November 2012
The Niagara Falls region of western New York offers some breathtaking scenery including one of the seven natural wonders of North America, Niagara Falls. Recently my wife expressed a desire to see the falls firsthand—and I immediately realized this was a great opportunity for a trip in our 1978 Warrior, N35321.
A review of the route from our home base, Albertus Airport (KFEP) in Freeport, Ill. to Niagara Falls International (KIAG) quickly revealed the challenges that I would need to address. First was the decision on the route of flight.
THE TRIP EAST
The most direct route would involve crossing Lake Michigan north of Chicago’s Class B airspace and flying the entire length of Lake Erie to western New York. I wasn’t comfortable with crossing Lake Michigan and a long over-water flight of Lake Erie, so I elected to transition through Chicago’s Class B airspace around the south end of Chicago.
Our early morning departure from Freeport gave me hope of getting clearance through the lower levels of Class B airspace at the south end of Chicago, but alas, this was not to be due to a high controller workload. In my experience, you won’t get much help from Chicago Approach—and this proved true once again.
After skirting around the south end of the Class B airspace, we headed east from Chicago and flew direct to Wood County Regional (1G0) in Bowling Green, Ohio for our intermediate fuel and rest stop. Wood County Regional is a nice place to stop with a municipally operated FBO with 24-hour self-service fuel at a good price: $5.69/gal. An employee on site met us at the plane, took our fuel order and handled the credit card transaction. (This was what they called “self-service”—nice!)
Departing Wood County, we contacted Toledo Approach who put our remaining route of flight into the ATC computer to arrange handoffs to each successive approach or center radar facility. After a handoff to Cleveland Approach, they approved a transition route right through the Cleveland Class B airspace, saving us at least 20 minutes of flight time—a welcome surprise considering my refusal from Chicago earlier in the morning.
The route through essentially followed the Lake Erie shoreline right along downtown Cleveland with only one minor vector to provide separation for commercial traffic landing at Cleveland Hopkins International (KCLE). The remaining flight along the Lake Erie shoreline took us over Erie, Penn. and into western New York.
THE SCENIC ROUTE
Reaching Hamburg, N.Y., we turned north over the eastern end of Lake Erie and advised Buffalo Approach that we wanted vectors to the falls so we could overfly and photograph both the U.S. and Canadian falls. This was a very memorable viewing of the falls, and anyone going there should do it.
Before you depart, review the special air traffic rules for overflight of the falls; it is contained in FAR 93.71 and calls for flight at or above 3,500 MSL. Circle clockwise and announce intentions and location on the falls advisory frequency of 122.05. We were the only fixed-wing traffic at the time, but there were several helicopter tour operators below us.
Keep all eyes outside the cockpit looking for traffic. The view is well worth the effort! After several orbits around the falls and many photographs, we headed five miles east and landed at KIAG. Expect to pay a $3 landing fee and $7/night tiedown fee.
AROUND THE FALLS
The FBO, Niagara Falls Aviation, had an Enterprise rental car ready for us and brought it out to the plane on the ramp so we could transfer our bags to the car. We had not made hotel reservations, so they also provided us some suggestions on local hotels.
It turned out to be a Canadian holiday on Monday so this popular tourist destination was very busy and vacant hotel rooms were few and far between. We did find a room at a Super 8 about five miles from the airport and the second night (a Sunday), we got a great deal at the Holiday Inn right downtown by the falls.
Due to the distances involved and costs for cabs, a rental car is the best way to go. We rented a Nissan Versa for $50 per day, and that cost less than a cab ride to and from the falls.
The falls area has several different areas to visit including Niagara Falls State Park, America’s oldest state park; the Canadian side of the falls, which offers the best views from land and is very photogenic; and Clifton Hill (also on the Canadian side), which has an entertainment strip with many attractions and restaurants.
The Maid of the Mist excursion boats take you right up to the falls at water level for close examination if you desire. The boats (Maid of the Mist VI and Maid of the Mist VII) can be boarded on either the American or Canadian side and the cost for the tour includes a complimentary poncho—you will get wet! There are also casinos on both sides if you are inclined to gamble.
In general, I would describe the Canadian side of Niagara Falls as the newer and flashier side and the U.S. side as slower-paced with many trails and walking paths to explore.
If you do go to Canada (and I recommend you do!) you will need your passport. You may walk across the Rainbow Bridge, as we did—it’s a fantastic view—or drive across and park. We were told that parking in the area on the Canadian side would run between $20 and $30 U.S. dollars. If you walk across, be aware that Canada assesses a 50-cent departure tax to get through the turnstiles at the customs checkpoint.
Our return trip was broken into two days as we had some extra vacation time and a great VFR forecast, so our first leg was from Niagara Falls to Fort Wayne International (KFWA) in Fort Wayne, Ind. where we spent the night.
Atlantic Aviation operates a first-class FBO at KFWA, and I would highly recommend this for either a fuel or overnight stop. We were the only single engine aircraft on the ramp and were treated like a Gulfstream—these folks just couldn’t do enough to make our overnight stay perfect. The line crew even untied our airplane for us when we returned the next morning! In 32 years of flying, I have never had that happen before and fuel was reasonably priced also.
This trip was one of the most fun and memorable trips I’ve made as a private pilot. The Piper Warrior continues to prove itself a comfortable and capable traveling machine. I encourage each of you to pick a destination and go fly your Piper someplace fun!
Greg Manuel has been a private pilot since 1980 and grew up with aviation—his father was a very active General Aviation pilot. Manuel is instrument rated with approximately 1,850 total hours and has owned four aircraft. Send questions or comments to editor@www.piperflyer.com.
RESOURCES >>>>>
Clifton Hill
cliftonhill.com
Maid of the Mist boat rides
maidofthemist.com
Niagara Falls Tourism
niagarafallstourism.com
Niagara Falls State Park
niagarafallsstatepark.com
Freeport, Ill. to Niagara Falls,
N.Y., by the numbers
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Total flight time: 10.5 hours
(surprisingly, it worked out to
5:15 each way nearly exactly!)
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Fuel consumption: 83 gallons
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Highest priced fuel:
KIAG $6.93/gal
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Lowest priced fuel:
KFEP $5.85/gal
