-03-01-12: An engineering and technical publication I receive recently had an article about the "multicopter" electric helicopter which is old news in itself. (See Skyhaven article dated 11-9-11.) However, towards the end of his article he must of ran out of words to fill in his space and talked about how he surfed Google and found a car powered strickly by a propeller. It sounds like the cable TV hobby shop channel had an article about propeller powered cars. This article is about a French designed car made in 1932. It has no reverse, steers with the back wheels, and gets around 10 mpg. People have done amazing things with propellers, but personally, I like mine on airplanes.

TFR's in New York & Manchester ~  02-29-12: Yes, this is leap year, although there doesn't seem to be much fanfare about it. Anyways, the important story for today is a Presidential TFR is scheduled for Thursday. Interesting enough, the edge of the TFR seems to be just on the other side of the runway. It looks like if we had a grass strip on the eastern side of the runway you'd be able to land on the grass without doing the "egress and ingress" thing with Boston Center. Take a look at the Google Earth download with a 3D pic of what that looks like:
FAA TO ESTABLISH TFR OVER NEW YORK, NY, ON THURSDAY
A notam has been issued that will restrict flight in the area during President Obama's planned visit. 
Times: 3:30 p.m. until 11:45 p.m. local Thursday, March 1 
FAA TO ESTABLISH TFR OVER MANCHESTER/NASHUA, NH ON THURSDAY
A NOTAM has been issued that will restrict flight in the area during 
President Obama's planned visit. ==> 35 NM RADIUS TFR <== 
Location: On the MANCHESTER VOR/DME (MHT) 285 degree radial at 5.1 nautical miles Surface to 17,999-ft-MSL Times: 11:45 AM local until 3:30 PM local Thursday, March 1, 2012
==> AFFECTED PUBLIC USE AIRPORTS <==
KMHT Manchester KASH Boire Field KLWM Lawrence Muni KCON Concord Muni 8B1 Hawthorne-Feather Airpark KFIT Fitchburg Muni KAFN Jaffrey Airport-Silver Ranch 6B6 Minute Man Air Field KBED Laurence G Hanscom Fld 2B2 Plum Island 7B3 Hampton Airfield 3B3 Sterling KGDM Gardner Muni KBVY Beverly Muni 9B1 Marlboro KPSM Portsmouth Intl At Pease KEEN Dillant-Hopkins DAW Skyhaven 3B4 Littlebrook

Springtime In February  02-24-12: Yes, it's still February and the weather is still more like spring. We must be setting records. I know Rochester Aviation is setting business records. Kelby tells me that this has been one of his best years to date. Congratulations to Rochester Aviation and keep up the good work. I heard a rumor today that we might get some snow... we'll have to wait and see. I know the maintenance crew is all set and ready to go so when we do get that big one, the runway and taxiways will be open and clear right after the storm. Speaking of ready to go, click on the picture to see the nice welcome sign at Littlebrook as you land on 30.

HB 1689   2-16-12 - A bill (HB 1689)  intended to make the hangars taxable and to reverse House Bill 2 of 2011 was introduced this year by Rep. Fred Leonard of Rochester. This bill was reported unfavorably from the House Municipal and County Government Committee, and on February 15 was resoundingly defeated (roughly 80% against), declaring it “ITL “(Inexpedient To Legislate). The City of Rochester will not be sending out hangar tax bills for the current year. CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION.

Aerobatic Capable LSA ~ 02-15-12: Aerobatic capable? Here's another light sport that claims to be 100% made in the USA. The company is called Renegrade seems to have two aircraft on their website. A low wing model called the Falcon, and a Pitts like looking biplane called the FK-12 Comet. I have to say, that the low wing model looks pretty streamline with a very impressive instrument panel. It also features Lycomings new 4 cylinder IO-233-LSA 123 hp. A visit to Wiki shows both aircraft have their roots in Europe and are now being built in the US. The big point that Avweb made on their video was that the Renegage Falcon is the first plane to have Lycoming's new IO-233-LSA. Click on the icons for more info...

EAA Chapter 225 ~ -02-09-12: Here's a copy of "The Seacoast Airfoil" sent in by Gerry Peterson:

First Week of February? -02-07-12: Do you believe this is the first week of February? Unusual weather for sure, but for some the 48 degree temperatures is a welcome site. Although the winds aloft were blowing a brisk 45 knots, and  it translated at some airports to be 13 knots gusting to 21 knots. A good day to brush up on your cross wind landings. The winds aloft in northern VT and NH were reported from 290 degrees at 64 knots at 9000 and 280 at 36 knots at 3000. A typical westerly flight, fly low going west, fly high coming east. Aside from a little mild turbulence, Monday (2-6-12) was a beautiful day to take a ride around the neighborhood.

Navigationally Challenged General Aviation Pilots ~ -02-04-12 The mission of the Civil Air Patrol seems to cover a wide range of activities. Recently, an article in the AOPA newsletter talked about how F-16 pilots practice general aviation intercepts by using the CAP as the make believe unsuspecting "navigationally challenged pilot" (or bad guy terroist), that has wondered into the forbidden D.C. airspace. The CAP were flying a single-engine, fixed-gear GippsAero G-8 Airvan, an Australian made utility aircraft that's used in the outback country of Australia. The Airvan also has a Garmin MX20 multi-function display that allowed them to track the approaching F-16's as blips on the MFD before they could be seen out the window. I guess I've watched to many Steven Spielberg movies lately. I thought the video was going to be more exciting... they could have at least recorded the sound from the afterburner blast... Click on my Photoshop rendition of the event to see the movie.

Vans RV-7A Homebuilt ~ -02-01-12: There's some beautiful aircraft in the neighborhood that are hiding behind closed doors, but if your patient and stay on the alert, you just might see one land at Skyhaven, or you might make a landing at Littlebrook Airport and catch a hangar door partially open revealing an aircraft that is truly one man's treasure. Take for example the smooth lines and aerodynamic shape of the RV-7A shown here that belongs to Tony Gallo. The RV-7A is a kit airplane that Tony built and says is flies like a typical RV... fast, efficient, and handles like a dream. You can get it with a choice of 160hp, 180hp, or 200hp. The 160hp version climbs at 1900 fpm and cruises at 191 mph. If you're not in a hurry, you can slow it down to 55% power which brings the airspeed down to 172 mph. Tony wasn't taking the plane out and I didn't get a offer to go for a ride, but that's ok, maybe next time...  Note: A Skyhawk SP with 180hp has a best climb rate of 750fpm and cruises at 142mph at 75% power... hmmm. Somebody said that after flying a Vans RV, a Skyhawk feels like a truck.

Pease Development Authority ~ -01-31-12: The Skyhaven Airport facility is owned and maintained by the Pease Development Authority. The runway and taxiways are kept clear in the winter time by an experienced staff with well maintained equipment for plowing and other requirements. Have you ever seen a plow that hinges in the middle? Jim tells me that being able to make either an inside or outside vee shape gives you versatility and options that allows you clean up easier and quicker. Click on the plow to see some of the equipment.

Updated T-Hangar Wait list now available ~ -01-30-12 You can go to the SAAC web page, or click on the following heading to download the pdf file.

CTLE Light Sport Police Aircraft  ~ -01-30-12: Looks like the most popular light sport in the U.S. has found another market. According to Avweb, the Tulsa police have begun using the CTLE light sport to replace police helicopters. Armed with high tech cameras and video technology, the aircraft lets them do almost everything that the helicopter will do. They claim a helicopter cost around $500/hr vs. the CTLE at $25/hr. (Holy Makerel!) So, I get up in the morning, put on my uniform, go down to the airport and preflight the CTLE sport aircraft and cruise around town waitng for a call to video record the bad guy trying to escape the police speeding at 80mph on city streets. (I want that job...)

All-Flying Rudder ~ -01-25-12: One day when I landed at Littlebrook Airport, I noticed a hangar door open with a unique airplane sitting inside. It was pretty clear it was a home built aircraft, but what kind... Fortunately, the owner, George May, was there and let me take a few pictures of his aircraft. Turns out, it's a Zodiac 601XL with a Rotax 100 hp engine. He's also got a nice up to date glass panel that he says he loves. When you're used to boiler gauges, the glass takes a little while to get used to, but once you've used it for a while you won't want to go back. Zodiac has some interesting features, two of which that caught my attention. One was the full flying (all-moving) vertical tail (rudder). Like the stabilator on a Cherokee, it's one piece and the whole rudder is hinged. George says that when you step on that rudder you know it! The other thing I noticed at the Zodiac website is that the ailerons don't have a hinge... what? That's right! Instead, the ailerons are mounted on the aluminum skin that overhangs the wing enough to mount the aileron leaving about 3/4 to 1" gap. The up and down movement bends the 1/16 thick aluminum back and forth to give you the up and down motion of the aileron... wow!

Aviation Magazines ~ -01-21-12: A recent update to the aviation links page now includes the addition of six new links to aviation publications. However, navigating to the listed sites might prove to be a challenge for some, maybe not for others. I came across this code a number of years ago and thought you might find it interesting (or annoying). If you click once on one of the sides of the cube it will stop turning. If you double click on it after you stop it, it will go to the hyperlink. Click on the cube picture to start rotation. (Note: Some machines like iPads may not run this app.)

Littlebrook Airport is Open~ -01-20-12: So I'm over to Sanford airport one day and I can't help but overhear a conversation between pilots about Littlebrook airport is now open. What? Excuse me for interrupting, but did you say Littlebrook airport is open? According to Charles Denault, he and his dad are(will be?) operating the new FBO at Littlebrook and the NOTAM for the closed runway (to the public) has been removed, and the runway is now open to the public. They even have a new website: www.3b4.me. However, I noticed www.littlebrookairpark.com is still up and talks about the airport being for sale. According to the 3b4 website, "The property was sold at an auction and Sweet Peas LLC purchased the property." Needless to say, the first thing I had to do was to grab a Skyhawk (at Rochester Aviation) and land at Littlebrook. Welcome back Littlebrook...

Brunswick Loses Kestrel Manufacturing Plant ~ -01-18-12: According to MPBN, "Kestrel announced it would base its operations in Wisconsin, not Maine. In a news release, LePage's Republican counterpart, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, said Kestrel will open its new headquarters and manufacturing plant in the northern city of Superior. The new facilities are expected to create some 600 manufacturing jobs." Despite it's move to Wisconsin, Kestrel will keep a presence in Maine. The company has an agreement with the organization re-developing the former Brunswick Naval Air Station, requiring it to continue operations here. Kestrel says it could employ up to a hundred people in Maine down the road." CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO

TFR's in New York~  01-18-12: FAA TO ESTABLISH TFR OVER NEW YORK, NY ON THURSDAY, 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: 3:45 PM local until 11:59 PM local Thursday, January 19, 2012.

FAA SAFETY SEMINAR ~-01-11-12: There's a safety seminar coming up in Sanford at Southern Maine Aviation. John Gary and Sue Tholen (husband & wife) will be giving a seminar titled: "Winter Operations." The seminar begins at 1pm Saturday January 21, but they are also having a potluck ""Five-Alarm Cookoff" (starting at 11:30am) - bring your spicy dish to ward off the winter chill. Awards given for: Peoples Choice- Most Original- Hottest Spiciest- Most Authentic-." Call Ann for more pot luck info at 207-324-8919. Topics will include weather considerations, how the engine behaves in the cold, operational tips, and liquid-cooled & air-cooled engine considerations. Also, don't miss the discussion on the WINGs Pilot Proficiency Program and the Chili Cook Off!  CLICK HERE For Seminar Details and Registration...

NASA To Integrate UAS Into NAS ~ -01-10-12: Looks like the UAV's or what the military calls UAS's are coming into general aviation airspace. They can't do it yet because the UAS's can't see and avoid. But, NASA has contracted a company by the name of Numerica Corp to develop a see and avoid radar system that will enable the UAS's to sense-and-avoid and fly in the National Airspace System. (What's the radar signature of a small composite LSA? Don't forget to turn on your transponder...)