About Upper 15

Upper Fifteen, Inc. is a flying club which has been based at Albany County Airport for nearly fifty years. New members do not need to be licensed pilots to join. We're looking for people who are enthusiastic about flying and about continuing to improve their flying skills and experience. Safe flying has been our goal from the very beginning. Our fine safety record stems from responsible and cooperative members, aided by dedicated and experienced instructors. Upper Fifteen is the oldest flying club in New York State and one of the oldest in the United States. Founded in 1948 as the Siena Flying Club, Upper Fifteen today provides highly-equipped aircraft and basic-to-advanced training opportunities for Capital District pilots. Upper Fifteen is now the only non-commercial organization to own a hangar at Albany County Airport.

Limited Membership

The Club limits membership to a total of twenty members to assure good access to aircraft. Scheduling policies are liberal and flexible, with greater latitude allowed to student pilots.

Member Benefits

Convenient base at ALB

Fully-IFR, Cessna 172P & TR-182
Weather-protected storage--no digging out of blizzards or sun-baked avionics!
Reduced flying costs versus renting
Minimal scheduling competition
A fun group of fellow flyers

Meetings

Upper Fifteen meets on the first and third Wednesdays of each month at 8:00 PM at Signature, Albany County Airport. Guests are welcome, and the aircraft are normally available for inspection.

Club Facilities

The Upper Fifteen hangar is located on the west side of Albany County Airport, just before the new Signature Flight Support terminal. The hangar includes a flight planning/operations office with a telephone.

Maintenance

Upper Fifteen aircraft are maintained to a high standard. Licensed inspections are conducted every 100 hours on each airplane.

Club Aircraft

`Cessna TR-182 N9075R`

75Romeo is a turbocharged, 235 horsepower 1979 Skylane II with retractable gear and an adjustable-pitch propeller. Turbo power and built-in oxygen give 75Romeo a useful ceiling of 20,000 feet, for fast, over-the-weather, cross-country cruising. 75Romeo features a nearly-new King Silver Crown avionics panel, with:

King KX-155 Nav Comms, (2, 1 with glide slope)
King KR 86-19 ADF

King DME
King KT 76A-01 Transponder (Mode C altitude encoding)
NSD 360A-26 Horizontal Situation Indicator
WX-8 Stormscope
LORAN, Northstar M1
King KMA 24-02 Audio Panel
King 3-lite Marker Beacon

IFR redundancy is provided through a second altimeter, second directional gyro, standby vacuum system, and a 3rd Comm antenna for hand-held transceiver connection. A single axis coupled autopilot further improves en-route convenience, and a four-place ISO intercom improves pilot and passenger flying comfort.

`Cessna 172P N55144`

This is a 1982 version of America's most popular private plane. It sports a160 horsepower engine, fixed landing gear, and a fixed-pitch propeller. Its power and gentle handling characteristics make it an ideal primary training aircraft. In addition, it sports a full complement of Cessna avionics,including: Cessna RT358A Navcomms (2, 1 with glide slope) Cessna 300 ADF Cessna RT359A encoding altimeter Narco 190 DME Northstar M1 LORAN Cessna Audio Panel Cessna 3-lite Marker Beacon
A 3rd comm antenna and a four-place Intervox intercom are also installed. 144's full IFR panel makes it an excellent, inexpensive instrument trainer and medium-range cruiser. 144 also has factory-installed long-range fuel tanks, providing nearly six hours endurance, and a six hundred nautical mile range.

Insurance

The Club maintains a two million dollar liability policy, hull damage insurance and hangar fire insurance to cover both the building and contents.

Come Fly With Us!

We invite all interested people to visit our hangar and talk with us about the advantages of belonging to Upper 15. For more information, contact: Tim Schramm 518-438-5835 OR Tom Thompson at 518-786-1491. Upper 15, Inc. Albany County Airport Albany, NY 12211 Phone: 518-869-7834 upper15@geocities.com