WOULD LIKE TO TALK TO OR CHAT WITH A FELLOW PILOT HAVING EXPERIENCE OVERFLYING THE NYC CLASS B AIRSPACE AND USING JFK VOR AS A WAYPOINT. WE ARE FLYING FROM LAWRENCE (NORTH OF BOSTON) TO CHARLESTON EXECUTIVE. THANK YOU.
Hello Albert. I've not made the flight myself, however with the class B topping out at 7000 feet MSL, it should be quite easy for most aircraft to overfly it. Since you are not in class B airspace, you don't even need to talk with anyone. ATC would likely appreciate you being on flight following though so they know you are listening to what is going on below you and just in case they need to inform you of something. The following was in a recent AOPA article. “On top of New York: It might surprise you to think that you can be right above some of the busiest airspace in the nation and not talk to a soul. New York City’s complex Class B airspace tops out at 7,000 feet msl—rare for Class B—as it covers three major airfields. Cruising eastbound at 7,500 feet (or westbound at 8,500) is in Class E airspace, requires no coordination with ATC, and is well within the performance capabilities of my favorite Cessna. When the visibility is unlimited, the sights of the Big Apple are outstanding. (A hint: New York Approach controllers seem to prefer having you on VFR flight following. It enables them to identify you to airliners climbing out from just below you. They’ll be friendly; just ask.)”
Thank you for your response. We will be filing an IFR flight plan at 10,000 with JFK VOR as a waypoint on our way to Charleston Eecutive.
Albert Tellechea:
Thank you for your response. We will be filing an IFR flight plan at 10,000 with JFK VOR as a waypoint on our way to Charleston Eecutive.
That's not going to work. I've been flying back and forth across NYC airspace on a regular basis for more than 30 years, and I've learned a lot about reality versus theory.
For IFR flight through that area, regardless of what you file, you WILL receive (depending on your filed altitude) one of the Tower Enroute Control (TEC) routes at 8000 or below, or one of the Low Altitude IFR Preferred Routes at 9000 or above. You can find those routes in the Chart Supplement ("green book") in Section 4 Associated Data. If you file from Boston to anywhere southwest of NYC (which includes Charleston SC) either in a twin or above 8000, you are going to get V139 from eastern Long Island to southern NJ. That puts you more than 40 nm out to sea. I've done that a few times in a twin, but then I'm not so worried about losing one engine. If you're in a single and filing 8000 or below, they will give you the TEC route that runs across the Long Island Sound to Calverton (CCC) and then over Kennedy (typically at 6000), and then southwest on V1-V16.
VFR operations are a different story. One thing you really do NOT want to do is fly over the top of the B-space at 8500 (especially without radar service) because you'll be right in the middle of a stream of jets descending to cross the IFR high arrival fixes at 8000. You can get a real close look at a jet going 250 KIAS that way. You're much better off getting radar service from the NY TRACON and letting them bring you through the B-space. You can generally get routed right across JFK that way around 4500-6500 with all the heavies below you as they take off and land. Even if you choose to go over the top, they'll keep you advised about the traffic descending through your altitude and provide avoidance vectors if appropriate.
Ron is correct, you will not get routing over the NYC area IFR at 10,000. I did that flight a million times in my NJ days, and things have not changed since then.
From the Boston area, IFR will take you through Providence airspace then V16 over Kennedy at 4000 or 6000. Those work because the JFK arrivals and departures will quickly be above those altitudes. If you need to be higher, you're looking at going farther out over the ocean, or the inland route via Wilkes Barre and Allentown PA.
If weather permits, I would recommend doing it VFR. Get to Calverton VOR however you like, then V16 to JFK VOR then Dixie intersection or Colts Neck VOR. You can do this easily at 4500 or at 6500. You can also fly any route you like at 8500 or 10500, above the B airspace, although traffic will be more of a factor.
I loved flying directly over Kennedy, especially the one time at 6000 when the departure controller told me to look out below for the Concorde, which he was holding at 5000 until I passed him.
Jon