Landing at Ocracoke
Fall is on its way in the Northeast, bringing the promise of great flying weather, and pilots will find plenty of interesting destinations to explore via SocialFlight’s website and app. At the Goodspeed Airport, near East Haddam, Connecticut, the 5th Annual Helicopter Gathering is set for this weekend. The field is right on the edge of the Connecticut River, and seaplanes are welcome. A small town nearby offers food and an opera house. For an outdoors adventure, the airport at North Carolina’s Ocracoke Island, along the Outer Banks, hosts a fly-in on Saturday. The airport is sited amid 16 miles of pristine wild beaches protected by the Cape Hatteras National Seashore. A nearby tourist village provides shopping, restaurants, nightlife and places to stay. A barbecue lunch will be hosted by the airport at noon.
Fly-ins also provide a chance for pilots to connect with some of the nonprofit groups working to promote aviation. This weekend, the Recreational Aviation Foundation hosts its annual River Run to the Atlantic, launching from Tusquittee Landing, a private strip in Hayesville, North Carolina. From there, the flock will head south to the Georgia coast,with several stops along the way. Camping out, great food, and great company are expected, says RAF, plus exploring some strips you might not visit on your own — some require a release waiver, which RAF will have available at registration. The folks at Lake Tahoe Airport are inviting pilots who fly in to the Lake In The Sky Air Show on Saturday to stay until Sunday and help with Young Eagle flights. EAA’s Young Eagles program has introduced more than 1.8 million kids to general aviation since it launched in 1992. More details about these destinations and thousands more around the world can be found at SocialFlight.com.
