Finally... the end of the trip :-)

I finally found the time to put together the last video for the trip to the midwest. It was my first long cross-country flight and one I will long remember. I learned a heck of a lot from this trip -- about flying, about my plane and about myself. There were moments that were fun, others that were challenging, a few that were embarrassing and almost none at all that were boring. I met lots of great folks who collectively helped a great deal. I would have had a much harder time completing this trip, especially given the mechanical problems with 70L, had it not been for the many kindnesses offered to me by other pilots and mechanics. Pilots are nice people. :)

This is the last video for this first trip. It depicts my departure from Erie, PA, where I'd been holed up for a day and a half, waiting for the weather to clear. It shows that I first flew up the coast along the lake, to avoid the mountains of northwest Pennsylvania. I then turned right and started heading all across NY. NY is a big state, depending on which way you cross it. My flight took me most of the way from Buffalo to Albany before I turned left to head up to Glens Falls. That's one of the longest straight lines you can make while crossing NY.

My flight took me over farm country, all of the finger lakes, the central plain of NY and then across the southernmost part of the Adirondacks before coming into Glens Falls for a landing. I could have flown it as a single leg but I wanted to stop in the middle, for fuel and a chance to get out and stretch my legs. I chose Hamilton, NY, based on recommendations from another pilot. I don't have any video of landing or departing there because my video camera was screwing up (again). But it was a GREAT place to land and a very, very friendly little airport. I spent quite a little bit of time there, talking to the airport manager and the kind gentleman who is the local mechanic but also clearly does much, much more at the airport. A former airport manager himself, he seemed to know everyone in the northeast and I very much enjoyed chatting with him.

The whole trip, including the stop, took almost four hours. The weather was pretty good, although I did run into low clouds in a couple of places and was glad to have onboard weather. It was also fairly turbulent over the Adirondacks and also a bit on both the departure and landing. But, overall, it was a glorious day to fly. :)