It could be wondered by stalwart Bazflyer supporters, the ones who follow those mesmerising tracker dots, if ZK-BAZ actually did make it to Lock Haven. Well, unequivocally the Bazflyers did fly their trusty Comanche from Akron, Ohio to Lock Haven, Pennsylvania but quite legitimately you might ask why there weren’t any tracker dots for that particular flight. Well, the reason is not technical. Ensuring the tracker is turned on for each flight has religiously been the domain of Bazflyer2 but for that single flight Bazflyer1 famously proclaimed he had turned it on. Armed, yes...but set to tracker mode...no. Oops, some crew tasks are best left with the expert...!
Today’s flight from Lock Haven to Linden, an airport situated on the fringe of New York City, was not a long one just a bit over an hour. It was flown VFR (Visual Flight Rules), just the second such flight since leaving Australia. Linden airport is tucked-in under New York’s busy airspace, the complexities of which make a VFR arrival the preferred procedure. Although some folk at Lock Haven airport gasped at the prospect of flying anywhere near New York, the Bazflyers simply followed published procedures and experienced a smooth ride for a landing within sight of the ‘Big Apple’.
Arriving at Linden completed the Bazflyer’s coast to coast journey across the North American continent. As a point in history, the first transcontinental flight across the United States was famously made 108 years ago. It was an attempt to win a prize of $50,000 offered by publisher William Hearst for the first aviator to fly coast to coast in less than 30 days. The flight took 50 days and required 70 stops. However, in testimony to rapid advances in aircraft technology, the first non-stop coast to coast flight occurred just 12 years later with a flight time of less than 27 hours.
Coast to coast for the Bazflyers, from Sitka, Alaska to New York, was a flight time of 17 hours spread over a leisurely 20 day period. There was no monetary prize. Rather it was joining the circuit to land at Linden Airport on a beautiful clear day and seeing New York City there in front, so close, it was almost unbelievable. And thanks to Bazflyer2 the mesmerising tracker dots are there to prove it....
Departing Lock Haven airport for Linden near New York
Downwind Runway 27 in the Linden circuit with New York City on the skyline
Putting BAZ to bed after landing at Linden Airport
Arrived in the Big Apple
NY airspace with Linden marked as an orange dot
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