Flightfest NEW YORK CITY - May 19-20

[WillFlyToDisney]

It's time for another FLIGHTFEST.

Join us in the BIG APPLE for a weekend of mirth and merriment.

May 19th - Dinner at a quaint NYC restaurant near Times Square. Location TBA.

May 20th - Group trip from Manhattan to West Point, NY for a tour of the post and lunch! Group will return to Manhattan in time for dinner.

Accomodations are on your own but if you need help finding a great place then feel free to PM me.

Reply to this thread if you will be attending! I'll be there with bells on. :thumbsup:

[StPeteMark]

Update: CONFIRMED, it's a GO for us!
Just booked JetBlue!
Thanks, Kelley,

Mark and Susan :) :)

PS: Will group trip to WP be in cars or a bus?
.

[WillFlyToDisney]

mark - the trip to west point will either be by train or bus depending on how many people go. the ride either way is about an hour and is quite scenic.

[WillFlyToDisney]

So Mon will you be there?

[Passenger Mark]

Put my name on the list! And I would like to go on the West Point tour... if you are making a list for that also.

[WillFlyToDisney]

Groovy cool!

So far we have:

StPeteMark & StPeteSusan
Debbie (is John coming too?? Tell him there are female cadets at WP with FEET!)
Mark
Kelley (and all my NY friends I can drag there!)
Monica
Sean
Marco

[WillFlyToDisney]

Whoooooooo Hooooooooo! :happyguy: :hyped: :happyguy:

Sean, added you to the list. Will Charity be joining us too?

You and Mark drag Courtney, CheifatHeart and EyesSkyward Jeff with you too - they are all in and around Nashville.

[EyesSkyward]

You and Mark drag Courtney, CheifatHeart and EyesSkyward Jeff with you too - they are all in and around Nashville.

I'm a bit broke at the moment, but a trip to NYC is always enticing. Hmmm...

You know, with that many people all coming from BNA, maybe we should charter a flight! :cool:

- Jeff

[WillFlyToDisney]

I'm a bit broke at the moment, but a trip to NYC is always enticing. Hmmm...

You know, with that many people all coming from BNA, maybe we should charter a flight! :cool:

- Jeff

And just how much would that cost, Jeff??? If that is gonna happen then maybe I can plan to be in BNA before New York (but then I have to fly from NYC to Vegas not back to BNA).

[EyesSkyward]

And just how much would that cost, Jeff???

Good question. Colemill (http://www.colemill.com/Charter.htm), for example, shows a rate of $4.10 a statute mile for their King Air 100 (a twin-engine turboprop).

If we could fill it with nine passengers, that would work out to about $350 a person, each way. It would take about three hours to get there.

So not really cost-effective at all, considering that you would pay about that much for a round-trip fare on commercial. Sure would be cool, though. :cool:

(Especially if the pilot was a CFI who could let me fly it and log dual time. Heh, heh, heh...)

- Jeff

[StPeteMark]

Kelley, updated my first post!
CONFIRMED; just booked with JetBlue!
West Point here we come...this IS exciting!!!
Thanks for this opportunity!!! :yippee:
Mark
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[WillFlyToDisney]

Hoooray, Mark and Susan. :thumbsup:

My flights will be booked as soon as I find out whether or not I am going to Vegas or not afterwards. :magic:

[WillFlyToDisney]

Heard back from the restaurant at West Point today. This place has YUMMY food (I love the sesame encrusted salmon) and amazing desserts. They are looking forward to our arrival Saturday afternoon for lunch!

You can check out their menu on the site too!
http://www.schadesrestaurant.com/

[paperwings]

Since I LIVE in NYC I'd love to stop by and say hello, meet some of y'all!
My easiest trip to be sure! :)
Let me know if you need any advice about places to eat, go, stay, etc....
-Lauren

[WillFlyToDisney]

Lauren - that would be great! :) I'll send you a PM.

Kelley

[cshollingsworth]

oh ya'll would have this 2 days before i get out for summer break wouldn't ya??? geez guys...have one before i go to work in august! june or early july...i'm gonna be in hilton head in mid-july and back to work around august 1. the life of a teacher!

:happyguy:

[StPeteMark]

Kelley,

Like the Phoenix, it's warm and inviting...very well done! I love it!!! Kudos to whomever created this wonderful banner!!!

Mark
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[MarcoAviator]

Hey! I am right here too!

I need to book the ... train ... from Jersey. :D

PS: who's up for a ride in my Cherokee? :hyped:

[WillFlyToDisney]

Hey! I am right here too!

I need to book the ... train ... from Jersey. :D

PS: who's up for a ride in my Cherokee? :hyped:

Added you, Marco! :thumbsup: Will your sweetheart be joining us as well?

[MarcoAviator]

Added you, Marco! :thumbsup: Will your sweetheart be joining us as well?

You talking about my plane or my wife? :rotflmao:

(kidding)

Yep! She'll be there too ... she works in the city. She knows her way around. I would get lost without her. :thumbsup:

[acuradriveronr3train]

...why is the main attraction going to be a road trip quite a bit north of the Big Apple? Isn't there enough to see in town? This is like having your FlightFest in Washington, DC, but spending most of the time at the Naval Academy in Annapolis. Or going to Denver (a place I've never been to not counting switching planes in old Stapleton) and spending most of the time at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs.

Not being a military-oriented person, there are other things I'd rather do on a trip to New York City than travel up to West Point.

[WillFlyToDisney]

Yep. You guys said it well, Mon and Deb. The main part of Flightfest is the dinner Friday nite in NYC. The rest is just "gravy". The West Point trip is something I arranged for those who want to go. The method of transportation there and back will depend on the number of definite attendees.

There IS plenty to do in NYC - I love it there myself. If you don't want to do the West Point tour then you don't have to. Personally I love West Point. The views from Trophy Point are just breathtaking. Take a look! http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b107/KBarrett20/CMAs%20NYC%202005/Picture374.jpg

Kelley

[StPeteMark]

...My understanding is that the main event is everyone getting together for dinner. ... Acura, this has been the case for all Flight Fests so far...either dinner or lunch is the main and usually the only event. People usually do their own thing before and after the get-together. West Point is a special bonus for this Flight Fest! ...and it's being made available to us by special arrangements. NYC is one of our favorite places! We are very grateful to Kelley and really looking for to this unique opportunity!!! :yippee::banana::yippee:
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[Passenger Mark]

Why???

Because someone volunteered their FREE TIME to plan this thing, and I am happy she did! :thumbsup:
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[MarcoAviator]

Yep. You guys said it well, Mon and Deb. The main part of Flightfest is the dinner Friday nite in NYC. The rest is just "gravy". The West Point trip is something I arranged for those who want to go. The method of transportation there and back will depend on the number of definite attendees.


For me ... that'd be my plane. So I got my own way to get there.

[WillFlyToDisney]

For me ... that'd be my plane. So I got my own way to get there.

Cool, Marco! Which airport are you flying into?? I know the closest commercial airport is SWF but not sure about the closest municipal one (is that the correct term?). Need a ride from the airport to WP? :)

Kelley

[MarcoAviator]

Need a ride from the airport to WP? :)

Kelley

Possibly. :)

I haven't checked what airports are there but if I remember correctly there should be one right there.

[acuradriveronr3train]

As a newcomer here, I didn't know what is involved with a FlightFest (whoops - almost said "FightFest" - hope that wasn't a Freudian slip). Thanks to everyone who explained everything.

This FlightFest is going to take place the weekend after my actual flight (actually to a non-Big Apple part of the state of New York), so I may need to stay home that weekend to catch up on other things in my life. On the other hand, it's not hard to get to New York for me, and it doesn't involve flying, so I will still think about it.

I tend to thank the military for fighting for freedom of speech so that I can use this freedom to criticize war efforts. I know we have some pilots who hang out here. I don't know if things are still the way they were in the "Chuck Yeager" era, when a large number of the commercial airline pilots got their training from Uncle Sam, but I also want to thank the military for training such pilots over the years.

[WillFlyToDisney]

Just another "friendly reminder" that we do not discuss politics of any kind on this board. I sure don't appreciate that remark about the war effort since my best friend is an active duty military officer and my college sweetheart was killed in action last April in Afghanistan.

This thread is about Flightfest NYC. Let's keep it that way so everything remains friendly around here.

Thanks,
Kelley

[Agne]

Hello, I didn't want to interfere but yesterday we confirmed the flight to NYC (we do each month until May when we actually buy the ticket for August). I have never had the chance to go to a flightfest (but I already met some great people from this board) and I was wondering if we could meet and have dinner or lunch while we are there. If not, that's OK! I just wanted to post it in advance to let you know, in case you are around in that period. We will visit NYC, Boston and Washington D.C. for sure. We arrive at JFK on Aug the 16th and leave on Aug the 30th. Between the 16th and the 30th our dates are flexible since we haven't booked the hotels yet and haven't planned the route.
:)

[MarcoAviator]

Agne (as you know) I'm here in NJ so we can definetly meet up in august.

There should be another couple of people from this board that live in the same area so I am sure that a mini-flight-fest can be organized. :D

[acuradriveronr3train]

Just another "friendly reminder" that we do not discuss politics of any kind on this board.

Thanks for the "friendly reminder", although it would be more accurately called "new information" in my case. But I am glad that this board has such a policy. I hang out at other online forums, and sometimes people bring up off-topic items that cause dissension. So, I will gladly keep this reminder/information in mind.

[Jeff California]

When looking at the FF NYC and how much it would cost, I decided to pass. However, Andrea is in L.A. meeting with the powers that be and they want her to come to NY for about a week. Free hotel in NYC= Jeff is there!!!!From what she told me on the phone, it sounds like they want her and her co-worker to make the plans after they return from 2 weeks in illinois (they leave next week). She is going to talk to him and see if he wants to go in May so we can make the fest!!
If I make it, I want to go to West Point as well.

[WillFlyToDisney]

Whooo hooo! That is GREAT possible news Jeff. Keeping my fingers crossed. You and Andrea are SO much fun to hang out with. :)

[Jeff California]

Well, Andrea is back and it looks like it is going to be something like June 20th....

[WillFlyToDisney]

Bump for anyone that wants to add their name to the list.

Flightfests are LOADS of fun!

Jeff - any chance you guys could sneak away in May anyway???

[StPeteMark]

I count'n the days now...16!!! Looking forward to this weekend! :yippee:

Kelley, do you know yet where we will be having dinner Friday night?

Also, when we get back from West Point, are we going to meet for dinner again?

If you could summarize the planned Friday/Saturday agenda, that would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,
Mark :)
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[MarcoAviator]

Ok, me and my wife are going to be there for dinner on Friday. Where are we going by the way?

Saturday is iffy. We have a birthday party to go to, so I might come on my own or I might have to skip saturday ... We'll see how it goes.

Interestingly, it depends on the weather. If it's good ... I am flying to West Point ... Stewart International Airport to be exact.

http://www.stewartintlairport.com/index.html

which means I need to find a ride from the airport to the academy (it's like 10-12 miles from there ...

[scaredy_cat]

aww I wish I could join you all. Have never been to New York. Next time plan one a lil closer to me in Virginia!

Don't forget though, I fly on the 18th and the 21st so you still have to track me a few minutes in the midst of all your fun! :tongue:

[StPeteMark]

we will have just flown to NYC, taken a cab to Times Square, checked-in to our hotel, had lunch and a few :cheers: , and now be walking down Broadway in the hours before our Dinner get-together!!! :yippee: :yippee:

.

[StPeteMark]

Mark, you are coming at such a great time.
Spring in NYC is great(even though they keep threatening rain. Have you noticed that Marco?). Plan on walking through Central Park as well. Great for people watching.:thumbsup:When we were in NYC last Oct., we were part of the rainiest week in the city's history...of 5 days, only our last full day in the city was sunny. In December, although cool, it was sunny...we walked around lower Central Park then, but they had all the summer areas fenced off.

Yahoo forecasts some rain for this Friday, but sunny for Saturday and Sunday. Hopefully, the front will speed up and it will be sunny for Friday through Monday! :sunshine: See you Friday night and Saturday!

Mark (and Susan) :) :)
.

[MarcoAviator]

This coming weekend weather is actually supposed to be good in NY ... :D

[WillFlyToDisney]

Hey Guys,

Sorry for the delay in responding. I have been battling a virus, sick Grandma (well not fighting with her but taking care of her) AND internet outages. Grrr....

Dinner is set for THIS Friday nite at a fabulous Italian eatery that came highly recommended by our own Paperwings (Chef Lauren).

Here is the website for the restaurant: http://osteria-stella.com/Home.htm

Our reservations are at 7:30pm so lets plan on meeting in front of the restaurant at 715pm. :)

I'll PM those going to West Point with those details! (Marco I can pick you up from SWF and take you to WP if you like).

I leave in the early AM for NYC - taking 3 planes to get there (CHS-ATL-DTW-SWF).

Kelley

[Agne]

Hey Guys,
Sorry for the delay in responding. I have been battling a virus, sick Grandma (well not fighting with her but taking care of her) AND internet outages. Grrr....

Dinner is set for THIS Friday nite at a fabulous Italian eatery that came highly recommended by our own Paperwings (Chef Lauren).

Here is the website for the restaurant: http://osteria-stella.com/Home.htm


And that's real Italian food (I've checked the menu) :thumbsup:

[WillFlyToDisney]

And that's real Italian food (I've checked the menu) :thumbsup:

Whooo hoooo! I can't wait. Agne - wish you could join us. Any suggestions from the menu that would be good to try?

Kelley

[MarcoAviator]

I'm a big fan of Pappardelle ... or Spaghetti con Vongole (if done right ... spaghetti with clam can be screwed up pretty bad and then it's just disgusting watery crap).

Fiorentina is a special type of italian steak, grilled and then sauteed with tomatos ... at least that's what I am used to in Italy. No idea if here (the country of Steaks) they would do it the same ... it's a bit unique and out of the norm how it's usually cooked in Italy. Very good but I don't know if they'll follow the tradition ...

Scaloppine are usually pretty good too..

Pizza is just pizza ... no need of explanations there.

[Agne]

Any suggestions from the menu that would be good to try?

I would try:

Antipasto (starter) : Bruschetta

Primo: Pappardelle

Secondo: grigliata mista di pesce

or.. Fiorentina

:cool:

[StPeteMark]

This coming weekend weather is actually supposed to be good in NY ... :D...well, was....:(

Yahoo:

Friday: Partly cloudy skies during the morning hours will give way to occasional showers in the afternoon. High 66F. Winds SW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 40%. Low in the 50s.

Saturday: Occasional showers possible. Highs in the upper 60s and lows in the mid 50s.

Sunday: Showers possible. Highs in the mid 60s and lows in the low 50s.


Monica, what are the TV weather persons calling for?
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[WillFlyToDisney]

I'm here, Mark, and it is GORGEOUS. The skies were overcast for awhile today but for the most part it was nice. :)

[StPeteMark]

I'm here, Mark, and it is GORGEOUS. The skies were overcast for awhile today but for the most part it was nice. :)Thanks Kelley and Monica about the weather!

Kelley, can you PM the details on West Point today...we pack tonight - thanks!

I only take nice jeans when we travel for leisure...will that be a problem for the restaurant tomorrow night?

See you all then!
Mark (and Susan) :) :)
.

[MarcoAviator]

...well, was....:(

Yahoo:

Friday: Partly cloudy skies during the morning hours will give way to occasional showers in the afternoon. High 66F. Winds SW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 40%. Low in the 50s.

Saturday: Occasional showers possible. Highs in the upper 60s and lows in the mid 50s.

Sunday: Showers possible. Highs in the mid 60s and lows in the low 50s.


Monica, what are the TV weather persons calling for?
.



In my experience weather is very fickle.

They might forecast thunderstorms and armageddon up until 2 hours before, then they change the forecast to sunny and shiny and nothing happens.

I have seen that many times before.

One shift of the wind and you get a clear day when you were supposed to get biblical rains (or viceversa ... works both way).

I think that Friday night I will be able to tell more precisely what the weather will be on Saturday ...

[MarcoAviator]

Hey Marco, sure you woke up to this lovely, gray rainy day too. :sigh: First thing I thought of was Mark and Susan!!! We are working on the weather improving...

Yes, the weather has every intention of being bad this weekend. This is quite annoying.

I am still waiting to see if I get a window of good weather tomorrow to fly to West Point. I can't fly if the weather is bad (unfortunately). I can do it with my instructor but not on my own ... :(

We'll see how it pans out.

Mon, are you coming tonight?

[WillFlyToDisney]

It's raining now. Mark and Susan should be landing any second.

I'm getting ready to take the train into the city to do some quality window shopping at American Girl and the World of Disney. :angel:

Marco, I hope the weather breaks for you tomorrow!

See everyone tonite!

[acuradriveronr3train]

Just another "friendly reminder" that we do not discuss politics of any kind on this board.

I took this admonition for my "lefthanded compliment" to the military with what I hoped was graciousness at the time.

This has been a very supportive web site for both others and me. I'm glad that we don't get into fights with each other, and this is a good rule. I've seen a lot of other online message boards degenerate into ideological fights.

There's a message posted in one of the other subject areas in this forum that I feel my original comment was no worse than, but the person who started it did not incur the wrath of anyone else. I hope we don't resort to double standards here.

By the way, I have too much else to do in my life than to join anti-war efforts, even though I'm also not an out-and-out supporter, and I'd be glad to keep all war protesting and supporting messages off here if everyone else made the same effort.

[WillFlyToDisney]

I took this admonition for my "lefthanded compliment" to the military with what I hoped was graciousness at the time.

This has been a very supportive web site for both others and me. I'm glad that we don't get into fights with each other, and this is a good rule. I've seen a lot of other online message boards degenerate into ideological fights.

There's a message posted in one of the other subject areas in this forum that I feel my original comment was no worse than, but the person who started it did not incur the wrath of anyone else. I hope we don't resort to double standards here.

By the way, I have too much else to do in my life than to join anti-war efforts, even though I'm also not an out-and-out supporter, and I'd be glad to keep all war protesting and supporting messages off here if everyone else made the same effort.

If you are referring to the sending of donations to the orphans in Iraq then I don't see how that is a political post at all.

Care to elaborate?

[Passenger Mark]

I'd be glad to keep all war protesting and supporting messages off here if everyone else made the same effort.
The thread that you are speaking of is not an opinion of any particular nation's involvement in any particular event, but a soldier's report back to "home" on his activities.

The support you see is for Nick and his family. It is not political.

It is also about supporting children... not particularly of any nationality, political belief, race, religion, or origin. Just that they are human beings. Most importantly they are human beings of tender age.

And that particular thread is authored by a friend of mine, who's mother is also a friend of mine.

Acura, from reading your writings you seem to be a very intelligent person. Therefore I am surprised that you would see that thread as political.

No need to respond... just please examine a subject thoroughly prior to making a potentially controversial statement..

Thank You

Mark Tate
Administrator / Owner
Taking Flight - Fear of Flying Support