Sam Sessler, a private pilot from Seattle, has created a new way for fellow aviators to share their aerial adventures with one another in a mobile app he created called Hangar. 

“A little over a year and a half ago, I had an idea for an aviation platform used to share flights and connect pilots,” Sessler said. “This was mainly inspired by two things: pilots sharing screenshots of their flight tracks to Facebook groups, Instagram, Twitter, etc., and my love for Strava, the run/bike/hike sharing platform. So, in November of 2022, I set out to build this thing.

“Hangar is a social sharing platform for pilots. It is more than a logbook and can allow you to make new connections. I see a logbook as a work item, whereas this is more of a storybook about your flights. You can go back and look at all the different flight tracks, statistics, and pictures from your favorite flights.”

Sessler has built the digital product entirely himself, including creating the code that powers its diverse functionality. His main goal is to build the platform with the community, rather than for the community, and is continually working to incorporate user feedback into future versions. 

“Hangar is a flight-sharing platform that utilizes ADS-B to retrieve your flights and share them with the world, or just your followers,” he said. “The maps are fully interactive, and you can include up to four flight tracks (10 with the pro membership) stitched together for these fun multileg cross-country trips. Pilots will be able to see their flights broken down into each leg.

“There is also a stats button on the bottom right that shows altitude and groundspeed charts throughout each leg. The pro membership has takeoff and landing wind data. Pilots can include up to six images with their flights or simply just post a map. My favorite feature…is the ‘props’ button. Instead of sticking with a boring ‘likes’ feature like every other social media platform, Hangar users will instead give ‘props’ to each other. The icon spins when you click it, which is kind of fun.”

As many pilots know, finding new and unique places to fly to can be a challenge. Hangar makes it easy to discover new places to explore, searchable by several characteristics. Users can even search for fly-in restaurants to find their next “$100 hamburger” destination.

“[You can] find airports near you or explore over 70,000 airports around the world on Hangar’s interactive map,” Sessler said. “Each airport shows flights that have been posted to it, basic airport info, live weather, and reviews that users leave. Once more users are on the platform, the explore page will develop into a more exciting experience as well with new features allowing you to discover active pilots on the platform.”

One of the most unique features is what Sessler has labeled the “stick-and-rudder rating.” This rating, he advised, is a custom formula that highlights a pilot’s currency based on total hours in the past 90 days that helps gamify their recent flights. He also noted that pro users have access to a map that shows all of the airports they’ve flown to, as well as a reference to takeoff and landing wind conditions during those flights.

The Hangar app, which was released in late February, is available for download in the App Store. The basic version is free, and the pro version is $5.99 per month or $59.99 per year. 

“We have more than 2,500 users so far, so it’s going pretty well, and these users are active,” Sessler said. “Initially I had beta testers for three weeks before I launched Hangar to work out some of the bugs. I posted the app on a couple of Facebook groups and got like 130 people from that. Then I started rolling out a couple of Instagram ads, just kind of testing the waters after I launched. Those, I think, helped a lot. People are liking the app a lot.”

One of those users is Sean Smith, another pilot from the Seattle area. Smith, who flies a 1979 Mooney M20K from King County International Airport-Boeing Field (KBFI), was one of the first to download Hangar.

“I heard about the app through Flights Above the Pacific Northwest (FATPNW),” said Smith. “I signed up for the beta and started using it immediately. It’s been fun to watch the meteoric user growth since [its] public launch.

“I’m a user of Instagram, and I’ve used it to meet other pilots and form friend groups. However, it’s too superficial, and it’s nice to have a pilot-specific app that self-selects for people who are actually flying. It creates a different type of community, less focused on showing off and more focused on actual flying. My favorite part is seeing people across the country take check rides and do their first solo. It’s been fun to be able to share flights on Hangar.”

The post New App Helps Pilots Connect, Find New Places to Explore appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

Apparently as a veteran airline pilot, I am a magnet for such exchanges because folks consider the profession an authority on all things aviation. In reality, no pilot is a complete authority, especially me. Maybe some of us just appear to have more credibility than others. It’s been many years since I’ve focused on the opportunity to share the flying experience—one of them being the iconic $100 hamburger, which we all know has probably doubled in price. Most nonpilots are familiar with the concept but have never really experienced it.

So, over my recent retirement years, with the intention of providing insight to my passion, I’ve invited a handful of friends on separate flights to various airport dining destinations. Unexpectedly, the flights have been a learning experience for me as well.

My friend Jack has an engineering background, with the Hubble Space Telescope having been a part of his repertoire. In earlier days, he and his son (now the chief engineer with a major international auto racing organization), invested time and money into amateur racing. He has an above-average understanding of the intricacies involved with reciprocating engines, including almost anything else that can be defined on a spreadsheet.

Having a naturally inquisitive nature, Jack asked intimate questions about airplane performance and operations, and ATC procedures. Our trip down Florida’s east coast through Daytona Beach airspace to New Smyrna Beach (KEVB) for lunch was all of 25 minutes. If I wasn’t responding to a controller, I was answering a question.

I had briefed Jack on the moderate crosswind and potential gusts we would most likely encounter. After applying a noticeable crab angle, the airplane began to buffet in a sea of choppy air. In monotone, I uttered, “Yippee-ki-yay” on short final. A Google search claims that the phrase is of Native American origin, meaning, “This is a good day to die.” It’s been one of my catch phrases for such circumstances over many years of flying. Perhaps I should keep it to myself. Jack remained uncharacteristically silent while I wrestled with the control yoke.

Elated by the entire experience, in addition to his meal, Jack expressed his gratitude. He painted a positive picture of the day to his wife, Kathy, but employed poetic license in describing the “hurricane force” winds that challenged my landing. He claimed it had been my intent to subject him to those conditions. Apparently, it was all forgotten when Kathy herself agreed to a lunch flight, which was flown on a spectacular VFR day without a bump.

Having not so subtly hinted at his desire for a ride, I next invited Ira to lunch. Ira is a colorful character. His background could fill the pages of this magazine. Suffice it to say his intelligence is only surpassed by his wandering attention. He has no patience for you to complete the answer to his question because he’s already armed with the next one.

Oftentimes, Ira is already discussing a new topic within the same sentence. He is a human sponge of information gathering. Beyond Ira’s full-throttle energy level, one of his best attributes is the benevolence of his time for family and friends. Translation: He’s got a big heart.

Needless to say, my takeoff briefing with Ira was slightly more thorough. I placed special emphasis on the need to remain silent when the aircraft call sign was spoken on the radio. Predictably, a raised index finger was the best solution for intercom silence…which wasn’t always successful.

Having spent a career dealing with the distractions of checklists, warning lights, computer entries, navigation, flight attendant interaction, weather deviations, and flying the airplane, I felt up to the task. With Albert Whitted Airport (KSPG) in St. Petersburg as the lunch destination, we would be transiting Orlando and Tampa Class B airspace, which always compels me to file IFR. I’d rather be directed around departure or arrival traffic than risk my analysis of VFR courses and altitudes that might get me in trouble if not cleared to enter Class B airspace, notwithstanding better traffic separation in a very busy area.

From the moment I started the airplane, Ira peppered me with questions. All of his inquiries were intelligent, involving subject matters that were topics my human database had long ago assimilated and now took for granted. His curiosity was insatiable. His questions ranged from, “Do we have to follow ATC instructions?” to “Why are we at this altitude?” and everything in between.

As anticipated for our return home, we began to encounter typical Florida afternoon weather. The ingredients for convection were at the early stages of transforming cumulus into cumulonimbus. Ira asked why we were zigging and zagging. Grinning, I told him that I was saving him the embarrassment of having to scream. He got the message when ATC assigned a mandatory heading that afforded us the opportunity to sample the inside of a cumulus cloud.

Ira had a preconceived notion that pilot tasks were simply to raise the nose off the runway, fly to cruise flight, and then land the airplane. He was astounded how much is really involved.

• READ MORE: Food for Flight Is the Way to Go

Ken was a former B-52 crew chief during the Vietnam era. Among the many hats he has worn was chairman of our city commission. He now focuses on being a feared hunter of fish. Ken enjoys the serenity of watching the scenery pass beneath the wings without uttering a word.

I’ve had the pleasure of Ken’s company at a Mecum car show auction in Kissimmee (KISM), a trip to Arcadia (X06) for “touch-and-go Tuesdays,” a low approach over the space shuttle landing strip that included a breakfast at Vero Beach (KVRB), and an early breakfast at Albert Whitted. A touchdown on Arcadia’s grass runway because of a repaving project on the main runway was one of Ken’s highlights, having never experienced such an operation.

The Albert Whitted arrival included a flat tire on rollout, an event we could have both done without. Following the efforts of an efficient and friendly maintenance shop, breakfast was not jeopardized. We were able to watch the pit stop tire tube change from the outside balcony of the restaurant.

What did I learn on these excursions? Judging by my friends’ continued jubilant accounts of their trips, just one flight can have a lasting impact on someone’s life experience. It was rewarding to be reminded of this again.

Can you actually fly to lunch? Yes, but it’s an even better experience with nonpilot friends.

This column first appeared in the October 2023/Issue 942 of FLYING’s print edition.

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The brewery, which has two other locations in the area (all within a 45-mile radius), celebrated the tapping of its Wheelz Up IPA on Thursday, February 23, which it is advertising as the “first beer brewed in a general aviation airport.” The ale was brewed on-site at its airport location. The airport is one of the busiest airports in Illinois, after Chicago O’Hare and Midway. 

Abby Ancell, managing partner for the brewery, says it is a relatively new business—it’s been just under nine years since the first location opened. “We’re all cyclists,” she said of the business’s owners. “And when we opened our first location, it was really a spot for us to drink craft beer and eat good food. There weren’t a lot of craft breweries anywhere in southern Illinois at the time.” 

Ancell said that Linda Shafer, wife of KMDH airport manager Gary Shafer, was a patron of the brewery and introduced her husband to its managers. The couple’s interest led to the idea of setting up a brewery location at the airport not only to give aviators stopping in for gas a place to have a meal, but also to foster a relationship between the local community and members of the aviation community. 

The planning process started five years ago, concurrent with the development of a new terminal at the airport. The opening of the brewery was delayed by the pandemic, but it came about in May 2022. 

• Read More: Beer That’s Out Of This World: Billionaire Pilot Is Sending Hops Into Space For Charity

“He came to us with this offer we couldn’t refuse,” Ancell said with a chuckle. “He felt there was no better way to bring [these community groups] together than food and beverage. Everyone likes to eat!” He saw it as an economic development opportunity for the airport. 

“They have been wonderful to work with,” Ancell said of the airport staff. “Just being in on how their vision and how they’re continuing to expand is amazing.”

For aviators who want to sample the brewery’s cocktails or craft brews, there are plenty of options for lodging and exploring the region. “We are right in the heart of Shawnee National Forest, and it’s truly one of the most beautiful places in the country,” Ancell said. “I mean—waterfalls, great hiking, little towns full of character and boardwalks are just 20 minutes away. And Carbondale is a unique, funky college town.” 

There are a variety of bed and breakfast and Airbnb options for visitors who’d like to stay in a nearby town, or even cabins in the national forest, Ancell said. Brewery staff and FBO employees love to help pilots connect the dots, including finding transportation options on the ground, she added. 

For visitors who aren’t beer enthusiasts, the brewery offers a full bar with unique craft cocktails. 

“Our bar manager is a mixologist who comes up with these delicious cocktails made from local ingredients,” Ancell said. “You would think you’re in a city, but you don’t have to pay $20 for [a drink].”

Southern Illinois University school of aviation trains students at KMDH, “so we get to watch their students and other pilots in training fly all day long, and it’s inspiring to see these young people with all this responsibility and passion,” said Ancell. Many of the students work part-time for St. Nicholas to help offset the cost of their training. In fact, almost all of the staff members are SIU students, Ancell said. 

This adds another link with members of the Carbondale community, who come in to eat and get to talk to student pilot servers about aviation. “They’re so interested in this world,” Ancell said of the locals. “The students love talking about [aviation], and the guests love hearing about it, so it’s a win-win for everybody.”

The brewery has hosted events from graduation parties and rehearsal dinners to regional economic development meetings, and Ancell said they are working on future collaborations and events. They plan to host a fly-in and viewing event for the 2024 solar eclipse. 

St. Nicholas Brewing Co is open Tuesdays through Thursdays from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., Fridays and Saturdays 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. (with the bar open later), and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. It is closed on Mondays. In addition to indoor dining, the brewery offers seating just off the ramp. There is a bar facing the runway. To make reservations, call (618) 529-3142. A menu and calendar of events may be found here.

A Reminder for Responsible Aviators

FAA alcohol regulations stipulate in FAR 91.17 that a pilot may not fly while under the influence of alcohol or with a blood content higher than .04%, and must wait a minimum of 8 hours after consuming alcoholic beverages before flying. Further, someone who is or appears intoxicated may not be carried as a passenger in a civil aircraft. Be aware that it could take longer than the minimum time to process the alcohol in your system and you could still be impaired after 8 hours have passed. Some pilots may need 12 to 24 hours alcohol-free before acting as pilot-in-command, and some operators require 12 hours. 

The post Illinois GA Airport Unveils New Brew appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

This time, we are focusing on Mexican food, a complex category that represents a broad range of regional cuisines within the country. An appreciation for authentic recipes, fresh ingredients, and personal, homestyle preparation cuts across our collective backgrounds as pilots.

Surveying the fly-in menus in your region and marking the best prospects on your sectional chart (digital or paper) can help you plan memorable outings. I find that my family’s enthusiasm for flying grows exponentially when the destination includes a meal. 

Here are five airport restaurants serving up Mexican cuisine that includes familiar favorites and a few special twists.

Mariscos Huatulco

Bob Maxwell Memorial Airfield (KOKB), Oceanside, California

Mariscos is Spanish for seafood, the specialty of this family-owned restaurant serving Mexican dishes inspired by traditional and contemporary recipes. The range of food is tempting and varied, from burritos and fish tacos to shrimp ceviche. Fish dinners of tilapia, snapper, catfish and others are fried, grilled, and steamed. Octopus, scallops make the list as well. Oceanside renamed the airport in 2013 for the late Bob Maxwell, a former Tuskegee airman and longtime aviation advocate who fought plans to close the field in 2006. 

Enrique’s Mexican Restaurant

Ponca City Regional Airport (KPNC), Ponca City, Oklahoma

Known for “the hottest jalapeno on the runway,” this family operation opened in 1983 with eight tables and a modest menu. Since then, it has expanded more than five times and now has 35 employees. The menu includes Mexican, Cuban, and American dishes. Among the favorites are nachos supreme, tampico fiesta, and chili relleno, which is a stuffed poblano pepper dipped in batter, fried, and served with queso or ranchero sauce. 

Maize Mexican Grill

University of Illinois-Willard Airport (KCMI), Champaign-Urbana, Illinois

While Maize is not quite a fly-in restaurant, you can get there by taxi, rideshare, or an airport shuttle to its location on the University of Illinois campus. There is also a second location downtown. Maize opened in 2011 with a focus on recreating traditional foods from Mexico City, Michoacan, and Guerrero, Mexico. Maize says its food is made in house, including corn tortillas that are handcrafted for each order. The menu includes gluten-free versions of customary Mexican fare “so everyone can enjoy the food we loved growing up.” 

Taqueria Queretaro Food Truck

Arcadia Municipal Airport (X06), Arcadia, Florida

Taco Tuesday has become a big deal at this airport thanks to the mother-son team of Yolanda and Jose Hernandez. They have been dispensing tacos from their orange food truck and reportedly attracting pilots from all over Florida and beyond. Last June, news outlets were abuzz after two men took off from Miami on their way to Arcadia to pick up tacos but made an off-airport landing on the way following an engine failure. Luckily, they weren’t seriously injured, but coverage of the incident boosted the truck’s profile.

Carlos & Mickey’s

El Paso International Airport (KELP), El Paso, Texas

The Arrambide family has run restaurants in El Paso for more than 65 years, and one of its three Carlos & Mickey’s locations is in the city’s airport, a popular meet-up spot for travelers and local residents. A lively bar scene and menu items including flautas, tacos al carbon, albondigas, and quesadillas to seafood including shrimp Jalisco and Alaskan cod. There are also burgers, steaks and various dinner combinations. 

The post Will Fly for Salsa: Five Airport Outlets Serving Mexican Cuisine appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

But the act is not that simple. Pilots get far more than meals from these sorties. Flying to airport restaurants, when done properly, is really a mission. We fly laps around the pattern and perform S-turns, steep turns and stalls in the practice area to stay current, hone skills, and improve our overall precision. But to remain truly sharp, pilots need to travel. And a restaurant at an airport that is 50 to 100 nm away is an opportunity to test ourselves on a regular basis.

Food itself is an incentive, and we are far beyond just burgers and fries these days. Airports compete for visitors and those with eateries on site want to make their menus memorable, with hope of becoming regular destinations. As a result, there is a wide range of cuisines available within a few steps of the transient parking area.

In my case, the promise of a hearty breakfast at Donna’s Runway Cafe at Blairstown Airport (1N7) in New Jersey convinced our sons, 8 and 11 years old at the time, to take their first flight in the Cessna 172 despite trepidation. That watershed outing was also a chance to finally give the passenger safety briefing I had practiced for my FAA check ride. I added a short speech about how traveling in the airplane would be like riding in our car, with a few differences.

We have enjoyed lots of flights together since then, usually involving food, but the boys’ worries faded long ago. And I always wind up spending much more than $100. So while I don’t know who coined the expression, I’m sure it was an exaggeration from a time long ago, when people considered $100 a huge sum. The alliteration allows it to persist.

Below are six examples that hint at the variety of menus and settings one can expect while surveying airstrip fare.

Flight Deck Restaurant & Lounge

McNary Field (KSLE), Salem, Oregon

Serving breakfast, lunch and dinner, the Flight Deck’s menus range from eggs Benedict and breakfast burritos to shepherd’s pie and bacon wrapped aviator tenderloin. Located right on the restaurant is a good place for aircraft spotting. McNary Field was named for Oregon Senator Charles L. McNary, who served in the Senate from 1917 to 1944. It opened in 1937 and offered airline service beginning with United Airlines in 1941. Airlines left the airport in 1993. Smaller passenger operations have come and gone since then.

Pelican’s Landing

Cedar Mills Airport (3T0), Gordonville, Texas

On the shore of Lake Texoma, this eatery is named for the white pelicans who migrate through the area in the spring and fall. Known for seafood including Gulf shrimp, catfish, cod, and crab cakes, the menu also includes a range of steak, pork chops and chicken dishes. The restaurant is part of a resort that includes a 3,000-foot grass strip, cabins, and cottages for fly-and-stay vacationers. The lake is known for sailing and fishing, and guides to show you the best spots.

Gaston’s White River Resort

Gaston’s Airport (3M0), Lakeview, Arkansas

Louisiana shrimp burrito, smoked trout poppers, filet mignon, ribeye, panko-breaded jumbo shrimp, mahi-mahi, and sauteed char–this menu sounds like we have moved beyond burgers. But no, burgers are here, along with Reubens, pulled pork and BLTs. The Gaston family bought 20 acres on the White River with six cottages and six boats in 1958. Today the resort covers 400 acres with 79 cottages and more than 70 boats. The airstrip has grown from 1,800 feet to 3,200.    

Carroll County Airport Restaurant

Carroll County-Tolson Airport (KTSO), Carrollton, Ohio

“Join us for a home cooked meal, a cup of soup or a sandwich. But don’t forget to save room for the pie,” reads a Facebook message that seems to capture the vibe of this place. Daily menus with items like strawberry-stuffed French toast, crepes, marinated pork chops, and chicken marsala are hand-written on whiteboards. Exposed ceiling beams are papered with photographs of airplanes. Other local attractions include historic sites like the McCook House and Algonquin Mill Complex.

Sky Cafe

Sky Manor Airport (N40), Pittstown, New Jersey

I’ve found that when a restaurant really cares about salads, the rest of the food tends to be memorable as well. Sky Cafe has some of my favorites including nicoise, chicken curry salad, roasted beet and blueberry with baby spinach and almonds, and kale with charred avocado, apples and Brussels sprouts. On approach, you fly over the rolling western New Jersey farms that surround the field. On the ground you are likely to find interesting vintage aircraft, especially during Sky Manor’s yearly fly-ins.

Crosswinds Restaurant

Nantucket Memorial Airport (KACK), Nantucket, Massachusetts

If you fondly recall the 1990s sitcom “Wings,” set at a fictional Nantucket airport, this spot might have particular appeal. If not, you should visit anyway because not only does the restaurant serve all three meals but it also offers “breakfast at night” including pancakes, french toast, and omelets. Plan your visit carefully because the towered airport—the state’s second busiest after Boston’s Logan—is challenging, especially during summer when it becomes a hive of jet activity.

The post Six Airport Restaurants That Move Beyond the $100 Hamburger appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

For that matter, a dream destination might mean something different to your spouse/partner/love interest or “just friend” than it does to you. For the pilot, the flight is the thing. For the pax, the destination is the focus. Your special friend may like the exotic feel of a Bahamas destination, but for you it is all in the planning and execution. If “general declarations,” eAPIS, and other customs procedures are onerous to you, you might choose a domestic destination of equal charm without the hassle.

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And then, there is the cost. What was once euphemistically called a $100 hamburger, might now be accurately called a $500 candy bar. Landing fees, ramp fees, minimum fuel purchases, and other “hidden” costs can make some destinations just not worth it.

Passenger desires, airplane type, and prices may change, but the allure of using a private airplane to get somewhere exotic, favorite, or remote—or all of these—cannot be denied, ignored, or diminished.

My initial forays into flying to a favorite spot began some 50 years ago, when as a surgical intern working in St. Louis, Missouri, I decided to fly a Piper Cherokee to what is now called Glen Glaize-Osage Beach, near Lake of the Ozarks. Even on $6,000 a year, I could afford a day trip, and though I don’t recall seeing any lake, I do remember the thrill of getting out and up, if only for an afternoon.

It wasn’t until almost 15 years later, after I moved to Tampa, Florida, that I got into the “favorite destination thing.” Now armed with a Cessna P210, I looked for nearby places that could make me feel like I had been somewhere special. South Florida is a good place to have such urges.

An attractive first choice was Key West, Florida. The airport featured then—and still does to this day—a sign that says, “Welcome to the Conch Republic.” A trip there was about 1.5 hours and featured an over-water segment that was at first intimidating to a pilot who had done most of his flying in the Midwest. Once, when all of my obligations for the day had been cancelled, I called a psychiatrist friend and asked if he’d like to have lunch in Key West. He dropped everything and joined me. When we got in the cab at what used to be Island City FBO (now a Signature location), the driver asked if we wanted to eat at a topless restaurant. I was reluctant. I didn’t know my passenger that well. He was all in, though, and I voiced no objection despite my trepidation. As it turned out, I needn’t have worried. The place was filled with men in bathing suits.

Key West has music everywhere. Glamorized by singer/songwriter Jimmy Buffett and celebrated in winter by frustrated folks from up North, it has lots to see, do, and eat. The Ernest Hemingway House tour is a must. As many times as I’ve taken friends there, I still find it magical to see where Ernest wrote the novel To Have and Have Not. The winter “White House,” once occupied by President Harry Truman, is another telling tour. Truman thought that the American public was not ready to see a photo of the president playing poker, so he had a top made for his poker table that hid the slots that held the chips. Be sure to eat at the toothsome Marquesa or Seven Fish restaurants. If lunch at Louie’s Backyard next to a beach with cavorting canines doesn’t make you smile, not much will.

If you live in Florida, you will not want for winter visitors. When we moved up to a Piper Cheyenne, several interesting places became feasible. Guests could be whisked away for a night in Savannah or Charleston. If more good food beckoned, New Orleans is within reach.

For my staid Yankee friends, it is always fun to take them to South Beach in Miami. The food is only part of the excitement. Young people strut and preen as intense music leaks out of the open doorways of countless clubs. As my visiting mother once said of a young woman she spotted in a leopard print jumpsuit, “You don’t see that in New Hampshire.”

I was slow to explore the Bahamas. Fear of the unknown and apocryphal stories of customs debacles and sand in gas tanks made me needlessly wary. Once I got hand-held through a trip to Marsh Harbor, I became a huge fan. The people are delightful and a Bahamian stay puts things in island perspective. From Marsh, it is only a picturesque ferry ride to Hopetown, where sea breezes, a beautiful beach, ancient history, and good food collide. You could stop en route to the ferry and get conch salad from a street-side vendor—whose feet were in the salt water from which the conch had just been lifted. I say “could” (as in past tense) get conch salad because sadly, both destinations are still reeling from Hurricane Dorian.

I have enjoyed several days in Staniel Cay, where your room is right over the water, giving you a close-up view of many—and I do mean many—sharks. A boat will take you to the site where the James Bond thriller, Thunderball, was filmed and a beach where feral pigs beg for food. Like the sharks, these wildlife encounters are not my favorite, but the place is a famous scuba-diving destination. There is no FBO or customs facility on the Cay, so stops inbound and outbound are required for clearing customs. Be sure to bring plenty of fuel.

From my family’s home base in New Hampshire, there are also many delightful destinations that clamor for attention. Though it is pricey to spend the night in Nantucket or Martha’s Vineyard, you can easily fly from almost anywhere in New England to these iconic islands for lunch. Our customary trip from Lebanon, New Hampshire, takes about 45 minutes and gives us a chance to eat lunch with the rich and famous, and then retreat home for dinner. It isn’t hard to see why these places are so popular in the summer—the chefs are famous and people watching is a high art.

Canada beckons from a New England base and CanPass makes travel there far more simple than to the Bahamas or Mexico. Just call the 800 number before you leave and listen as the officer greets you with “Hello, bonjour.” When you land in Halifax, ask the line guy to call CanPass and you are soon on your way. Only occasionally do you see an actual Canadian customs or border agent at most destinations.

Regardless of your favorite spots, this much is clear: a destination that relieves you of your quotidian worries and frustrations is a gift—available to anybody with access to an airplane. Do it. Enjoy it.

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