On the morning of August 14th I departed from Resnick Airport (N89) in Ellenville, New York with my chief navigator and husband, Roger, in GlaStar N567J. The sky blue, the air calm, our first major cross country trip ahead of us, and the excitement of being part of the delegation to bring the NY State flag to Kitty Hawk….we were primed and ready to head South. But first the NY contingency of four airplanes had to rendezvous at Dutchess County Airport, the preplanned central meeting point. This posed a slight problem as Dutchess was currently reporting IFR and justifiably so. There was a solid mass of mist and clouds about 10 nm in diameter incredibly poised directly over the class D field while the rest of the Hudson Valley basked in sunshine. We opted to land at a nearby airport with VFR conditions to wait it out; it only took about an hour for the muck to clear out. Finally our group was ready to coordinate take offs from three different airports and meet over the Hudson River.

I'll take a moment now to introduce you to the rest of the NY delegation. Our flight leader, designated NYS flag bearer, and President of our EAA Chapter 1359, John Morrow, was flying a 1946 Aeronca Champ (pictured in the September 2002 issue of Sport Aviation). In the passenger seat with John was Joe Hayes, a student pilot, moments away from getting his ticket. Another beautifully restored 1946 Aeronca Champ was piloted by John Martino and accompanied by Bruce Snow. By the way, Bruce is currently at the taxi-testing phase of building an Avid Flyer, Mark IV after almost 10 years of construction. Rounding out the NYS group were Lew Edwards and Gary Mulligan flying in a 1976 Piper Archer II (featured on the cover of Pipers Magazine, April 1996).

We flew down the Hudson River past West Point Military Academy descending as we went taking in the sights up close and staying below NY Class B airspace. The intention was to follow the Champs slowly down the river but it soon became obvious that even with reduced throttle and flaps both the Archer and the GlaStar were doing too much work circling back etc. to stay behind them. Martino's Champ was especially challenged with a 75 HP engine.

I've lived in the New York/New Jersey area for years and I was still amazed at how quickly the vast greenery and hills transformed into buildings up ahead. There was awe and quiet in our cockpit as we looked seemingly at eye level at the George Washington Bridge (GWB) and the Empire State Building up ahead and to our left. We were maintaining 800-900 feet through the Hudson corridor. Huge ships in port, boats traveling the river, and helicopters skimming the river ferrying passengers back and forth between NY and NJ, all added to the bustling scene. Other planes were around us keeping to the western (NJ) shore southbound and eastern (NY) northbound announcing intentions and location. Ground Zero was no doubt a bleak reminder of tragedy for all of us as we passed by. But the grandness of the Statue of Liberty as the Hudson opened up below Manhattan was uplifting. We couldn't take enough pictures to make the moment freeze in time.

Then we were off out over the Verrazano Bridge across the waters toward Lakewood, NJ, our first refueling stop. It was there that we discussed the leapfrog strategy that would remain in effect the remainder of the trip. The Champs departed together while we lounged in the much-appreciated air conditioning several minutes longer giving them a calculated head start. It was in Lakewood that the Morrow/Martino crews were dubbed the "slow guys". They took it in good humor.

The vastness and beauty of the Jersey shoreline stretched before us. We would follow the shoreline along in its entirety as we headed toward Accomack County Airport on the Delmar Peninsula. Naturally there are populated areas along the shore but there are huge expanses of marsh and seemingly vacant beach areas. Like NY City, the appearance of the Atlantic City skyline was a stark contrast to the vacant land we had been seeing. We ascended to 3,000 feet as we crossed the Delaware Bay from Cape May to Cape Henlopen. Our intention was to climb higher for the trek across the bay but the haze brought on by summer humidity made forward visibility poor at best. As we traveled from Delaware toward Virginia we traversed that small section of Maryland on the peninsula. It was there that we encountered unforecast ceilings of 2,000-2,500 feet coupled by light to moderate turbulence. We descended to stay below the clouds. With Class D airspace ahead and increasing altitude to clear the airspace not an option, we were in the process of entering the tower frequency into our GPS/Comm when the unit decided to take some down time (never had any problem with her before, of course!). Decision time…using our chart we navigated a semicircle around to the west avoiding infractions to Class D and skirting a Restricted Area. So, lesson learned…a back up GPS is a must! When we landed in Accomack County Airport in Melfa, Virginia, with our story, Gary (in the Archer) was kind enough to loan us his handheld GPS as he and Lew were already dual equipped. We believe the temporary malfunction with ours may have been due to the unit overheating (it was 91 degrees F at the low altitude we were flying). With some ventilation tubing routed from the NACA ducts to the unit we had a functional though not permanent fix.

It was past lunchtime when we arrived at Accomack. We refueled the planes and the airport attendant was enthusiastic and kind enough to take several group photos with us holding the NY State Flag. Since there was no diner on the field, we curbed our appetites with vending machine food and the homemade cookies Roger and I had made for the group the night before. It was a sure way to get rave reviews on the cookies!

Beginning our last leg we were sure we'd be dealing with haze but were relieved to be able to see clearly down and across the Chesapeake Bay with altitude to spare. The bridge to tunnel transition in the middle of the bay was interesting to see. While the Champs continued to navigate at low altitude around the complex airspaces surrounding Norfolk, the Archer and GlaStar opted to transverse above. The Champs were rewarded with up close take offs of Military jets from Oceana Naval Air Station.

Approaching Albemarle Sound we began our descent to Dare County Airport in Manteo, North Carolina. Due to tie down restrictions at First Flight, Kitty Hawk, we simply noted the location of the monument (less than 10 nm miles NE of Dare County Airport) as we would be completing the final "leg" of the journey to present the NY State flag the following day, Friday, August 15th.

John Morrow had thankfully reserved the rental cars and hotel rooms for us. We ate what was an extremely late supper for me at about 9pm, especially considering our lunch menu. The laughter and good humor shared that night and throughout the trip cemented our connection with each other and with our newly chartered EAA Chapter. I couldn't wait for our next meeting when we would share pictures of the trip.

Coming into Kitty Hawk the next day both Lew and I doglegged the approach. We have video proof of both. I'll blame it on the sea breeze and of course the most obvious, pilot error. The Park Ranger, Bill Corcoran, met us at 10am as scheduled and indulged us with autographing and dating all kinds of momentos for us. John Morrow and the Park Ranger raised the NY State flag. We were told we were the 22nd state to deliver their flag and the largest contingency to date. While outside we meandered past the stone markers of the Wright Brothers' first four flights, successively increasing distances and made the walk up to the monument.

The museum was interesting for me. I learned how the Wright Brothers approached each test flight and recorded results meticulously. They were truly investigating flight scientifically. Something to identify with and think about as a homebuilder.

I noticed amongst the museum paintings of greats such as General H. H. "Hap" Arnold, there was a painting of Ann Carl, a WASP (Women Airforce Service Pilots). Before the trip a friend of ours who happens to do volunteer work with Ann sent me an autographed copy of her book, A WASP AMONG EAGLES. Having read her book, the connection was inspiring. During World War II, Ann ferried planes and generals stateside, and is renowned as America's first female test pilot that also flew America's first jet, the XP-59A. Via our common friend, Ann followed the progress of the building of our GlaStar from the photos we sent during building. She is quite a lady and humble about her accomplishments from what I gather. Remarkably, our trip to Kitty Hawk coincided almost to the day of Ann's 85th birthday.

Another thoughtful moment occurred when I looked up at a sign in the museum. It reads "From Kitty Hawk to the Moon in 66 years". What an amazing accomplishment….from the Wright Brothers to Neil Armstrong and the many individuals in the interim as well as those on the sidelines. For me it will be remembered as a profound statement.

The next morning, Saturday, August 16th, we made a hasty departure from North Carolina. Even though the weather in North Carolina was inviting, scattered thunderstorms were forecast for the afternoon in our hometown area up North. The Archer and GlaStar flew a basically direct route with only one refueling stop at Trenton-Robbinsville Airport in New Jersey. Even though the Archer is clearly faster by about 10nm per hour, Lew and Gary were good enough to wait for us reassuring me, the fledging, before proceeding. I must say it was also great to have their advice concerning weather up ahead. We did prove to have the fuel advantage though; our 165 hp Subaru only consumed half as much fuel as the Archer, checking in with a typical 4 gallons per hour burn rate. Total travel time from Kitty Hawk to our home airport in New York, including the fuel stop was 4 hours. The Champs chose to retrace their southbound route since neither plane has an electrical system.

At our EAA meeting later in August, Joe mentioned that he probably held the record for the longest cross-country for a student pilot. Besides sharing pictures and a video that Lew put together, all eight of us signed and dated the Wright Brothers posters given to us by the Park Ranger. One will hang framed in the Kingston Airport FBO building marking the Centennial of Flight.