I‘m heading to NYC for some days in early March, and, as it worked out nicely some months ago in Miami, am hoping to get to fly there.
Has anyone a recommendation for a school to rent out a plane, ideally at an airfield relatively closeby, say, around max. 1 hour from Manhattan?
Thank you,
Marcel
I have rented from the Academy of Aviation at KHPN a number of times:
https://www.academyofaviation.com/
Approximately 1h away from Manhattan and located in a good place with access to the scenic upstate NY area but also very close to Manhattan. The NY skyline route starts pretty close to KHPN.
And much less traffic (car traffic => unpredictable traffic jams) vs getting to KFRG on Long Island.
Thank you! I just called them; unfortunately they don’t rent out anymore (or maybe not to new renters?).
It seems to be a pattern. When looking for a rental in Miami a lot of schools turned to flight training only as well….
If you are interested in a Cirrus, I flew in NY (the SFRA) from KCDW (quick cab ride from Manhattan) with https://www.p6aviation.com/
I flew with an instructor (I don’t have a FAA license and had very little experience flying in the US), so I don’t have any direct experience on renting with them, but they were very responsive and everything could be arranged smoothly.
We did a 3week roadtrip around New England and 4-5 days in NYC in October. I tried to arrange flying while there and was astounded at the lack of interest and knowledge of some outfits, with only half responding to Emails/messages and half of the rest blithely quoting incorrect TSA/security refusal… I think the trick is finding somewhere used to having foreign students.
I ended up using these guys:
Long Island Aviators at Republic Municiple have many foreign students.
Emersonn Aviation at Laconia Municiple have at least one non-US instructor.
Both really friendly and helpful.
Regards, SD..
Thank you @skydriller – it is indeed amazing how difficult it is to get access to rental planes over there…
I will contact them, let‘s hope the best :)
Just returned from NYC and had big luck with the weather: The only good weather period came up when I had a free slot available to go flying – sometimes things work out nicely 
I got in touch with Long Island Aviators in KFRG Republic Airport ( longislandaviators.com ) and everything worked out well with them. Initially my request was to complete the renters checkout, followed by a flight over the Hudson (*) together with an instructor. As they require a checkout again should a pilot have not flown with them within 3 months after the last flight with their fleet, I just did the scenic tour.
(*)In case one is interested in doing this flight, there is a FAA-training wich covers the airspace and the special rules there. It is also mandatory for pilots who wish to fly the route. No rocket science, but actually very useful content.
