inside. Large windows allow for airplane watching.

Landing fee is $5 or less for mouse sized aircraft.
 
Thanks for sharing. That is a short hop for me from East Hampton, but I have not been in FOK in ages as no need to go there, but now that the Cafe' is open, I might change my mind.

Bob
 
Cool--thanks for organizing! This fly-in is on my calendar, with Sundowner N23978, based in New Bedford, MA (KEWB). NB: I am VFR only, so weather will need to be suitable for me to attend.
IMG_5518.jpg
 
The Northeast Region Director has endorsed this fly-in.
So, it qualifies for President's Points, maybe some take-home trinkets as incentive for participants.
And likely the Beech Aero Club will buy lunch and pay landing fees, if any.

My plan is to be there.

alton bay 014.jpg

Tom Corcoran
Thanks Rob for setting it up.
 
Count me in !! I’m close by at FRG would definitely be fun to meet some of you guys ! Once my annual is done of course. [emoji20]
 
Added to the calendar. An hour and a half flight from OCMD and a chance to build some flight time. Of course the best part is meeting fellow BAC members ;)
 
We've been wanting to do the Hudson VFR corridor route, so we might try to make this one. (Skippy can't make it over the NYC class B airspace before we'd run out of fuel and patience!)
 
Chopperbob said:
We've been wanting to do the Hudson VFR corridor route, so we might try to make this one. (Skippy can't make it over the NYC class B airspace before we'd run out of fuel and patience!)
Click to expand...
I highly recommend the transition through the class B and then ask to punch out.

Gives you the extra eyes and keeps you well above the intense helicopter tourist traffic.
 
Why we are thinking of doing it now is we often land at KLDJ and the tourist helos have virtually disappeared. COVID has killed their business according to the airport personnel.
 
The fly in at FOK Gabreski airport is a go. 11AM on Sat 11/14 is forecast to have blue skies and Cafe Volo in the main terminal is ready to host us for early lunch.

2020 is a strange year. NY State has a listing of travel restrictions however there are many exceptions. https://coronavirus.health.ny.gov/covid-19-travel-advisory
In particular contiguous states to NY are exempt.

As pilots we routinely need to measure risk and make decisions based on the information available. I can tell you that I have been to FOK 2X in the past month and had no issues and the restaurant is excellent.

Please reach out to me via email at <redscted> or via cell phone at <redacted> if you are coming so I can give the restaurant an idea of how many to expect.

Thank you and hope to see you there.
 
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Sorry I can't make it today. The required parts for a fix to the plane came yesterday but no one to put them in yet.

Bob
 
Long Island Fly-In Draws 10 BAC PLANES and 14 People!

Glorious flying conditions prevailed. The Graboski Airport in West Hampton was "filled" with Sierras, Sundowners and Musketeers on Saturday November 14, 2020. Rob Staab, Airboss of New Jersey, organized the fly-in. The 14 participants were careful to use appropriate virus protocol and 10 planes were on the ramp at lunch time.

The members traveling from the longest distance were Pat and Nancy Long who flew in from Penn Yan New York a one-way distance of 226 miles. Donel Davis flew 10 Miles from KFRG Farmingdale, just down the street. Matthew VanOmmeren and Warren Hoffman flew in from Farmingdale too all in separate Beechcrafts. Other states represented were Connecticut (Ken and Jean Cook; John Morgan), New Jersey (Rob Staab; Dave Falandys) and Massachusetts (Andrew Bonney; Tom and Patrick Corcoran).

Everyone received BAC Signal Kits left over from a previous BACFest. Each participant also got a door prize incentive for coming including wrench sets and tool bags and a couple of surplus BEECH BUM T-shirts. Lunch was provided at the airport restaurant courtesy of Beech Aero Club.

BAC Long Island Fly-in 019.jpg Matt VanOmmeren and the row of BAC planes

BAC Long Island Fly-in 013.jpg Baby Beeches all over the place at KFOK

BAC Long Island Fly-in 007.jpg No "line up and smile" for this bunch

BAC Long Island Fly-in 021.jpg Our BAC planes for as far as the eye can see

Tom Corcoran, Northeast Regional Director reporting
 
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