Cirrus To Receive Counter Bid? ~ 3-16-11: More news about the Cirrus aircraft company pending sale to the Chinese. Back in 2009 I posted an article about the AOPA airplane giveaway that was touted as the most expensive and luxurious aircraft they have ever given away. At $315,000, the 310hp 180knot cruise, the  Cirrus SR22 is not something your going to see at every airport, not unless Angelina Jolie happens to be visiting at the local airport cafe on her way to Bar Harbor. The AOPA Cirrus was a donation of J. Lloyd Huck a veteran pilot and philanthropist and retired chairman of the giant pharmaceutical company Merck & Co. That's right, he gave AOPA his $315,000 just like new Cirrus SR22. I wonder if that was tax deductible? Anyway, Business Aviation reports, "Consultant Brian Foley is organizing a counter-offer in a bid to trump China’s plan to buy the Duluth, Minn.-based light aircraft builder from majority owner Arcapita (58 percent) and the several hundred individual shareholders who currently own the company. Though details of Cirrus’s pending sale to China were not made public, Foley expects the price to be in the $200 million-plus range." Click on the Brad & Angelina icon to see a video about their Cirrus.

Sport Fuel, It's not the same as MoGas ~ 3-10-11: The issue about 100LL aviation fuel to be discontinued continues to create some very interesting articles. Here's a link sent in by Peter that talks about sport fuel. At first I thought they were talking about Mogas. But apparently, "Sport Fuel" is not the same and it sounds like it's supposed to be better. "Sport Fuel is 91+ octane, ethanol free, unleaded gasoline filtered to meet aviation standards. (At some locations, 93 and 97 octane fuels may also be available.) Aviation Fuel Club "Sport Fuel" Aviation Fuel Club (sponsored by U-Fuel, Inc.) has developed a brand of gasoline called "Sport Fuel" and is working with fuel suppliers around the US to make this new fuel available in all states." Click on the "Sport Fuel" icon for more information.

TFR OVER BOSTON!  3-6-11: The FAA TO ESTABLISH TFR OVER BOSTON, MA ON TUESDAY. A notam has been issued that will restrict flight in the area during President Obama's planned visit. 
==> 30 NM RADIUS TFR <==
Location: On the BOSTON VOR/DME (BOS) 254 degree radial at 4.3 nautical miles. Surface to 17,999-ft-MSL 
Times: 1:45 PM local until 8:30 PM local Tuesday, March 8, 2011
 ==> 10 NM RADIUS NO-FLY ZONE <==
Location:  On the BOSTON VOR/DME (BOS) 254 degree radial at 4.3 nautical miles.
Surface to 17,999-ft-MSL 
Times: 1:45 PM local until 8:30 PM local Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Cirrus Sold To China! ~3-2-11: The news is coming in about the sale of Cirrus to a company called CAIGA, that's "China Aviation Industry General Aircraft Co." According to a China webpage, "CAIGA President Meng Xiangkai said at a news conference CAIGA will have 100 percent ownership of Cirrus, but neither side would disclose the financial details of the transaction. The acquisition of Cirrus will be an important step for its global expansion plan, which aims to set up R&D, sales and service centers in China, the US and Europe. The company currently has its manufacturing base in Zhuhai, Guangdong province." "Cirrus CEO Brent Wouters says the deal will be a shot in the arm for the company and for its employees in Grand Forks and Duluth. "CAIGA understands the strength and the talent of Cirrus's workforce and the prominence of the Cirrus brand in general aviation," Wouters said. "Through this transaction, CAIGA will invest in our employees in both Minnesota and North Dakota by committing to the continued use of our world-class production facilities." “You have my word that we’re going to preserve jobs here. We’re going to grow jobs here,” Wouters told the News Tribune.

Can You Say "I. F. R." ~ 2-27-11: Have you seen the METAR for today? Unless you live in northern Maine, getting out of New England today on a VFR flight plan might prove to be a challenge.

Pilot Weather Page Update - The Big Picture! 2-26-11: Our pilot weather weather page has been recently updated. The idea is to give you the fastest answer to, "What's the weather like?" For me, the METAR map gives you instant information of the flying conditions. When the weather page opens you are presented with a METAR map of the US that comes directly from NOAA. In a matter of seconds, you now know where it's VFR,MVFR, and IFR. Just below the METAR map is a moving map radar of the US. You now see the big bad weather and where it's going. After that you can immerse yourself with the 12 hour prog chart and US weather map showing the fronts, highs and lows, isobars and boundary lines of snow and rain. If you want to go deeper for information be sure to click on the maps to go right to the source and get all the official data.

A Break From The Storms In February ~ 2-23-11: The weather takes a break from all the snow storms and allows the sun to work its magic in receeding the snow and showing signs that the winter will be yielding to nicer days of blue sky and sunshine. Click on the picture to enlarge and see more pics of the taxiway and ramp.

Surface Conditions Close AltonBay Ice Runway For Season  ~ 2-17-11: The word is out, The Alton Bay Ice Airport will not open this season according to Paul LaRochelle. Bad weather and wet snowfalls left several inches of water trapped below the snow and above the frozen surface has forced the volunteers who operate an ice runway to declare the season over. The runway did not open to traffic this year. According to AOPA, "Alton Bay’s Winter Carnival will be held as scheduled on Feb. 20, but without aircraft operations." Updates on runway conditions on the airport’s information line at 603/875-3498, and the Feb. 9 recording sums it up. “The runway is still closed and will remain closed."

 FAA Safety Seminars ~ 2-12-11: Here's another FAA seminar coming up at Sanford Airport. 

Title: What's Up With Pink Airworthiness Certificates? Topic: Review of Amateur Built and Light Sport Aircraft Accident Trends and Prevention .Date and Time: Tuesday, February 15, 2011 , starting at 7:00 pm. The program is sponsored by the EAA chapters in Rochester (225) and Biddeford (1210) and Southern Maine Aviation.
5:30  -  Barbecue fund raiser for the EAA 225 Flight Scholarship Fund. 
Feel free to bring a salad or desert to supplement the great burgers, 
dogs and chix that will be coming off the grill.
7:00  -  "WHAT'S UP WITH PINK AIRWORTHINESS CERTIFICATES?"
Dave Pepple, EAA member and FAA employee, will review accident data
concerning Amateur Built and Light Sport Aircraft. 

Alton Bay Winter (cancelled) Carnival at the Iceport (B18) Alton Bay, NH ~  2-6-11: Looks like you might get a chance to land on the Alton Bay Ice Airport..

Thanks to Peter for sending in this link. Click on the red "Count me in" button to visit the website with the above information. I landed at the airport a few years ago and at that time it was pretty active. It's a unique experience and a nice entry to have on your log book. The conditions are always subject to change and it's a good idea to check the NOTAMS before making any plans. To see some pictures from a few years ago click here.

Winter Flying At Skyhaven ~ 1-29-11: The temperature is low and the wind is blowing. That causes drifting to occur all around the airport whether it's snowing or not. It's not unusual for our maintenance crew at skyhaven to be plowing snow and drifts on a bright sunny day. That really pays off when the weather clears and the temperature comes up a little the pavement heats up and exposes the taxiways and runway. Winter flying provides an opportunity to experience maximum performance of the aircraft. It's not unusual to reach pattern altitude before you reach the end of the runway. When you fly in El Paso Texas where the density altitude is around 6000 ft if you wait to reach pattern altitude before turning down wind you would be to far away from the airport. Click on the icon for more pictures.

Private Pilot Class At Skyhaven  ~ 1-23-11: Thinking of getting your private pilot license? Well, you don't have to wait until the warm weather to get started. Kelby Ferwerda of Rochester Aviation is shown here with some students pilots coming into the meeting area at Skyhaven for a private pilot class. This is probably a good time to get some of the study work out of the way. While wind and snow are blowing you can be nice and warm learning all about the study requirements for the private pilot license. Click on the picture to load a printable PDF version.

The Connecticut Corsair project  ~ 1-23-11: Did you know that the F4U Corsair is the official state aircraft for Connecticut? "The Connecticut Corsair project is a volunteer effort aimed at restoring Connecticut’s official state aircraft, the F4U Corsair. Flown extensively during WWII, the F4U Corsair was the first U.S. military single-engine aircraft to fly faster than 400 mph. The Connecticut Corsair project is restoring a plane built in 1945 and sold as scrap metal by the U.S. Navy in 1957. A company called "Joining Technologies" is using laser equipment to weld layers of metal on existing old parts to remanufacture and restore parts once considered unsalvageable." The goal of the Connecticut Corsair project is to restore the aircraft to flying condition. However, they claim that functioning components are not available anymore. According to their video, even the engine parts are no longer available, so they are using modern technology to make and restore existing parts. "The plane was fully designed and built in Connecticut and was designated the state’s official state aircraft in 2005." Now wait  minute, this isn't the only Corsair flying around. What's the Collings Foundation and others doing to maintain their Corsairs? I'm sure Dan McCue isn't making all his repair parts... or is he? Hmm...

TFR OVER SCHENECTADY ~ 1-20-11: FAA TO ESTABLISH TFR OVER SCHENECTADY, NY ON FRIDAY.  A notam has been issued that will restrict flight in the area during 
President Obama's planned visit. 
==> 30 nm radius TFR <==
Location: On the ALBANY VORTAC (ALB) 308 degree radial at 4.7 nautical miles Surface to 17,999-ft-MSL Times: 11:30 AM until 3:15 PM local Friday, January 21, 2011 
Requirements for flight and operations not authorized 
( http://www.aopa.org/whatsnew/notams-special.html ) 
==> 12 nm radius no-fly zone <==
Location:  On the ALBANY VORTAC (ALB) 308 degree radial at 4.7 nautical miles Surface to 17,999-ft-MSL Times: 11:30 AM until 3:15 PM local Friday, January 21, 2011

PIPER ANNOUNCES END OF THE PIPERSPORT LSA ~ 1-16-11: What happened to the PiperSport LSA? Editorials are saying that the Pipersport was one of the best LSA sellers for 2010. Apparently the Piper people and the Czech's couldn't see eye to eye. (So much for "Do Diligence.") The EAA article suggested that Piper might actually make their own LSA. (Why didn't they do that in the first place?$) Although the announcement was made last Wednesday, as of today (Sunday 1-16-11), the PiperSport website was still up. No scuttlebutt on the China factor on the new Cessna 160 SkyCatcher and the EAA thinks the Piper controversy might help the SkyCatcher sales. How about the all new, "Made In America" Arion Lightning? I don't know about you, but that has a nice ring to it. I'm just learning about this aircraft, but so far it looks very impressive. I also noticed that the Lightning has a "Made In America" EFIS by GRT Avionics. Click on the Arion aircraft on the right to see their website.
Click on the Piper LSA picture icon to see a picture of the website. CLICK HERE to try the actual link. CLICK HERE to see the intro article back in January.

1-11-11: Here's another great link sent in by Jim about a publication that is chuck full of great information about Pease AFB. The publication called, VIEW FROM THE  PISCATAQUA,  "Is an unofficial publication and does not constitute Air National Guard policy. It is published to disseminate the results of discussions and feedback forms, and to provide information to the Pease Aviation community." I particularly like the articles about the "Radar Precision Approaches" and "Tower Radar Display." According to the publication, the "Precision Approach Radar is available to all aircraft under a VFR or IFR flight plan. It is one of the few left still in operation. The publication encourages pilots to, "Come fly one with the Portsmouth Ground Controlled Approach (GCA)." There are a couple of ways to request a radar approach. If you are working with Boston Approach, request a PAR with them or call the GCA directly on freq 127.05. If working Portsmouth Tower/Ground Control, just let the Tower know and they will set you up with the GCA. Airport Surveillance Approaches are also available to runway 16 and 34. These are non-precision approaches using ASR and are less accurate. GCA services are available from 8:00 to 4:00, Monday through Friday. CLICK ON THE MAGAZINE ICON TO DOWNLOAD

150 hp Two Cylinder Besler Steam Engine ~ 1-2-11: You never know what you'll find when you open up an email. (Just make sure you know the sender!) Here's an email link from Jim about the Besler Steam engine that powered a Travel Air Biplane from back in the 1930's (during the Depression). The engine only has 2 cylinders, a high pressure and a low pressure cylinder that delivers 150 HP? Wow! There must of been some major draw back to this system that stopped it from becoming popular. "The first practical steam powered aircraft was demonstrated by the Besler Brothers on April 12, 1933 over Oakland California. It was powered by a steam boiler that was so quiet that spectators on the ground could hear the pilot calling to them. 10 gallons of water were sufficient for a flight of 400 miles." That's pretty impressive. From what I can see, the heat source was a special oil fired burner. I wonder how much oil it burned per hour. The Stanley Steamer steam powered car existed between 1902-1924 and was eventually out done by the internal combustion engine. Perhaps the Besler aircraft steam engine met the same fate...

NASA N+3 New Aircraft Design Project ~12-28-10: Articles are showing up everywhere about the NASA N+3 project. The way the story goes, NASA has awarded multi-million dollar contracts to six teams to do some research on designing the airplane of the future for the airline industry. Major changes are being proposed to the fuselage and wing design, as well as major changes in the jet engines and their locations to the top aft part of the fuselage. MIT is proposing two models. One supersonic, and one subsonic. The subsonic aircraft is supposed to burn 70% less fuel and emit 75% less NOx than today’s commercial planes. NASA also wanted an aircraft that could take off from shorter runways. MIT was the only university to lead one of the six U.S. teams that won the contracts from NASA in October 2008. The MIT team expects to hear from NASA within the next several months about whether it has been selected for the second phase of the program, which will provide additional funds to one or two of the subsonic teams in 2011 to research and develop the technologies identified during the first phase. CLICK ON THE AIRCRAFT to read more.

Teledyne Sells Continental to China ~ 12-17-10: After 80 years as an American company that became a common word known to aircraft engines, Continental is being sold to the Chinese. No one is saying, but it would appear that Continental might have become a small piece of the gigantic Teledyne's $1.8 billion corporate pie chart. The reason for the sale: "The sale will enable Teledyne to better focus on its core businesses and it will significantly enhance Continental Motors' opportunity to enter the global market for the sale and service of general aviation piston engines,” Teledyne Chief Executive Robert Mehrabian (who's' annual income is $4,600,000) said in a statement. There are 230,000 general aviation aircraft in the U.S, China has around 900 small aircraft operating in the country. I suspect the global sales they refer to is not in China. Click HERE for an interesting blog about the sale.

FAA Safety Seminars ~ 12-17-10: Here's another FAA seminar coming up at Sanford Airport by Southern Maine Aviation. Title: Taking No For An Answer! .Topic: Aeronautical Decision Making .Date and Time: Saturday, January 22, 2011 , starting at 10:00 am. Speakers: Sue Tholen, John Gary .Brief Description: Poor decision making is the single highest accident causal factor in general aviation. This exclusive briefing will review several actual accidents and reveal what the pilots overlooked; the decisions that could have prevented the disaster. Human factors will be the focus as we discuss methods of breaking the emotional bonds of a hazardous situation. This open discussion invites you to share your own experiences and thoughts. CLICK ON THE FAA ICON FOR MORE INFORMATION.

AOPA Remos Winner at Parlin Field ~ 12-10-10:Did you get your invitation from AOPA to go to Parlin field to see Yorke Brown accept the keys and congratulations from AOPA Pilot Editor in Chief Tom Haines? According to the AOPA article on Dec. 4, about 50 pilots and onlookers gathered to see Mr Brown receive the keys and congratulations. Is it me, or does the AOPA airplane giveaway seem to be loosing some of the fanfare they normally have. That's ok, if I win the refurbished Skylane for 2011, I'll even go down and pick it up. Maybe I better take the special test required to fly the infamous SFRA area that went into effect Feb. 17, 2009. You are required to have completed the FAA’s online ADIZ training course, Navigating the New DC ADIZ, by Feb. 9. "Anyone planning to fly within 60 nm of the Washington, D.C., (DCA) VOR/DME after that date must complete the course before flying in the area."

Improvements At Skyhaven ~ 12-03-10: What's all the commotion at Skyhaven? I heard a while ago about a construction company doing some excavating for a business out in Colorado or Nevada, or was it Washington state... anyway, the heavy equipment operator noticed something strange in the dirt and when they took a closer look, it turned out to be bones! Dinosaur bones according to archeologist from a nearby University lab that inspected the site. However, the excavation at Skyhaven hasn't been interrupted with dinosaur bones and thanks to the W. P. Davis Excavation Co., the project for changing from a septic tank system to city sewer system is moving right along.