VFR in May... finally! 5-28-13: The sun has returned for a while and the blue sky is waiting for a Cessna 172 or 150 to fly around in it. Ok, there might be a little turbulence, but this is New England and smooth calm blue skies with plenty of sunshine are not in great quantity so we will take what we can get. Besides, getting whacked by a gust of wind keeps you alert. Do I use flaps? Or maybe I'll just slip this one in over the numbers and hold the slip until the speeds bleeds off for a nice graceful... touch down... (or bounce). Oh, and keep an eye out for turkeys. It seems that in the past few years the wild gobblers have been making an appearance around the taxiways and runway and they don't seem very intimidated by the planes. There is also a hawk that hangs around the taxiway every now and then and it appears that the turkeys aren't bothered by him. Maybe we need a sheep dog to chase them away like they do for wild geese on golf courses. Click on the picture icon to see the latest pics of the new factory in the Granite State Business Park. CLICK HERE to see what the new factory looked like in May of 2012. 

VFR in May 5-25-13: If you are thinking about taking a vfr trip over the weekend you might be in for a disappointment. The rain continues and the grass keeps growing. The Rochester Aviation Air Race might be a challenge for this weekend. But Monday looks promising with the rest of the week having some open skies to dust off the cob webs and maintain your private pilot rating currency requirements.

KC-135's To Be Replaced by KC-46A ?  5-22-13: This heading appeared about a year ago in reference to an article in the Foster's Democrat. (CLICK HERE TO SEE LAST YEARS ARTICLE)  According to the Forster's, "Pease Air National Guard Base has been selected by the military as the most desirable guard facility in the country to house new KC-46A air refueling tankers, rising to the top of a field of 88 competitors nationwide. The KC-46A is based on the Boeing 767 commercial airplane will present a significant advancement over the existing fleet of aging KC-135 Stratotankers. It comes equipped with worldwide navigation and communication systems, airlift capability on the entire main deck and improved “force protection” features, among other things. Because of its design, the new aircraft can also be used for a variety of purposes beyond air refueling, such as evacuating people and moving cargo." CLICK HERE TO SEE THE FOSTER's article.

Yankee Ultralight Flyers Fly-In - Camp-In at Sanderson Field 5-21-13: Here's some information on the Sanderson Fields Ultralight fly-in: All Aircraft And Public Welcome! Public Events: July 4th - 7th Camping: July 4th-13th Fixed Wing Ultralights, Trikes, Powered Parachutes, Rotorcraft, Light Sport & General Aviation Aircraft, Flying from Dawn to Dusk, Great Food Camping and Fun for All! USUA Club 202 - EAA U/L Chapt 67 Chartered 10/Oct/1990 JOIN THE CLUB! 
Click on the icons to download printable pdf files.

EAA YOUNG EAGLE FLIGHT RALLY June 8th 5-21-13:Here's a Young Eagles Flight Rally poster from Gerry Peterson. EAA YOUNG EAGLE FLIGHT RALLY FREE AIRPLANE RIDES
For KIDS Age 8-17 (Parent of Guardian Signature Required) EAA – Pancake Breakfast 8-11 am and BBQ Lunch / Afternoon Fundraiser Date: Saturday, June 8, 2013 Place: SKYHAVEN AIRPORT ROCHESTER, NH Time: 8:00 am to 4:00 pm Location: To the rear of Rochester Aviation Local EAA Volunteers & EAA Ch. 225 Rochester, NH.  Wings & Wheels Event from 10 am to 2pm hosted by Rochester Police Department & sponsored by FM Channel Z 107; FM Channel 95.3 The Coast; and Universal Technical Institute. Events include: Car, Plane & Motorcycle Show, plane & helicopter rides, driving & motorcycle
Simulator, Rollover Convincer, hot wing eating contest, dunk tank, raffles and prizes. CLICK ON SNOOPY for a printable pdf file poster.

Rochester Aviation Air Race 5-19-13: The race is on. Have you figured the best route yet? First, you need to know were your destinations are. I found out to do that you need to look at the back of the Air Race "T" shirt. Bill Kennedy provided me with some insight to that part of the Air Race. A little map work will reveal that visiting the three airports on separate trips will run up 684 nm. If you tackle them in one giant flight you can get it down to 609 nm. Either way, the trip encompasses a lot of square miles. Not counting landings and take-offs, climbs and winds aloft, flying in a Skyhawk with an average speed of 105 kts, you can count on 5hrs and 48mins. With the new apps for the iPad you can let the computer calculate the whole flight for wind correction, ground speed and a whole bunch of other information. I've never landed at Block Island but I hear it's an interesting place to visit.

Planes For Sale 5-16-13: The bulletin board in the pilots lounge has all kinds of information. If you happen to be in northern Maine on the Wings and Wheels weekend you can attend the Wings and Wheels at the Houlton Airport. A number of years ago someone asked me to fly them to Presque Isle Maine, just north of Houlton. The return flight was at night and when you turn south from Presque Isle the space between there and Millinocket is very dark. The sectional chart has "houses" shown as landmarks. There is no horizon, just black sky and black earth. So after you buy one of these planes you can try it out on a cross country adventure to Presque Isle Maine. CLICK HERE to see information on aircraft shown.

Wings and Wheels At Skyhaven  5-15-13: Here's a poster from the terminal building about the upcoming Wings and Wheels. CLICK HERE to see pictures from last years event.
CLICK HERE to get more information on this years event from the City of Rochester website.

Flea Market at Hampton Airport  5-15-13:

Robo Raven Takes Flight  5-14-13: 

Researchers have been zeroing in on bird flight these days and the students and faculty at the University of Maryland have built a robotic bird named Robo Raven. One of the unique things about their design is that the wings flap completely independently of each other and can be programmed to perform any motion that can simulate many of the actual bird flight capabilities including aerobatic maneuvers. The Robo Raven was even attacked by a hawk that was probably trying to chase away what he may have thought was competition. CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION

FAA TO ESTABLISH TFR OVER NEW YORK, NY ON MONDAY
5-10-13: 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

 

FAAST Safety Meeting at Biddeford 5-8-13:  Have you been to an FAA Safety Seminar lately? Here's one coming up in Biddeford:

It's a cybernetic catfish!  5-7-13: Can you say "George Jetson?" The latest buzz from Terrafugia are some graphics of the new proposed VTOL design, the TF-X. One of the most interesting reviews has to be the "Autoweek" review. Fox news seem to have the widest number of pics in the slide show. Their current flying car called the "Transition" is trying to get some kind of weight exemption for flying it as a light sport. As a pilot, you can look at the "Transition" and see that's it's basically an airplane with wings and fuselage that does a fold-up thing to pretend it's a car. But the wing area (or lack of...) on the TF-X looks like a hard sell especially the location of the CG. The technology is now here to send an autonomous aircraft from point "A" to "B" but it looks like it's going to take a few decades to make mainstream everybody.

EAA Newsletter  5-4-13: Here's the EAA Newsletter from Gerry Peterson:

NASA's "Commercial Crew Program" 5-3-13: Have you heard of the "Commercial Crew Program?" It's a program by NASA that says the "gap" for putting humans into space that currently exist in the United States will be filled by the middle of this decade. In spite of all the economic woe's we hear in the news media coming from the U.S. government, companies like Boeing and Space X are working on programs to provide U.S. capability on U.S. soil to send astronauts into space. During a News Conference in January at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, NASA, Blue Origin, The Boeing Company, Sierra Nevada Corp. (SNC) Space Systems, and Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) discussed their goals to end the gap in U.S. human access to space.

Rochester Aviation Announces 2nd Annual 2013 Air Race!  4-28-13: Here's an announcement from Rochester Aviation about their 2nd annual 2013 Air Race. Last year the winners were Wayne McCarthy and Peter Bruckner. They both received a flight gear bag with aviation goodies inside. The scholarship winner was Dave Wyman. Dave received $500 to aid in the completion of his instrument rating! This year, "Each destination was selected for its hospitality to General Aviation and all offer local restaurants and attractions.  Starting May 15th we will be revealing the three destinations and providing Air Race T-Shirts to all participants.  Participants will have until June 30th at 6:00PM to submit photographic evidence of their arrival at each destination (wearing the air race T-shirt in front of a sign or logo).  We will have a progress map and photo gallery posted in the Rochester Aviation reception area of the terminal building to be updated upon receipt of participant’s photos.  Upon the completion of the 2013 Air Race, Rochester Aviation will be holding a Featured BBQ with raffles prizes.  Prizes will include a flight bag package, a KING AV8OR color screen Aviation GPS, and other great aviation goodies.  Each participant to complete the Air Race locations will receive one Raffle Ticket per each Air Race T-Shirt purchased.  The first pilot to reach all three locations will receive two bonus Raffle Tickets along with bragging right for the remainder of 2013!  The second pilot will receive one bonus Raffle Ticket.  All participants will keep their Air Race T-shirts at the end of the event.  Application for participation in the 2013 Air Race will cost $35 and all proceeds will benefit a Rochester Aviation Scholarship to be awarded in October 2013.  Anybody is welcome to apply for the Rochester Aviation Scholarship, please pick up an application form at Rochester Aviation.  Happy flying!"

VFR in April  4-20-13: If you're waiting for a calm no wind day to go flying you might be staying home a lot during this time of the year. On Thursday the winds were 16 at 12 mph gusting to 22. So for all practical purposes, you might say the winds were pretty much down the runway. If you hadn't been for a ride on a windy day for awhile, this was a good day to brush up. (That's a Ryan PT WWII trainer.) Click on the pic for more info and a look at a real Ryan PT hiding in a nearby hangar.

FAA TO ESTABLISH TFR OVER BOSTON 4-17-13: A NOTAM has been issued that will restrict flight in the area during President Obama's planned visit. Location: On the BOSTON VOR/DME (BOS) 284 degree radial at 2.9 nautical miles. From the surface up to but not including 18000 feet MSL 
Times: 9:15 AM local until 3:00 PM local Thursday, April 18, 2013 

Flying Camera with No Remote! 4-17-13: I just read an article about a company that is marketing a flying camera for the masses that will follow you around and take videos or pictures and stream them to your smartphone or iPad. It can be programed to received verbal commands or to hover around you automatically. I've also read bogus articles in supposedly legitimate publications that apparently were eager the first with innovative articles. I don't know how legitimate this article is but I can't imagine a bunch of people walking around with video quad copters following them around. Also, on small RC helicopters, the lithium batteries don't usually last more than a few minutes.

Blohm & Voss BV 141 German aircraft 4-16-13: We all get them. The various emails articles of the weird, unusual, and the OMG. It can be hard to come up with something new and unusual, but during WWII the excitement and sense of urgency seems to have sparked a level of creativity that defies the imagination. How about this German WWII aircraft. It was in an email of WWII aircraft. I have to admit, if I was sitting in a company meeting for new ideas of an aircraft design, this is one that would cause amazement.

EAA Newsletter  4-8-13: Here's the EAA Newsletter from Gerry Peterson:

 

TFR REISSUED DUE TO CHANGE IN TIMES 4-08-13: ((REISSUED DUE TO CHANGE IN TIMES)) A NOTAM has been issued that will restrict flight in the area during President Obama's planned visit. Location: On the HARTFORD VOR/DME (HFD) 347 degree radial at 15.9 nautical miles. Times: 4:15 PM local until 7:30 PM local Monday, April 8, 2013 Location: On the BARNES VORTAC (BAF) 188 degree radial at 13.3 nautical miles. Times: 4:15 PM local until 5:15 PM local Monday, April 8, 2013 6:30 PM local until 7:30 PM local Monday, April 8, 2013 Location: On the HARTFORD VOR/DME (HFD) 333 degree radial at 12.4 nautical miles. Times: 4:45 PM local until 7:00 PM local Monday, April 8, 2013

TFR NOTICE over WINDSOR LOCKS/HARTFORD 4-06-13: The FAA TO ESTABLISH TFR OVER WINDSOR LOCKS/HARTFORD, CT MONDAY. A NOTAM has been issued that will restrict flight in the area during President Obama's planned visit. Location: On the HARTFORD VOR/DME (HFD) 347 degree radial at 15.9 nautical miles. From the surface up to but not including 18000 feet MSL Times: 3:45 PM local until 6:45 PM local Monday, April 8, 2013

Cardinal On the Ramp  4-01-13: The Cessna 177 Cardinal always seemed to me to be such a practical model. It was supposed to replace the Skyhawk back in the seventies, but it never happened. Many reasons have been given why it never took hold but I suspect it was the bottom line. Some of the main features that distinguished it from the Skyhawk and Skylane were: no wing strut, a wide door so you don't have to push the seat back to get out, a stabilator and a more streamlined fuselage with curved surfaces instead of flat panels. All of which apparently added enough cost that was too much for the average Skyhawk owner and not enough airplane for the Skylane owner. The next time you go for some touch-n-go's, be sure to look around the ramp for a few minutes and see what you can discover. How about a Cirrus parked a few spaces from the Cardinal. Click on the Cardinal (the plane, not the bird), to see the Cirrus and other pics of the day.