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Event Schedule
This Semester:
- AOPA Air Safety Seminar
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
TOPIC: "Regulations: What Every Pilot Should Know"
LOCATION: NY State Nurses Association, Latham, NY
TIME: 7:00 to 9:00 pm
- RAF Movie Night / (Free) Pizza Party
November 1, 2007
SHOWING: Airplane
- Albany International Control Tower Tour
TBA?
- Fall 2007 RPI Fly-By
Saturday & Sunday, November 10th & 11th
- Field Trip #2: New York City (night trip!)
Saturday, December 1st (backup: December 8th)
Past Events:
- Field Trip #1: Laconia (Lake Winnipesaukee)
Saturday, September 29, 2007
Sunday, September 30, 2007
Due to the high demand for seats on this trip, we were forced to split the trip into two separate days in order to accomodate everyone. One plane went on Saturday, and four planes went on Sunday. Fortunately, the weather was excellent both days, and the flights were very enjoyable.
Click here to view the pictures from the Laconia trip.
- Private Pilot Ground School
- Begins Sunday, September 23, 2007
- Meets every Sunday night, from 6 to 9 pm
- Meets in the library conference room
- Last for approximately 12 weeks
- Cost is only $290 for club members
- NRB 2007: Rensselaer Aviation Experience
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
The Rensselaer Aviation Experience, an RAF sponsored program designed exclusively for Navigating Rensselaer & Beyond, returned for its second successful year. Twenty lucky students along with six RAF pilots were able to participate in the program this summer. After participating in various icebreaker activities, the students were transported to the Albany International Airport and were treated to an interesting presentation given by the CEO of the airport on general airport history and operations, as well as how engineering comes into play within the airport environment. Following the presentation, the students were given a tour of Southwest facilities within the airport, including the main operations control room and other behind-the-scenes areas. After the tour, students had lunch and were given an introductory ground school lesson. Finally, the program concluded as students were given the opportunity to experience aviation firsthand by going up in planes piloted by pilots of the RAF for an aerial tour of the RPI campus and downtown Albany.
- Field Trip #4: Block Island
Saturday, April 14, 2007
The trip to Block Island was a pretty amazing trip. The flight itself was not only simple, but very scenic and enjoyable as well. The airport was very accessible and easy to find; the only tricky part was finding a spot to park since the airport is apparently extremely busy during the middle of the day on weekends (in season). Once on the island, everything is pretty much within walking distance. We grabbed some pizza from a local pizzeria and then walked down to the beach. We then walked out onto a rock jetty in the ocean (see pictures) and climbed a little light tower at the end (because there were no signs suggesting otherwise). Despite this, our actions apparently drew the attention of the local police, as two officers were dispatched to the jetty to retrieve us. They seemed very amused at the fact that we had flown to the island ourselves, and were somehow aware of this before we even mentioned it to them (apparently word travels very fast on the island). After the police encounter, we headed back to the airport and departed on our flight home. On the way back, we stopped at KWST to top our tanks because fuel services are not provided on the island.
Click here to view the pictures from the Block Island trip.
- Spring 2007 RPI Fly-By
Saturday & Sunday, March 31 & April 1, 2007
The fly-by went smoothly, as usual, and we were fortunate to have great flying weather. We flew a total of 85 students over the course of the weekend, utilizing 3 planes.
Click here to view the pictures from the Spring 2007 RPI Fly-By.
- Field Trip #3: New York City (AT NIGHT!)
Saturday, February 27, 2007
This trip was originally planned with a destination of Potsdam, NY. The club was going to land at KPTD and then head over to Clarkson to help cheer on the RPI Men's Hockey Team. However, due to the high probability of lake effect snow in upstate NY that evening, we were forced to choose an alternate destination for the trip. We decided to fly down to NYC during the late afternoon. We landed at KCDW in Caldwell, NJ, and grabbed some pizza before our return flight. Once the sun had set completely, we departed KCDW for an amazing night flight over the Hudson River and the NJ/NYC metropolitan area. I highly recommend KCDW; the airport staff was very friendly and accommodating throughout the duration of our stay, and the airport was easily accessible and not at all congested.
Click here to view the pictures from the NYC night trip.
- Field Trip #2: New York City
Sunday, December 3 & Saturday, December 9
Due to the massive popularity of this field trip, along with the limited plane availability, we were forced to split this trip up among two days (one of the days was postponed by a week due to weather). A total of 18 students participated on this field trip, flying in 5 planes between the two days. We flew down the Hudson River Corridor, then underneath JFK airspace, and landed at Republic Airport (KFRG) for lunch. The trip itself was excellent, as usual; however, the experience at Republic left quite a bit to be desired. The process of landing at the nation's busiest general aviation airport is not exactly the best experience in the world; it took us about 30 minutes before we were able to successfully obtain clearance to enter the airspace. However, the worst experience was caused by Long Island Jet Center, which took over 50 minutes to send a fuel truck 100 feet across the apron to refuel our planes (after telling us repeatedly, "only 10 more mintes"). We do not recommend using Long Island Jet Center, unless waiting an hour to be refueled is acceptable for you. Aside from that, the trip was awesome, as usual.
Click here to view the pictures from the NYC trip.
- Fall 2006 RPI Fly-By
Saturday & Sunday, November 18 & 19, 2006
Despite cloudy weather prevailing throughout most of the weekend, the fly-by was successfully conducted without any problems with a total of 82 students participating.
Click here to view the pictures from the Fall 2006 RPI Fly-By.
- Field Trip #1: El Mira, New York
Saturday, October 4
Click here to view the pictures from the Elmira trip.
- NIFA Flight Competition
Wednesday, October 18 through Sunday, October 22.
RPI NIFA Team:
Vinny Longo (captain)
Dave Shangraw
Tom Kulick
Chris Pair
Jimmy Smith
Dan Dugan
Cory Isabelle
Rich Peterson
- AOPA Air Safety Seminar: Emergency Procedures
Wednesday, September 20, 2006: 7 to 9pm
The AOPA Air Safety Seminar on emergency procedures will take place on Wednesday, September 20, from 7 to 9pm at the Schenectady County Community College. We will be meeting at the union horseshoe at 6:10pm, and departing at 6:15 at the latest. If you did not sign up at Thursday's meeting but still wish to attend, please email me and let me know. Admission is free to anyone.
- Private Pilot Ground School
Sundays from 7 to 10pm (starting September 24)
The private pilot ground school program will be starting on Sunday, September 24, and will take place each Sunday from 7 to 10pm (most likely in the library conference room). Please see the ground school page for more details. If you have not yet signed up but still want to, email me ASAP. The last day to register is at next Thursday's meeting (September 21).
- NRB: The Rensselaer Aviation Experience
Wednesday, August 23, 2006
The Rensselaer Aviation Experience (aka: Aviation Anyone?) is a brand new program organized by members of the RAF this summer for a group of 19 lucky incoming Freshman students. The students were transported to the Albany International Airport, where they participated in various icebreaker activities followed by an interesting presentation given by the CEO of the airport on general airport history and operations, as well as how engineering comes into play within the airport environment. Following the presentation, the students were given a tour of Southwest facilities within the airport, including the main operations control room and other behind-the-scenes areas. After the tour, students were given a lecture on transportation engineering, followed up by an introductory ground school lesson including an introduction to interpreting aviation sectional maps. Finally, the program concluded as students were given the opportunity to experience aviation firsthand by going up in planes piloted by pilots of the RAF for an aerial tour of the RPI campus and downtown Albany. If anyone has any pictures from this event, please email them to me so I can post them on the web site.
- AOPA Air Safety Seminar
- RPI Fly-By, Spring 2006
April 8 & 9, 2006: This weekend's RPI Fly-By went well. The weather on Saturday was a bit cloudy, but Sunday was perfect. We flew about 75 people total, including many students, faculty, and members of their families. Our pilots were Tom, Jimmy, Dave, Cory, and Carlos. If you have any pictures from the fly-by, please email them to me so I can add them to our collection.
Click here for pictures from the Spring 2006 RPI Fly-By.
- Hyannis / Cape Cod Trip, Spring 2006
April 2, 2006: We flew to the Hyannis airport (KHYA) on Cape Cod, and were fortunate enough to be able to get a shuttle over to the Otis National Guard base, where we were given a tour of the Coast Guard's facilities. Trip participants included Tom, Jimmy, Eric, Chris, Dan, Cory, Brittany, Fritz, Dave S, Rich, Dave J, and Charles.
Check out the picture archive for the trip pictures.
Check out the download section to see some video clips from the trip.
- New York City, Winter 2006
February 5, 2006: EXACTLY one year after our last trip through New York City, we flew through the cooridor along the Hudson river in New York City and landed at Republic/Farmingdale Airport on Long Island. Fortunately, Rich's parents were awesome enough to drive us to Applebee's for lunch. Trip participants include Tom, Jimmy, Rich, Brenton, Carlos, Will, Chris, Dave J, Cory, Dave S, Jim, and Brittany.
Check out the picture archive for the trip pictures.
Check out the download section to see some video clips from the trip.
- RPI Fly-By, Fall 2005
November 5 & 6, 2005: The Fly-By went really well; we flew approximately 80 people out of about 100 available spots. The weather was great, for the most part, and we even got news coverage: a 20 second segment on NBC channel 13's 6 o'clock news.
Click here for pictures from the Fall 2005 RPI Fly-By.
- Bridgeport Field Trip, Fall 2005
September 25, 2005: Due to weather, rather than head northeast to Laconia, NH, we decided to head southeast to Bridgeport, CT. The weather wasn't the best, but the trip was still fun. Thanks to all the pilots and drivers.
Check out the picture archive for the trip pictures.
- Binghamton Field Trip, Spring 2005
May 1, 2005: Unfortunately we did not have the best weather for this trip. After postponing the trip twice due to rain, we finally had an opportunity for the trip; however, our original planned destination of Hyannis, Massachussetts was still experiencing poor weather conditions, so we were forced to fly ot the west instead. We decided to head to Elnira instead, although we were forced to land at the Binghamton airport due to poor weather along our planned route. After eating lunch at Pizza Hut, we headed back; overall, it was still a fun trip, despite the poor weather.
Check out the picture archive for the trip pictures.
- Tour of Albany Control Tower
Wednesday, April 27: 3 pm
- RPI Fly-By, Spring 2005
The Spring Fly-By was awesome, and the weather was excellent! We flew a total of 79 passengers out of the available 84 spots. We hope that everyone who participated had a great time, and we encourage everyone with an interest in flying to consider joining our club next year.
Click here for pictures from the Spring 2005 Fly-By.
- New York City / New Jersey Trip
February 5, 2005: We down through the cooridor along the Hudson river in New York City and landed at the Caldwell airport (NJ) to have lunch at Hooters. Trip participants include Sam, Jeff, Rich, Dave S, Tom, Bill, Jim, Vinnie and Eric.
Check out the picture archive for the trip pictures.
Check out the download section to see some video clips from the trip.
- RPI Fly-By, Fall 2004
The fall 2004 RPI Fly-By was great; we flew about 50 people out of the sixty-some spots available between the
two days. We encourage everyone who participated in the event to stop by during our weekly meetings and
consider joining the club.
Click here for more information about the fly-by.
Click here for pictures from the fall 2004 fly-by.
- NIFA 2004 Competition
Click here for NIFA 2004 pictures.
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Jimmy Smith
