Two from Somerset Sunday

I went into New York City Sunday for lunch. On the way back, my dad and I stopped at Somerset (KSMQ) so I could apply for a summer job there. This too is a very spotter-friendly airport. They even have this thing where you can tune your FM car radio to a frequency which is connected to the UNICOM. Which is good if you don't have a scanner. But I do, so there's no point. :P Anyhoo, there wasn't much going on then. Low cieling moved in this morning due to a winter storm we got. On the way out, I snapped two pics of two of the many Piper Pawnees they have as towplanes. What a workhorse. :)

http://www.simviation.com/yabbuploads/pawn1jt.jpg
http://www.simviation.com/yabbuploads/pawn2jt.jpg

No more 'til next weekend. :(

-James

Aah, Somerset.... I still remember back when it was N52 - none of this SMQ crap for me! I used to hate Somerset - there was a dog in the building there that scared the hell out of me. The thing was probably 30-40 lbs at the most, but, then again, so was I!

Come summertime, those Pawnees will be towing gliders off of 8/26 alllllll day long.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Mateo

I used to hate Somerset - there was a dog in the building there that scared the hell out of me. The thing was probably 30-40 lbs at the most, but, then again, so was I!

---

LOL There was a dog in there when I walked in also. I'm pretty sure it's not the same one though. :)

I've been meaning to get out to SMQ; I sometimes head over to Bridgewater to do some railfanning, and I always bring directions for getting to SMQ but I never actually make it, partly because I either need to get back home, or because I don't feel like trying to figure out the airport. If it's spotter-friendly, though, I don't really have that excuse anymore.

I have been heading to SMQ a lot lately...primarily on Saturdays. The last several trips I made, the Pawnees were in action towing the gliders (a flight in a glider is about $100) and the airport was just, well, bustling. The New Jersey State Police keeps two S-76s there and I have talked to the pilots and have done several walkarounds of the choppers when they're waiting for calls. Apparently the locals don't want them there anymore, which is a real shame.

As a side note, Kevin Russo keeps his two planes at SMQ - his Bonanza 36 is parked outside while his SNJ-6 is in one of the hangars. When it gets warmer in April, I plan on heading out there the two Saturdays after Easter to spot, watch, and hang out. Great little airport if I may say so myself.

i used to fly a champ out of there 97-03, my favorite grass strip on the planet.