May 29, 2026 - Fly To Cape May for Breakfast

I had the idea of flying to Ocean City, New Jersey and walking to a nearby Uncle Bill's Pancake House for breakfast.  But then we found out they have a landing fee of $15 per airplane.  That would be as much as the breakfast cost!  So we're not going there.  But it turns out Uncle Bill's Pancake House is a chain and there are a couple of them in Cape May, New Jersey.  Our fellow Essex Skyparkian Brian keeps a car there -- he goes there a lot -- so we decided to fly there, and use Brian's car to drive to Uncle Bill's Pancake House.  So that's what we did, on an absolutely gorgeous day, after a week of rain and low overcast.

Chuck is ready to go in his Comanche.

Looking down at Cape May Airport.  We've been here countless times before but this is the first time for me since the beloved Flight Deck Diner restaurant closed unexpectedly in February.

The former terminal building, which housed the diner for the past 16 years, had a burst pipe, leading to the temporary closure of the restaurant on February. 3.   On March 13, owner Chrissy McMullan said “After the landlord gathered all their engineer reports, both structural and electrical, the repair of the building would be millions of dollars to fix, therefore they need to terminate my lease agreement.  It is with great sadness that I have to tell you all that the Flight Deck Diner is officially closed for good.”

The Flight Deck Diner was our favorite fly-to place for breakfast or lunch.  The food was great, it came out incredibly quick, the service was great and the prices low.  I personally loved the model planes hanging from the ceiling and the squadron patches behind the counter.  There was always a good crowd as the locals drove in frequently.  This was a major blow.