Flying the Hatz Biplane to Marcy Field for an Adirondack backpacking trip.

A biplane isn’t the best choice for those looking for a fast and efficient travelling machine, but it certainly is an enjoyable way to travel and you certainly arrive in style! This trip was on the to do list for a long time, but the circumstances never came together until last fall. Even so, weather delayed my departure for several hours and did force me to dogleg farther east than originally planned, stopping for fuel at Turners Falls, MA, and Ticonderoga, NY.

The hike started from the trailhead at the south end of the airport. From there it was an easy half mile hike to the border of the forest preserve, where camping is allowed. This is also the last stream crossing where water is available for cooking and drinking.

The next morning, I left my camping gear behind and continued to the summit of Blueberry Mountain, a short (1¼ mile) hike but with 1700’ of climbing. From a lookout on the east side of Blueberry the airport can be seen far below. Sadly, it was too late in the season for blueberries. I considered going on to the top of Porter Mountain, another mile and 1000’ climb, but I decided go back down instead and relax at the campsite before hiking back to the airplane the next morning.

Back at the airport, I rinsed off in the Ausable River across the road, bought a hot sandwich for lunch at the farmer’s market on the airfield, and flew back home while dodging low clouds and rainstorms farther south. However, this video ends after I passed Giant Mountain where the weather was still good.

Kudos to the town of Keene for maintaining this beautiful airfield, and also to the Recreational Aviation Foundation (https://theraf.org/) for their support.

Filmed with two Akaso EK7000 cameras and edited with Hitfilm. First time I’ve use Hitfilm, I like it.