3-28-13: The Midcoast Regional Redevelopment Authority’s Board of Directors voted to cancel this summer’s show, which was to feature an appearance by the U.S. Navy Blue Angels Aerobatics Demonstration Team. According to the Times Record, the Navy has cancelled nearly all of the Blue Angels’ summer appearances. The article also went on to say that without the Navy jets, or any of the other static, ground-based military aircraft displays and required ground support crews as well, the local show is not feasible.

Take A Friend For A Ride  3-28-13: We're reading many articles lately about promoting General Aviation, especially the type of General Aviation that involves flying Cessna Skyhawk's and Cherokee's and 150's, and if you can find one, a SkyCatcher. One of my favorite ways of promoting General Aviation is to take someone for a ride, especially on a nice day where the visibility gives you a panoramic view of the White Mountains, the ocean, and on occasion even the buildings in Boston become visible around Seabrook. Most people I've flown for the first time usually marvel on the fact that the space filled between cities is not blank. At least in New England, the space between cities is filled with trees dotted with lakes and ponds and occasional fields. Now if you take a ride in west Texas around the El Paso area where the cities are populated areas in the desert, then the idea of a blank space between cities becomes a reality, except for tumbleweed, cactus and roadrunners... beep, beep.

New York Bomber  3-26-13: The History Channel had a story that talked about the Horton flying wing that was captured from Germany after WWII. From what I understand, it was not only kept in the Smithsonian Institute, but kept in a secret room. Articles have emerged on the internet about the Horton flying wing. However, the History channel went a few steps further and talked about how near the end of WWII in 1945, Germany was considering building a scaled up version of the HO229 and called it the HO18 American bomber with the intention of flying to New York and back to Germany. The Horton flying wing at the Smithsonian could fly 607 mph at 39,000 feet and had a stealth like radar signature. The HO18 American bomber was said to be able to fly 7,000 miles at 52,000 feet, at 528 mph. However, WWII was ending, Germany was out of resources, the HO18 was not built, and the rest is History...

Airport Tower Closure List 3-25-13: It looks like Maine and Vermont have been spared from the airport tower closure list. But New Hampshire and Massachusetts have not. Nashua, New Bedford, Lawrence, Beverly, Worcester, and Norwood are on the closure list. Avweb has the list posted in a pdf file. Here's the address: http://www.avweb.com/pdf/closedtowerslist.pdf. They say that 24 towers that would normally have been closed under the mathematical limits set by the agency before sequestration took effect (fewer than 150,000 movements and fewer than 10,000 airline operations annually) were spared the budget axe. AVweb readers said that the FAA should be expected to trim its budget to reduce federal spending and that advocacy groups like AOPA shouldn't pressure the FAA to keep towers open at low-traffic airports where they simply aren't needed. 

Skyhaven Airport Advisory Council Fuel Survey3-19-13:
You can participate in the SAAC survey by completing a SHORT / QUICK feedback form so you can communicate your comments to the Skyhaven Airport Advisory Council (SAAC)
After registering, you can click on a button to go to the Comments page.
At this time, we would like to know your needs for fuel types. Currently we carry 100LL on the field, but would like to know if there is enough demand for mo gas (without ethyl alcohol). Please take the 2 Question survey.
All comments received will be shared with the SAAC at our regular meetings. (These meetings are open to the public and the dates are published on the Skyhaven website. http://skyhavennh.com/sac.html )
CLICK HERE TO TAKE THE SURVEY

CHART CHALLENGE LIVE by AOPA  3-15-13: Did you get your AOPA postcard about the upcoming Chart Seminar at Southern NH University on April 10th? Click on the below pic for more information.

CLICK HERE FOR EVENT DETAILS & REGISTRATION

EAA Newsletter  3-10-13: Here's the EAA Newsletter from Gerry Peterson:

SANFORD, ME. VORTAC CLOSURE 3-04-13:  The FAA is proposing to decommission KENNEBUNK VORTAC near Sanford Maine. This action will effect many IFR approaches and VOR navigation over a large area. There is a comment period which ends March 28th. CLICK HERE to link to the porposal. For more info contact Carol Niewola at the NHDOT at 603-271-1671.

Return of the Airship3-01-13:  The company called Aeros has designed a lighter than air aircraft that uses helium similar to blimps but does not need ballast to control buoyancy. Instead, they have devised a way to compress the helium (to make it heavier) and release the gas inside what looks like an internal bladder to make it lighter. One of the videos shows an illustration of this process. It also looks like major funding for this project might be coming from old Uncle Sam. It hasn't made any flights yet but they claim it's ready for testing. The aircraft is called The Pelican and is 230 ft. long and weighs 36,000 lbs. 

Mustang II vs RV-7  3-01-13:  AOPA's latest magazine edition has an article about some boomer aged pilots having a race with their airplanes. I guess if you're a boomer, you're supposed to think of the old days when you'd be out on the street with your Camaro and spot a Mustang up ahead at a traffic light. The race is on, you rev your engine and he revs his and you both head for the favorite spot to have a drag race (1/4 mile straight-away). It wasn't just a match between man and machine, but also had a lot to do with driver skill. One of the major skills was speed shifting through the gears. Miss one gear and you loose. However, with airplanes, I don't think it's quite the same. You can't play with the power curve with a transmission. Similar to boating, when you start off, you either have full power or you don't. And all the other maneuvers? It's all in the book called specifications. Aside from what would appear to be tongue-in-cheek remarks about who has the best airplane, I did find it interesting about the Mustang having the same wing design as small jets as in thin and streamline as oppose to thick and Hershey bar shape. However, the never exceed speed for the Mustang seems to be in the normal range of a plane of that design and not something like 350 mph. As a matter of fact, both planes have the same vne of 230 mph. One article on the Mustang said they tested the Mustang at vne + 10% (253mph) and found no wing flutter or adverse control conditions. [I assume the pilot had a parachute on...]. I read somewhere that the time between wing flutter and wing separation can be seconds.

Private Pilot Ground School 2-21-13:  Going to the airport at night for a night flight can be a dark experience out on the ramp while pre-flighting the aircraft. But from 6 to 8pm you might see the lights on in the terminal building and some activity inside. Currently, Rochester Aviation is having a private pilot ground school. I caught Ryan Wangerin at the white board making some diagrams and sketches illustrating various topics about the F.A.R.'s. On the video screen was a speed limit sign that said "Speed Limit 200." One thing about most small planes is that you don't have to worry about that speed limit (unless you're in a dive). But if you have a redline at 163 knots that would be the never exceed speed for the aircraft and the FAA speed limit of 200 knots becomes a moot point. Click on Ryan for some pics of the class.

1946 UAV COAXIAL HELICOPTERS 2-17-13:  There's a lot of things that happened during WWII that never received wide spread publication in mainstream media. Consequently, we see many aviation articles about new technologies that are actually based on something that has already been done in the past. I received an email link one day to the Gyrodyne Company of America. They made coaxial helicopters from 1946 to 1969 that were remote controlled helicopters. I guess you could call them R/C aircraft, but long before the solid state computer technology was around. These helicopters were stationed on battleships and acted as submarine hunters and actually carried torpedoes. Coaxial helicopters are noted for their stability and do not require a tail rotor. I've flown an R/C toy model coaxial helicopter and if you let go of the controls and keep the power setting up, it just sits there and hovers all by itself. According to the Gyrodyne "restoration" website, the USS Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. (DD-850), a Gearing class destroyer, is undergoing restoration at Battleship Cove, Fall River, Massachusetts. One of the items that has been restored is the Gyrodyne helicopter that's supposed to be on display on the flight deck with two torpedoes mounted on the bottom of the helicopter between the landing gear. Sounds like I need to make a trip to Fall River MA. next summer...

Blizzard of 20132-13-13: Actually, with the nice weather that has followed, except for a few large piles of snow, the airport looks pretty clear with grass showing here and there. Our maintenance crew makes a quick cleanup and the sun takes care of the rest. With a high temperature of 41° F it felt more like a spring day. Click here to see some pics on the taxiway. Don't forget to say hi to Snoopy. He's guarding the front door to the pilot lounge. You might want to enter by the office lobby door.

EAA Newsletter 2-12-13: Here's the EAA Newsletter from Gerry Peterson:

VFR In February 2-5-13: Yes, this is February but the snow has disappeared. Well, at the moment there's only a few traces of the last storm but the weather man promises the return of another snow storm with the potential for two lows to form a big low with a big storm. In the meantime, even though it's in the 20's (F) it's a beautiful day for a VFR flight. With this kind of weather, rates of climb over 1000 fpm are not unusual. It's also a good day to do some touch and go's with a Cessna 310. Click on the 310 and listen to those twin engines resonate as he passes by the camera.

KELBY FERWERDA's Master CFI Accreditation1-30-13: Here's some information about Kelby in an email from Master Instructor LLC. "Kelby S Ferwerda, a 1st-time Master and SAFE member, recently earned his Master CFI accreditation.  Kelby is a flight and ground instructor as well as the owner of Rochester Aviation (http://FlySkyhaven.com/), a general aviation flight school at Skyhaven Airport (DAW) in Rochester, New Hampshire.  He also serves as a FAASTeam representative for the FAA's Portland (Maine) FSDO area." For more information CLICK HERE

Biddeford Airport Controversy 1-29-13: AOPA recently cited an article in the Portland Press Herald newspaper about disagreement in the city council on a proposal to update the airport. Currently, the airport is in need of some improvement and the city council needs to make some decisions to approve the needed work. However, there are some people who do not support the airport and feel the city should not be responsible for the airport. Back in 2008 we had an article about Biddeford's controversy and how the town came to a referendum vote to keep it.

Rochester Aviation Private Pilot Ground School 1-27-13: Rochester Aviation is currently enrolling for an upcoming private pilot ground school. The schedule shows the classes running from February 5 to March 19 consisting of 11 chapters following the Gleim Textbook. Click on the syllabus icon to download the schedule. 

1-26-13: Here's some information about Alton Bay Ice Airport sent in by Gerry. According to Paul LaRochelle, the Airport Manager for the Alton Bay ice runway, he says he is confident that the ice runway may open this Sunday. The email also mentions that you should check NOTAMs for B18 as well as the ice runway phone message at 875-3498 to be sure before flying in. A number of years ago when the Alton Bay Ice Airport was maintained by Ossipee Valley Aviation, I flew into the Alton Bay Ice Airport and at the time that I went, the runway was in very good condition. It is a unique experience to be able to loiter around the bay and actually land on the water with wheels. 

Pole Barn (Hangar) Deemed Unsafe  1-26-13: Now you see it, now you don't! The pole hangar is no longer there. After an evaluation by the PDA and SAAC it was decided to tear down the pole hangar do to safety issues. Right now it's a vacant lot. The pole hangar has been (was) there for 50 years. Click here for more pics.

FAA Safety Seminar in Sanford 1-22-13: There's a safety seminar coming up in Sanford Saturday, January 26, starting at 10 am. Have you every wondered about EFBs and PEDs and rules and regulations for EFCs? EFBs can contain a variety of information including your POH. Find out if your EFB is a Class 1, 2, or 3 device by attending the seminar at Sanford. Don't forget to bring your favorite BOC (bowl of chili) for the chili contest after the meeting. Click on the safety logo for more information.

Skyhaven Photo Gallery1-20-13: Sometimes you see an article and browse the pictures that show the view of the article topic and quite often show other pics of related activities or landscape. Now you can browse our picture library from one place. Since I've been using Google Picasa for our pictures, we can utilize some of the built in feature that make it easy for viewing and downloading. Just click on the "PHOTO GALLERY" button and feel free to browse around our pics from recent and past articles.

Skylon UAV Spaceplane 1-18-13: The British are working on a spaceplane that is said to be able to take off from a runway like a regular plane and continue into space. The key ingredient into making this all happen is a special engine that combines the ability to run like a jet engine in the atmosphere and also run as a rocket engine in outer space. The engine designers boast of a special cooling device (heat exchanger) in the engine that allows it to cool intake air at MACH 5 that heats up to  1800F (1200F is red hot for steel, aluminum begins to melt at 935F) and cool it down to -238F in less that 0.01 sec. They also seem to have a new way of dealing with the heat from re-entry into the atmosphere utilizing a ceramic skin with layers of foil and the ability to vent liquid hydrogen (-423F) through the skin out to atmosphere. They expect to take cargo and people into space, and... with NO pilots, as is UAV! Click on the spaceplane to hear from the engines inventor. He claims they have no competition and there's nothing like it on the planet.

VFR In January 1-11-13: It may be cloudy but still be a good day for VFR flights. Of course at this time of the year there is also the possibility of occasional snow showers that might get in the way, but other then that you can still get a pretty good view of the neighborhood. You can also get a good view of the new factory going up at the Granite State Business Park. Looks like completion is right around the corner. Click on the picture for more pics.

EAA Newsletter 1-07-13: Here's the EAA Newsletter from Gerry Peterson:

Rochester Aviation IFR Ground School 1-06-13: Ok, so you have your private pilot license and you've had to cancel a couple of flights because if IFR conditions. However, if you had your instrument rating you may not of had to cancel. If you're thinking of getting the instrument rating you're in luck. According to Kelby, Rochester Aviation begins its winter IFR ground school on Sat Jan 12th covering Practical and Written test materials in a formal classroom setting.  This semester will be an expedited four week course meeting every Saturday morning at 8am to 1pm. Cost is $380 including all course materials including foggles and a kneeboard. There is still room for enrollment, contact Nohea in the Rochester Aviation office for details at Nohea@flyskyhaven.com. He also included a piece of an IFR chart of the Vancouver area. Click on the icon to check it out. Also, click here for the syllabus.