Out flying around Buffalo-some pictures

My cousin called and asked me to fly with him and then said where to? I haven’t done a rail tour in years so I said let’s fly from Bethlehem steel and go north. Here are a few pics:

This shows the stored covered hoppers crossing (split) at Willet and crossing over the thruway. I saw several storage areas with these cars.


Rail yard south side of Ridge Road.


International Railway Bridge (lower-Niagara River) with Black Rock Canal crossing (upper). No traffic today.


For entertainment purposes we did a touch and go at Buffalo airport runway 14.


Short final at Lancaster with CSX mainline on the left. Not a bad picture considering it’s straight into the sun and the propeller.

Very cool - thanks!

If I'm oriented right, the pic of the bridge was technically taken from over Canada, right? Is there any special protocol for being in "foreign" air space, or is it part of a larger jurisdiction as far as air traffic control is concerned?

I actually don’t know what the exact rules are anymore. Before 9-11 I think (not certain) you could fly into Canada without contacting ATC as long as you didn’t land in Canada. But since 9-11 it is mandatory. But with the River corridor so thin and the scenic Falls so close, they don’t enforce it as long as you stay within a reasonable distance. I’ve flown many times on either side before and after I lost my hearing and nobody was escorting me or greeting me at the airport. Hmmmmm as I reread this for errors I’m wondering how strict they get with a border closed as it was with the virus. Probably the same thing. Stay within a reading distance and we won’t dig out the 88’s.

SST wrote: ↑Sun Oct 10, 2021 10:31 am I actually don’t know what the exact rules are anymore. Before 9-11 I think (not certain) you could fly into Canada without contacting ATC as long as you didn’t land in Canada. But since 9-11 it is mandatory. But with the River corridor so thin and the scenic Falls so close, they don’t enforce it as long as you stay within a reasonable distance. I’ve flown many times on either side before and after I lost my hearing and nobody was escorting me or greeting me at the airport. Hmmmmm as I reread this for errors I’m wondering how strict they get with a border closed as it was with the virus. Probably the same thing. Stay within a reading distance and we won’t dig out the 88’s.

Interesting! Unless there is a temporary effective NOTAM, looks like the regulations for flights over/in the vicinity of the falls has not changed since 2003:
"§ 93.71 General operating procedures.

(a) Flight restrictions are in effect below 3,500 feet MSL in the airspace above Niagara Falls, New York, west of a line from latitude 43°06′33″ N., longitude 79°03′30″ W. (the Whirlpool Rapids Bridge) to latitude 43°04′47″ N., longitude 79°02′44″ W. (the Niagara River Inlet) to latitude 43°04′29″ N., longitude 79°03′30″ W. (the International Control Dam) to the United States/Canadian Border and thence along the border to the point of origin.

(b) No flight is authorized below 3,500 feet MSL in the area described in paragraph (a) of this section, except for aircraft operations conducted directly to or from an airport/heliport within the area, aircraft operating on an ATC-approved IFR flight plan, aircraft operating the Scenic Falls Route pursuant to approval of Transport Canada, aircraft carrying law enforcement officials, or aircraft carrying properly accredited news representatives for which a flight plan has been filed with Buffalo NY (BUF) Automated Flight Service Station (AFSS).

(c) Check with Transport Canada for flight restrictions in Canadian airspace. Commercial air tour operations approved by Transport Canada will be conducting a north/south orbit of the Niagara Falls area below 3,500 feet MSL over the Niagara River.

(d) The minimum altitude for VFR flight over the Scenic Falls area is 3,500 feet MSL.

(e) Comply with the following procedures when conducting flight over the area described in paragraph (a) of this section:

(1) Fly a clockwise pattern;

(2) Do not proceed north of the Rainbow Bridge;

(3) Prior to joining the pattern, broadcast flight intentions on frequency 122.05 Mhz, giving altitude and position, and monitor the frequency while in the pattern;

(4) Use the Niagara Falls airport altimeter setting. Contact Niagara Falls Airport Traffic Control Tower to obtain the current altimeter setting, to facilitate the exchange of traffic advisories/restrictions, and to reduce the risk of midair collisions between aircraft operating in the vicinity of the Falls. If the Control Tower is closed, use the appropriate Automatic Terminal Information Service (ATIS) Frequency;

(5) Do not exceed 130 knots;

(6) Anticipate heavy congestion of VFR traffic at or above 3,500 feet MSL; and

(7) Use caution to avoid high-speed civil and military aircraft transiting the area to or from Niagara Falls Airport.

(f) These procedures do not relieve pilots from the requirements of § 91.113 of this chapter to see and avoid other aircraft.

(g) Flight following, to and from the area, is available through Buffalo Approach.
[Doc. No. FAA-2002-13235, 68 FR 9795, Feb. 28, 2003]"

That covers the scenic falls. Not the Niagara River south of the scenic falls. The installment of this reg really made flying around the scenic falls lousy. It was fun flying around the area at a lower altitude. Back in the good old days.

Great shots! I need to orient myself on the International Bridge crossing, but I can handle that. Thanks for sharing.

Off topic: I was on an early morning commercial flight from Rochester to Detroit (on Northwest, so it was a while ago). The pilot treated us to a circling of Niagara Falls since as usual there was congestion in Detroit. That was fun! I can't recall whether we were south or north of the Rainbow Bridge, but I do remember it was a clockwise circle!

I remember the day that United flew their last 727 into Buffalo[oh so sad! haha]. The pilot departed RWY05 and flew to the Falls. He basically flew it like the letter U. He flew up the west side of the Falls and then did a U-Turn on the same side and then flew around it [south side] until the Northeast side and again did a U-Turn and flew along the southern rim again and then due west for Chicago. I don't officially know what his altitude was but it was well above the 3500ft.

I couldn't figure out what he was doing......but after a minutes of rerunning it through my head it dawned on me that he did that so both sides of the cabin could see the Falls. My bet is he didn't want to give up that left seat either.

BTW, I miss NWA. A few flights to DTW were "educational" if there weren't any clouds as you could see and observe the rail lines stretching across southern Ontario. Pretty neat.