As we pass Jones beach, it did not even enter my mind that this was a longer flight than expected.  I decided to go into the cockpit to get some pictures and glanced at the GPS.  My mind raced as I saw 7 miles from JFK and closing!  I remember thinking that I must have seen the GPS wrong,  JFK....  Nooo  could not be.  I return and take some shots of Long Beach and remember Dave in his very cool British accent say, "I think that is JFK there!"

    We came in from the east and passed JFK along the south and turned right for the Canarsie 31 Left approach.  It was a smooth turn and I got some great shots of NYC with a Connie wing,  I also got a nice shot of Aqueduct Raceway.  My only bad photos were out the windscreen of the threshold of runway 13 Left.  I was in auto focus mode and did not have the time to switch to manual.

    Screaming down runway 13 Left did not give me much time to take pictures and I really should not have been looking North of the airport but I was not even close to being prepared for a JFK flyby.  I watched the old UAL hangers at the end of the runway pass and saw just about every spot that I ever snuck around trying to take pictures. I passed the Airborne Buildings and saw the U.S. Customs buildings that I keep getting chased out of.  JFK is not a real spotter friendly airport so while blasting past taking pictures,  there was the biggest smile on my face!  As we passed the threshold, we made a right turn which game me a great photo opportunity to get JFK tower with the NYC Skyline.  I also took a great picture as we passed 31L and 4L.

    We were now on our second downwind and I was getting very confused.  I heard somebody on the flight deck say 13R and looking out the right side of the aircraft could clearly see 13R which was very close.  I remember thinking that this is not real,  some kind of dream and my wife would wake me.  We start our right turn and It gets really tight. We got to 40-50 degrees bank angle and the the pilot really started to pull into it. I felt like it was 1.4 to 1.6G's (I had no instruments and is only my best guess). When he pulled into it I dropped to one knee.

    We passed the JFK hangar 19 where my dad worked when Pan Am was there.  So much history in those hangars and was sad thinking about the World Trade Center rubble that was kept there.  The Concorde (BOAD) that is now at the Intrepid Museum  was taken there after its last landing at JFK so they could take all of the fluids and engines out for display.   It was nice to see two Evergreen 747-100 parked out front just like the good old days.  A little further down I took a nice picture of a Chinese Cargo MD-11 getting loaded.

    Then I saw a RAM 747-400.  I very quickly saw all three men in front of the number 1 engine turn around and and drop their jaws while looking at us.  There were two guys under the APU yelling and pointing at us to get the guy in yellow to turn around.  I could not believe that I could see the excitement in faces and still remember guys in front of the number 2 engine waving.

    Now this is a shot that I always wanted.  It is the old Pan Am world port.  As a kid, my dad would take me up to rooftop parking and would watch landings and takeoffs for what seemed like hours.  To see all the aircraft landing on 31L was awesome and a memory that I will never forget.  Thanks Dad

    Over and over I kept seeing images of my dreams.  Heavies as far as the eye can see.  JFK tower and the famous Landmark TWA Terminal in the background as we pass the active runway with an airbus on final. I went to the flight deck and took some shots but quickly realize that there is no chance of getting a good shot without a flash.  We were climbing and heading east as I decide to....Accidentally left the flash on!  (Sorry, had to do it!).  We were now on our way home and I can not help but think about how soon this will be over.  But I did forget something... I could not for the life of me remember what but I knew I needed to hold back on some shots.

Nancy!!!!

    The ride back was very fast.  It seemed like in no time we were downwind for the landing back at Farmingdale.  It truly was the flight of a lifetime.  We flew to the west of the airport and made a right turn for final runway 14.  The landing was very smooth and we taxied back with engines one and four shut down like they did the previous day.  Walking around after the flight was really cool.  I really felt total satisfaction as I watched all of the people looking this truly awesome bird with the same glazed eyes that I had for the previous two days.  I had experienced history but did not need to wait half of my lifetime to realize it.  I looked at my friends with a grin like no other thinking about how I would never get to experience this with out them. Having them there for my once in a lifetime trip was the best gift that I could ever have. 

You may think you have an idea how much I enjoyed this trip by reading this report, sorry to say you do not have a clue.

Thank You David,  You really are a true gentleman,  and a true friend.