11-04-12: The Boeing autonomous spy plane that was first announced around 2010 in various articles, continues to get attention on its various unique features. Popular Science called it "Boeing's Corpulent Hydrogen-Powered Drone." Corpulent wasn't the word that came to mind when I first saw it, but strange and different it is. To me, it looks like a pressure vessel with a tail and wings. If you look carefully at the video, it's not to obvious, but the wing tips have an unusually large amount of travel between the droop of sitting on the ramp versus the curled up look when it's in the air. Pushing the stick back and forth from front to back should give it the appearance  of wing flapping. Another observation is the lack of a landing gear. The "corpulent" part of the plane was sitting in a special cart when it went down the runway.

TFR OVER MANCHESTER/CONCORD, NH ON SUNDAY 11-02-12: A NOTAM has been issued that will restrict flight in the area during President Obama's planned visit. Location: On the MANCHESTER VOR/DME (MHT) 336 degree radial at 4.7 nautical miles. From the surface up to but not including 18000 feet MSL Times: 9:00 AM local until 10:15 AM local Sunday, November 4, 2012 11:15 AM local until 12:30 PM local Sunday, November 4, 2012

TFR NOTICE - FAA Safety Team | Safer Skies Through Education 11-01-12: VIP Notice - Concord, NH. Notice: Expect VIP movement November 4, 2012 in the vicinity of Concord, NH. Pilots can expect airspace restrictions in conjunction with this VIP movement.  The FAA recommends that all aircraft operators check NOTAMs OFTEN for  mandatory airspace restrictions prior to operations within this region. Specific instructions and restrictions are available at http://tfr.faa.gov once the NOTAM has been issued. *Depicted TFR data may not be a complete listing. Pilots should not use the information on this website for flight planning purposes. For the latest information, call your local Flight Service Station at 1-800-WX-BRIEF.
TFR'S are everywhere...

Hurricane Sandy 10-30-12: The "Perfect Storm" and "A Hybrid Storm" are the terms that we kept hearing about this unusual hurricane that slammed into the New Jersey and New York coastline. The boundary edge of the sweeping cloud line of the storm measured about 3,000 miles that extended from Greenland to South Carolina. If you were in Florida last week it was a good idea to come back to New England no later than Sunday. "Hello, Southwest Airlines? Can I change my flight from Monday to Sunday?" Flying up the coast on Sunday from Florida to Manchester created a flight path that went from sunshine to 41,000 feet up over the hurricane cloud bank where for about a half an hour of the flight (at 41,000 feet) was scraping the tops of the silky, whispy clouds, and then down the north side of the hurricane breaking through the overcast clouds in Manchester. .

Young Eagle Flight Rally Reminder - 10-11-12: 

The Next AOPA Giveaway is a Debonair! 10-20-12: That's quite a switch from a big balloon tire Husky. They have an interesting video on the selection process with their expert aircraft inspector to weed out the clunkers from the well preserved machines. The inspector points out that an important repair that was done on the vintage 50 year "Baby Bonanza" is the re-skinning of the elevator. The original was skinned with magnesium that was replaced with the preferred skin of aluminum. So, if you win this aircraft you will have an excuse to get your commercial rating with your very own retractible.

Rochester Aviation "Outstanding Flight School" Award 10-17-12: Rochester Aviation of Skyhaven Airport, Rochester NH, was awarded by AOPA, Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, an ‘Outstanding Flight School’ Award at the National AOPA Summit meeting on October 10th.  Of the thousands of flight schools in America, over 500 were nominated for consideration by AOPA.  The nominations were based on overall customer satisfaction and flight training excellence.  Only five awards were presented representing the top one percent of nominated Schools.  These schools are considered the National Leaders of the professional flight-training world.  Gold Seal Flight Instructor and Commercial Pilot Kelby Ferwerda started Rochester Aviation three years ago.  The growth of Ferwerda’s flight school has continued strongly and has developed into a community based aviation environment.  The Rochester Aviation community has been driven by social gatherings, educational events, and of course Flying!  Over the next few months Rochester Aviation will be working with Flight Training Magazine and AOPA to better spotlight the driving force behind Rochester Aviation’s success. 

NY TFR Gateway Procedure 10-17-12: A special bulletin was issued during the NY TFR that announced GA access to the Farmingdale airport, by way or a "Special Gateway Procedure." As I recall, a gateway procedure was also used on a TFR that was at the Cape Cod a while ago. There are usually exceptions to every rule usually created by people of power and influence. One of these people apparently needed (wanted) access to Farmingdale during the TFR.

TFR AT MANCHESTER 10-15-12: Here we go again... the president is coming and there are not cutouts in this TFR either. But, it doesn't mean you can't go flying. Just be sure to follow the proper procedures... egress & ingress... FAA TO ESTABLISH TFR OVER MANCHESTER, NH ON THURSDAY
A NOTAM has been issued that will restrict flight in the area during President Obama's planned visit. Location: On the MANCHESTER VOR/DME (MHT) 346 degree radial at 6.8 nautical miles. From the surface up to but not including 18000 feet MSL Times: 10:15 AM local until 1:30 PM local Thursday, October 18, 2012.

TFR AT NEW YORK 10-15-12: Here's another flavor of TFR. This one doesn't have any cutouts in it. FAA TO ESTABLISH TFR OVER NEW YORK, NY ON TUESDAY A NOTAM has been issued that will restrict flight in the area during President Obama's planned visit. Location: On the KENNEDY VOR/DME (JFK) 069 degree radial at 10.9 nautical miles. From the surface up to but not including 18000 feet MSL  Times: 12:15 PM local until 11:45 PM local Tuesday, October 16, 2012 plus the Oct 18 TCA TFR

AOPA 2012 Sweepstakes Aircraft Winner is...10-12-12: The winner of the Tornado Husky is NOT from Rochester. I could visualize myself bouncing down the runway with those huge balloon tires. For a Cessna Skyhawk and 150 pilot flying a taildragger has some things that seem counter intuitive, like pushing the stick forward on take-off. Well I guess we won't be seeing the Husky bouncing around Skyhaven because the winner is a CEO of a construction company in Florida, and he claims he was already in the market for a Husky aircraft. What a coincidence... some people are not only lucky, but their luck fits in the proper order of things. In the meantime,  you have three 150's and a Skyhawk you can rent from Rochester Aviation.

AOPA HONORS "ROCHESTER AVIATION" 10-11-12: News just came in from AOPA that showed the winners of the inaugural Flight Training Excellence Awards. Our very own Kelby Ferwerda and Nohea Nichols of Rochester Aviation were there to receive their award. Congratulations to Kelby and Nohea and all the Rochester Aviation crew on their recognition for being a top flight school. CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION

Collings Foundation Video 10-11-12: The Collings Foundation "Wings Of Freedom" tour recently visited Sanford Airport showing their one and only flying WWII B24 bomber. Avweb recently published an interview for the B24 with a nice overview of stats and history. It sounds like most of the B24's ended up in the scrap heap and were recycled. The video tells how this B24 escaped the scrap heap.

VFR Flight On A Sunny Day 10-07-12: On occasion, you may not notice to much activity driving by the airport. However, there's actually a lot going on at various locations both in the sky and on the ground. When the hangar doors on the north end of the ramp open you never know what you might see. It could be a WWII Corsair, a Cessna Skyhawk, or how about a Flightstar Loadstar. The Flightstar is a kit airplane that was first built in the mid 80's. There are various configurations that have been built but the one shown here is the Loadstar model which is a two seater that's been converted to a single seat cockpit that was intended for floats or towing hang gliders. Walking around the hangar at Sanford revealed a SeaRey. It was having some maintenance work done on the Rotax Engine. The SeaRey is a light sport amphibious aircraft that has a Rotax engine used in pusher configuration mounted on top of the wing. I hear that if you leave the canopy open a few inches on take off you're going to get wet. Click on the Flightstar to see more things around the airport and the latest pic of the Granite State Business Park...

First Annual 2012 Rochester Aviation Air Race Winner Is... 10-03-12: The contest is over and the winners have their prizes. Here's a clip from the Rochester Aviation Facebook page: "The winner of the Rochester Aviation Scholarship was Dave Wyman. Dave has received $500 to aid in the completion of his instrument rating! It so happens that there were two air race winners! Wayne McCarthy and Peter Bruckner. They both received a flight gear bag with aviation goodies inside which was donated by Chief flight instructor Kelby Ferwerda. The runners up were Kevin Folkins, Karen Gosciminski, Dave Wayman and Paul Lewis." CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION

FAA SAFETY SEMINAR ~  10-03-12: 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: "On the Path to Safety." Topic: Stall Spin Awareness .Date and Time: Saturday, October 6, 2012 , starting at 10:00 am. Attend this informative safety seminar and get "On the Path to Safety".  Featured speakers John Gary and Sue Tholen (2008 and 2009 Flight Instructors of the Year) will provide you with a review of aerodynamic principles regarding stalls and spins; training that could save your life! This seminar will be followed by a chowder-fest / pot-luck starting at 12:00 noon -- bring your favorite stew, soup or chowder and join us for lunch and a fundraiser for the local food pantry. Call Southern Maine Aviation at 324-8919 or check out the website at www.flyingsma.com for more details on the chowder-fest.
 CLICK HERE For Seminar Details and Registration...

EAA CHAPTER 225 Young Eagle Flight Rally Sat Oct 13^th~ 10-2-12: Our Pancake Breakfast runs from 8 to 11 am; and our BBQ Lunch runs from @11:30 am to 3:00 pm. Ever wondered what your neighborhood looks like from the sky? Maybe you’re curious how airplanes even work. You might even dream about being a pilot. If you’re shaking you’re head “yes” and are between the ages of 8 and 17, then there are thousands of EAA member volunteer pilots who would love to take you on a free Young Eagles flight. That’s right – a free flight! Come Join Us on Saturday, October 13, 2012, at Skyhaven Airport, Rochester, NH from 8 am to 4 pm for the time of your life. Rain Date: Oct.14th. 

Flight To Morrisville VT. ~ 9-30-12:  You read a lot of articles about how much time you can save by flying a small plane instead of driving. Well, if you're going to Portland Maine from Rochester, and time and cost is the utmost concern, you might want to drive, but it won't be as fun. By the time you create a flight plane, drive to the airport, do your preflight.. well, you get the picture. However, if you want to go to Morrisville/Stow Vermont, that's a whole different story. It takes 3-1/2 hours to drive, and around 1 hr 10 minutes to fly, and with a westerly tail wind less than a hour to come back. There are no direct roads to northern VT. Also, there are no convenient VOR radials or Victor airways to follow either. But you can still fly a straight line to get there. Before the advent of GPS, navigation consisted of a bunch or periodic triangulation with nearby VOR's to verify your course.

The Only B-24J flying in the World! ~ 9-28-12: I didn't get a chance to see the Collings Foundation display at Sanford this week, but thanks to Peter we have a few great pics to show you of the line-up on the ramp. Reading the stats on the B-24 made me think of a co-worker at a place I worked. He used to only fill his coffee cup half full. Harry had a tremor in his hand that would sometimes make the coffee cup shake so much he'd loose half of the coffee on the way back to his desk. One day I was talking to him about flying small planes and he mentioned that he served on a crew of a WWII bomber. (It was either the B-17 or the B-24, I don't recall which one.) He mentioned that when they would leave for a mission they never knew if they were coming back. He said that on one mission, a whole bunch of planes (bombers) went out and only two came back. I believe he said he was 18 at the time.
 

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9-26-12: Elon Musk, the South Africa-born American entrepreneur and inventor best known for creating SpaceX, co-founding Tesla Motors and Paypal, appears to be taking up the slack left by the retired Space Shuttle program. The SpaceX Dragon capsule successfully landed in the Pacific Ocean last May after it had docked with the International Space Station. The docking proceedure used a robotic arm that grabbed the SpaceX capsule and brought it to the docking bay.  Articles are now talking about the possibility of bringing astronauts in space with their next rocket launcher called the "Falcon Heavy." With new designs in the rocket fuel system, the Falcon Heavy will carry twice the load of a Delta IV at only a third of the cost.

Collings Foundation’s “Wings of Freedom” Tour at Sanford Airport ~ 9-25-12: The Collings Foundation’s “Wings of Freedom” World War II historic airplane tour will be coming to Sanford September 26 through 28 for public viewing and rides. The Foundation’s beautifully restored Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress, the Consolidated B-24 Liberator, and the North American P-51 Mustang are being advertised as the airplanes that will be on tour. The three aircraft will be parked on the north end of taxiway “C” on the airport’s west side. The aircraft are scheduled to arrive at Sanford early afternoon on Wednesday, September 26 with tours from 2:00 PM until 5:00 PM. Tours will be available from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM on Thursday, September 27, and from 9:00 AM until noon on Friday, September 28. The aircraft will depart for Brunswick shortly after noon on Friday. The cost to tour all three aircraft is $12.00 per adult, and $6.00 for children 12 and under. World War II veterans are welcome to tour the grounds for free. Please see www.collingsfoundation.org for more information and the opportunity to fly in one of these aircraft. Automobile parking will be behind the big blue hangar. The “Wings of Freedom” tour last visited Sanford in 2009. Click on the aircraft icon in this article to see the pics I took when they visited Skyhaven when Ossipee Valley Aviation was the FBO back in 2004.

TFR OVER New York with Cut-outs  09-22-12: Another TFR over NY but this time, the TFR is taking on a new shape with some cutouts on the perimeter. It looks like some airports might have been lobbying for some common sense coverage without devastating businesses that are on the perimeter. FAA TO ESTABLISH TFR OVER NEW YORK, NY BEGINNING MONDAY. A NOTAM has been issued that will restrict flight in the area during President Obama's planned visit. Times: 1:30 PM local Monday, September 24, 2012 until 2:00 PM local Tuesday, September 25, 2012

TFR's In New Hampshire on Friday  09-20-12: Mini TFR's for the VP? That's what it looks like.

SQ-4 RECON Micro UAV 9-20-12: That chunk of plastic on the table is a micro UAV. It's actually an AUAV. "A" for "autonomous." It's a helicopter with four motors that weighs around 7 ounces and is made for the military. It has onboard artificial intelligence that constantly evaluates several types of navigation like GPS, inertial and sonar, and switches between them depending on the quality of the signal. When it flies through a doorway it evaluates the frame of the door and flies through the center of the door. It has several onboard cameras that sends data that creates a 3D map as it flies around either inside or outside. The technology for these devices is already pushing the commercialization and integration into the National Airspace and the FAA is getting pressure for a plan to integrate the "A"UAV's. So when you're coming in for a landing, keep an eye open for hawks, ducks, birds, and AUAV's.