EAA Chapter 225 ~ -01-09-12: Here's a copy of "The Seacoast Airfoil" sent in by Gerry Peterson:

Taildragger Endorsement ~1-1-12: Looking for a taildragger endorsement? You can get it at Rochester Aviation. Here's a picture of the Champ after completing some recent maintenance. Click on the Champ to enlarge. —"“Rudder, rudder, rudder!” exclaimed my instructor. “Stay alive on the rudder.” Although we were earthbound, the landing was far from over. Small jabs—playful yet authoritative—on the rudder pedals kept our yellow beauty pointed in the same direction we were moving. Slowing down, small inputs became large ones, and we rolled to a stop on the bumpy grass." That's an excerpt from a Plane & Pilot article about flying taildraggers.

Via Dallas or Atlanta ~ 12-30-11: When I used to travel from Boston to Texas, there were two main routes to choose from. One included a stop at Chicago, the other route included a stop at Atlanta. However, most people I know that used the Chicago route, especially during the winter, had many tales of wo about delays in holding patterns, sitting on the ramp and getting stuck in the airport. The only issue I had with the Atlanta route was if you missed your flight to Dallas the chances of an alternate flight were usually zero.

$16 Million Runway At Nashua ~ 12-28-11: NHPR reports about the new $16 million runway is scheduled to be finished by September at Boire Field in Nashua. "Infinity Aviation services and charters planes at the Nashua airport. Greg Lison who runs the company, says sales have been flat for the last several years and he’s not expecting the extended runway to create an immediate jump in revenue, but it may help the local economy in the long term." "There’s also a connection that can be made between industry that may want to locate a facility, a building, a factory, or something like that in the local area. And one of the things they look at is the airport." "Last year, when Daniel Webster College announced it would close the flight school, the airport lost a forty-year alliance. The anchor tenant of the airport is now gone, and that is devastating for any airport," said David Price, the former dean of Daniel Webster’s aviation program. He says the Nashua airport is getting ready to turn its luck around."

Supersonic Business Jet called SonicStar ~ 12-27-11: A company by the name

Hypermach is proposing to build a supersonic business jet called the SonicStar. They plan on travelling at Mach 3.5 at 62,000 feet with a new very efficient hybrid engine called the S-MAGJET 4000X that's being designed by Hypermach's partner SonicBlue. This new engine design is supposed to be over 30% more fuel efficient then the Rolls Royce 593 Engine that powered the Concorde. They are also saying that it will have a special feature that eliminates or greatly lowers the sonic boom so that it can fly over land.

Eco Eagle Hybrid Aircraft ~ 12-24-11: AOPA newsletter recently reported an article from a Floridabusiness publication about Embry Riddle creating the Eco Eagle, a hybrid aircraft that competed in a NASA "green" flight competition. As a technical person, when I see the word "create" I usually lift one eyebrow. Of course, from a pure scientific point of view, nothing can be created or destroyed. However, from a technical point of view, "create" usually means putting known ideas and principles together in a unique and different way which may include raw materials, or already made components and mechanisms. In the case of Embry Riddle, it was the latter. I would say that the magic component of their project would be the special clutch mechanism that lets them switch from the Rotax to the electric motor. The aircraft is a German glider called Stemme S10 motorglider which is a very unique aircraft in its own rite. All, or most of the parts and components were donated by sponsors. Notice on the side of the aircraft (see video) are the sponsors with the name "Flight Design" at the top of the list. Rotax gave them the motor and Pipistrel (who won the contest) gave them the electric motor. The video with Lori Costello of Embry Riddle gives a nice overview of the project.

Skyhaven Airport Calendar Of Event ~ 12-17-11: Skyhaven Aviation Services is managing the terminal and putting out regular calendar updates (as well as organizing events). This calendar will be available here at the Skyhaven website. More details about the calendar will be coming. Click on the below pic to load a pdf of the calendar.

Cessna Skycatcher Sticker Shock ~ 12-16-11: Aviation editorials have been talking about the large increase for the cost of a new Skycatcher that has gone from $109,000 to $149,000. The interesting part of these editorials is that the price increase is retro-active to all the folks that have had a $5000 deposit and have been waiting for several years. Hmmm, that's a 37% increase from the original price. However, Cessna says that $30,000 of the increase is due to extras that everyone has been asking for anyways and it's really around a $10,000 increase. In spite of all the controversy that has surrounded the Skycatcher, I recently read an article that listed the Skycatcher as the #2 best selling LSA and expect the Skycatcher to be #1 in 2012. The article went on to say that there are LSA's available around $80,000 with a reasonable instrument panel.  According to the Dan Johnson website, the Flight Design CTLS is the best selling LSA capturing 15% of the LSA market. Cessna SkyCatcher comes in at #2 with 8.5%. The CTLS has a nice appearance and boasts of being 14" wider than a Skyhawk... wow! Here's an interesting YouTube that shows a bunch of different LSA's 

Stratolaunch Systems ~ 12-15-11: What would you do with your money if you had billions and billions of dollars?

How about building the worlds largest aircraft! Burt Rutan and Paul Allen (a very wealthy person, co-founded Microsoft with Bill Gates, estimated wealth of $13 billion as of 2011) are building the worlds largest aircraft that will be the launch platform for low earth orbit rockets. "The composite aircraft, weighing 1.2 million pounds, with a 385-foot wingspan, resembles an upsized WhiteKnight, with twin fuselages joined by a long wing and a carrier mechanism in the middle. Plans call for six jet engines like those used on 747s, and booster rocket engines from Elon Musk's SpaceX." I wonder if they'll be using the new spaceport built in New Mexico that's in the middle of White Sands restricted airspace. The only way you'll be able to check out the airport from the air will be with Google Earth.

It Was A Secret Stealth Helicopter ~ 12-11-11: "Operation Neptune" was the apparent code name for the secret stealth attack on Osama bin Ladin last spring. The news at that time had mentioned that the Navy SEALs had to blow up a helicopter that landed too hard and couldn't be flown out. However, some of the articles I've come across lately imply that it wasn't just blown up. It looks like it was disintegrated to the point that the only recognizable feature of the aircraft was a chunk of the tail rotor (Or was it...). Various aviation and popular science articles pointed out the fact that it was a super stealth helicopter. It sounds like it was a modified UH-60 Black Hawk that contain technology from a discontinued RAH-66 Comanche stealth helicopter project that ran out of money...

 FanWing Propulsion System ~  12-9-11: AOPA did an article recently about the "FanWing" propulsion system. As I said in an article about new ideas on engine design, "What will they come up with next?" This design reminds me a little of the "blown wing" design, where they try to blow compressed air across the top of the wing to control lift and possibly replace the ailerons by manipulating the blown air. This person is trying to blow air across the wing but this time he's using rotating fan blades mounted in a drum arrangement across the whole top of the wing. The AOPA article compared it to a combine harvester.  To me it looks like a long squirrel cage fan. "The FanWing propulsion system, is a fan in a wing, making it a thick wing that provides lift and thrust." "It has a fixed wing but can autorotate like a helicopter. It has two engines, but they are at either end of the wing. It has two booms instead of one. Its inventor is American, but this invention has been developed in England and Italy. Its lift efficiency is so good that university studies in the United Kingdom have concluded 100 horsepower could lift 5,732 pounds." "The aircraft’s efficiency is achieved because the air is accelerated twice: First the rotor accelerates it as the blades rise from the front bottom to the top and then again as the rotor moves back toward the wing’s trailing edge."

EAA Chapter 225 ~ 12-9-11: Here's a copy of "The Seacoast Airfoil" sent in by Gerry Peterson:

Aeroworks LLC Establishes Skyhaven Aviation Services and Re-Opens The Skyhaven Terminal Building ~ 12-7-11: 
On December 1st  Skyhaven Aviation Services embarked upon a renovation project for the office side of the terminal building. With the help of the entire crew of Aeroworks LLC, our affiliated flight school, Rochester Aviation and the efforts of a host of volunteers, progress was quickly made. 

In addition to administration facilities, we have now added flight briefing/debreafing rooms, a Simulator room, and our new Pilot Shop. 

To better serve the community we now staff the terminal building seven days a week beginning at 8am (for those early renters) and closing just after sunset (around 4pm).  We also offer line services including assistance for transient aircraft, pre-heating, deicing, and hangar storage as available.

Now operating from the renovated Skyhaven Terminal building, Rochester Aviation continues to provide its premier flight training to current and future generations of pilots.

As previously established, Aeroworks LLC will continue to provide high quality aircraft maintenance, restoration, servicing and detailing from Hangar 5.

The Pilot Shop now stocks most major pilot supplies and trinkets, as well as aircraft memorabilia, Rochester Aviation merchandise, and as always Rochester Aviation gift certificates.  We will be offering assistance to our pilot’s families with choosing holiday gifts and stocking stuffers that fit their flying needs. 

We would like to take this opportunity to thank the volunteers that helped with the renovation, including Jeannie Batto, Bob Mutch, John Krupski, Jeep Giroud, Andrew MacDonald, and Dave Marshall.  The help of these volunteers made our weekend transition possible!

We will keep you updated as more services become available such as rental cars and liaisons with local lodging!  Happy Aviating! 

Eric Obssuth, Bambi Miller, Kelby Ferwerda, Nohea Nichols

Flying In December ~ 12-3-11: The days are pretty short in the winter time and if you like to stop by the airport after work every now and then to take a ride around the neighborhood in your favorite airplane, you might find yourself looking at the sunset at take off and if your return flight is pointing east, you'll be looking at darkness. Evening flights in the winter are night flights with the added benefit of cold dry air that makes your plane jump off the runway and climb over 1000 feet per minute...

TFR's in Penn. and New York~  11-28-11: The TFR's are back but fortunately they're down in Pennsylvania and New York City. AOPA sent out an email flash on the New York TFR but I didn't see anything on the Scranton one. As you can see, class B and C airspace takes up a lot of real estate, but the TFR's are still the most intimidating with the "pilot beware" popup status.
FAA TO ESTABLISH TFR OVER NEW YORK, NY ON WEDNESDAY
A NOTAM has been issued that will restrict flight in the area during President Obama's planned visit. 
==> WITHIN THE LATERAL LIMITS OF THE NEW YORK CLASS B AIRSPACE <== 
 Surface to 17,999-ft-MSL Times: 4:30 PM local until 11:45 PM local Wednesday, November 30, 2011.
Did you notice the little red dot in north central Vermont? It's a TFR on Lowell Mountain. The TFR doesn't say what's going on, but if you Google Lowell Mountain you'll see a wind farm project.

Black Friday or Blue Skies ~  11-25-11: On Black Friday many people are at the shopping malls and stores looking for those special deals. But if the weather is right for flying, not everyone is at the store. Some are at the airport taking advantage of the blue skies... standing outside the main office you might see some classic cars, a Skyhawk, and of course one of my favorites, a vintage Cessna 310 taxiing for take-off...

Split-Cycle Engine ~  11-24-11: You might be thinking, "What will they come up with next?" Well, at the beginning of the Industrial Revolution a lot of ideas came about and many of them became lost with time. Today, many new revolutionary ideas are actually old ideas that are being looked at in a different way. Recent articles about the "Scuderi Split-Cycle Engine," have emerged with the promise to beat the efficiency of the standard four-cycle engine that we all (many generations) grew up with. So far, I've seen two different illustrations of what people are calling "Split-Cycle Engines," but if you Google "split-cycle engine," you'll get over 100,000 hits. One of them call the "Doyle Rotary Engine," is barrel shape and looks like it might have a potential for aircraft application. It reminds me of the LeRhonde that had the engine rotating around the crank shaft. Will Mr. Scuderi come up with the "killer engine?" I suspect it will be a while yet, before we see the departure of the four-cycle engines. Maybe one day, instead of "cash for clunkers," they'll have a "cash for four-cyle engines" day. (Don't touch my hemi!)

MHT TFR: Now you see it, now you don't! ~ 11-22-11: One day notice can be pretty tricky unless you're flying every day and living on the FAA websites checking for TFR's. That's right, even a casual flight around local area requires a telephone call or going on the Internet and checking for TFR's. I heard someplace, that almost every TFR has some kind of incursion but you don't hear about them anymore unless they draw a lot of media attention. The new FAA TFR updated webpage showed the MHT TFR on a map that changes to a sectional when you zoom in. The website looks like a "work in process." If you look carefully, you'll see two small TFR's over Nantucket. 6 Miles in diameter and 3,000 feet high. I suspect the presidential daughters are on vacation again...

FAA Charging Fees For Downloads ~ 11-20-11: AOPA and other pilot associations are up in arms about the FAA decision to change from free download access to aviation data to a fee based system. They have also made updates and changes to their web sites which means any favorites you've saved to their pages won't work, or send you to someplace else that may or may not be relevant to the original link. One of the links that changed is the link to the AFD. I found the new link (which took some digging), and made the updates. Currently, it's still a free PDF download... for now.

Weather At A Glance ~ 11-11-11: A new update to the Skyhaven pilot weather page includes an embeded link to the NOAA website that shows the forecast for Rochester. Clicking on the Skyhaven weather page gives you an overview of what the weather is, where it is, and where it's going. Click on the sample to see the new update.

Manned Electric Helicopter ~ 11-9-11 A bunch of engineers from Germany have come up with an idea of putting 16 electric driven rotors (propellers) on some framework. They did all the mechanical and electrical construction on the machine using electric drives and the code for the on-board flight computer. The sixteen propellers allow it to take off and land similar to a helicopter. Should anything go wrong, it can still safely land even if up to four of its sixteen motors should fail. Flight time can last between ten to thirty minutes, depending on the payload and the capacity of the lithium batteries. With an empty weight at 80 kg (including batteries) the "e-volo" fits into the class of ultralights. The propellers create the full lift, and are also responsible for balancing the device on all three axes only by independent speed control of the motors. Unlike the rotor of a helicopter, the propellers dont´t have any pitch control and therefore no wear. 

Seacoast Airfoil November Issue ~ 11-8-11 The November issue of the EAA 225 Seacoast Airfoil was recently sent in by Gerry Peterson. You can download the 2.3 meg PDF file by clicking on the Airfoil banner.

Driver's License Medical Standard  11-4-11: AOPA and the EAA will be asking the FAA to expand the current Light Sport driver's license medical standard to include aircraft up to 180 hp and having no more than four seats. It sounds like a way to include all the Skyhawks and Cherokees and similar aircraft to be able to be flown by private pilots and forego the 3rd class medical as long as they are willing to fly with Light Sport type restrictions. If you do most of your flying alone, and in a Skyhawk, usually during the day and never have more than one passenger, you are already flying under the new medical spec requirement. Maybe they'll call the new flight requirements a Heavy Sport Pilot. AOPA says they will be asking for "all level of pilot certificate" to fly with the driver's license medical standard under "certain circumstances." It also sounds like you have to pass an online self evaluation test before being approved.

The Snow Storm Of October 29, 2011 10-30-11: The Nor'Easter of October 29, 2011 will probably

New England Aerobatic Club (NEAC)10-23-11: The NEAC appeared at Skyhaven on Saturday October 22. Have you ever heard of them? It is a unique club of pilots who fly aerobatics aircraft. The aerobatics club occasionally has asked and received permission to use Skyhaven as a practice airport because of its proximity to wooded areas. According to an article, "Skyhaven has fuel and food locally and a densely wooded area with low population just east of the runway." The rain date was to fly on Sunday. However, Saturday was the day to see them in action.    Click here to see more information about the NEAC.

Light Sport vs. Cessna 150 ~10-18-11: You can't tell by looking at them what the difference is. One of these aircraft carries all the requirements of a private pilot license, and the other one has the light sport requirements. Light sport means limits on weight, horsepower, speed and a whole bunch of other technicalities. One thing for certain, flying the Gobosh 700 is not the same as a 150. One of the first things that seems strange at first is the rpm of the Rotax engine. Cruise rpm is at 5000. Redline on the airspeed indicator is 140 knots and it has no trouble doing 120 knots. Those kind of specs actually blow by a C150. It would seem the requirements would be the other way around. From what I understand, some of the earlier Goboshes had the engines mounted straight on the firewall. Pilots quickly noticed that the aircraft wants plenty of right rudder on max angle take off. Magically, later models didn't seem to require as much right rudder. Rumor has it they decided to cock the engine over a few degrees to compensate for the left turning torque from the engine prop (private pilot handbook note) hmmmm... Click here for more info on light sport requirements.

UCAS-D (Unmanned Combat Air System Demonstration)10-11-11: The United States Navy's Unmanned Combat Air System Demonstration (UCAS-D) is a program to create a carrier-based unmanned aircraft. The X-47B employs Stealth technology and has a wingspan of just over 62 ft and a length of 38.2 ft. Capable of altitudes greater than 40,000 ft and a range greater than 2,100 nautical miles, it can be "autonomously air-refueled" and carry weapon payloads of nearly 4,500 lbs. It achieves high subsonic speeds powered by a Pratt & Whitney F100-PW-220U jet engine. "The $636 million carrier landing demonstration program aims to show that these new, stealthy, increasingly self-sufficient vehicles can fly in and out of the controlled chaos of a carrier deck and perform other frontline jobs long handled by humans." It's first autonomous landing on a carrier is scheduled for 2013 [click here to see YouTube flight]