SANDERSON'S FIELD ANNUAL FLY-IN  7-6-14: This weekend will
be the EAA Ultralight Chapter 67 annual Fly-In at Sanderson's Field in Greenland, NH.  They will be hosting Young Eagle flights and can always use more pilots. The Fly-In starts on Friday, July 4th and ends on Monday, July 7th. Click on the plane to see some pics from previous fly-ins.

Google's Self Driving Car  7-5-14:  The possibility of a personal self driving aircraft may still sound pretty futuristic right now, but Google is currently, and has been doing it, since 2011 with a car. They started with a fleet of automated Prius cars and have recently released photos and videos of a prototype that has no steering wheel, and no brake and accelerator pedals. It sounds like the transition to "self driving" cars may skip the hybrid stage, where you still have a steering wheel and peddles to override the system. The amazing part is that this is all being done on the existing infrastructure of the street and road systems currently in place. No guide cables in the ground or overhead wires. The magic behind the navigation appears to be a Velodyne 64-beam laser range-finder that uses Lidar 3D laser technology, that's mounted onto the car's roof. The device scans and records laser measurements to create a 3D model of the world around it that it then correlates to high-resolution maps. From this, it creates routes that avoid obstacles and obey traffic rules. The Google self-driving car is now street legal in Nevada. I would imagine you could send the car without anyone in it to go pick up the kids at daycare. This vehicle doesn't have wings (yet), but it appears that the George Jetson vehicle may be around the corner in the not to distant future.

GF7 - A flying Jet Propelled Car?  6-27-14:  The idea of a flying car is getting to be pretty popular these days. Although the intended audience seems to be changing. The original audience  was the average person traveling to and from work and would some day be able to drive his flying car over the morning traffic. The obstacles needed to be overcome to make this happen didn't frustrate the GF7 designers, they just picked a different clientele. In order to fly this new plane/car idea you need to be a jet pilot with either military or commercial jet experience or both. Oh, and they aren't quibbling about cost either. How about 3 to 5 million? However, bringing a 5 million dollar aircraft out in the traffic with today's out-of-control drivers doesn't make any sense. Maybe when cars are driven autonomously by computers on the highways it might make a little more sense. But even if you had millions to spend on impractical items, wouldn't it make sense to buy a used L-39 for two to three hundred thousand, park it at Skyhaven and it only requires a crew of one to get it out of the hangar and ready for take-off.

Bill Hopper Article in Aopa & Seacoast Online  6-23-14: Did you get the latest AOPA Aviation eBrief? If you didn't see it, no problem. We have a link to the Seacoast Online article that was featured in the AOPA eBrief. Here's an excerpt from Seacoast Online: "PORTSMOUTH — Bill Hopper is sort of unique among airport managers: He doesn't fly. Hopper, manager of the Portsmouth International Airport at Pease since 2005, has taken some flying lessons, but he doesn't have a pilot's license. His background is as an air traffic controller. But more important is his love of aviation. "It's just a bug, it really is," said Hopper. "It's exciting."" CLICK HERE TO SEE THE WHOLE ARTICLE

FAA Safety Seminar at Sanderson Field  6-23-14: Title: The ABCs of Airspace, Topic: Airspace Definitions and Requirements, Date and Time: Sunday, July 6, 2014 , starting at 10:00 am, Speaker(s): Rob Montgomery, Brief Description:  What are the dimensions and operating requirements for the various classes of airspace?  What are the weather minimums?  How does a pilot find airspace boundaries on a sectional chart?  And what about the odd stuff, the MOAs and MTRs and TFRs and SFRA?  How can a pilot prepare for the cockpit workload change as he/she transitions from one airspace type to another?  FAA Safety Team Representative Rob Montgomery will take you step-by-step through the details.  Have your questions answered by an expert.  Don't miss this exclusive event.  CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION  Be sure to visit our "Pilot Weather" page for our quick reference icons to PDF file of the airspace

VFR in June 6-16-14 Finally, a day that starts with a blue sky and ends with a blue sky. They seem to be few and far between, but with a little Yankee impatience it's finally arrived. The forecast is actually calling for  three more days of sunshine, but not consecutive days... that's alright, I'll take it. Now maybe the US Forestry service can do their aerial surveillance in a Cessna 206 outfitted with some scientific and technical equipment that utilizes GPS and Laser to create LiDAR 3D maps of the mountain and forest areas in the northeast. I talked with the team over by hangar 5 where they parked their 206 and they also mentioned they are studying the forest for disease and infestations. Thanks to Bruce Cook, Physical Scientist for NASA and the team for explaining part of their mission and equipment.

Military Autonomous Drones called ARES 6-14-14 According to a recent Popular Science article, the military will be getting a new drone made by Lockheed and a helicopter company by the name of Piasecki Aircraft. Piasecki Aircraft has been doing government funded aircraft development since WWII. The machine has an appearance similar to the Osprey but it's autonomous capabilities make it a "Drone for Dangerous Missions." It can carry 3000 lbs and travel 230 mph with the power of two 900 hp helicopter engines. Like many of the government projects, major funding and support comes from DARPA.

EAA 225 Young Eagle Flight Rally & 3rd Wings & Wheels 6-11-14:
Hello Everyone, Been having some server problems, so I hope this gets to you soon. EAA Chapter 225 is sponsoring another EAA Young Eagle Flight Rally.  The event scheduled for Saturday, June 14th time slot will be the 1st of 2014 in Rochester, NH at Skyhaven Airport.  This event will run from 8am to 4pm and will include a add-on from 10am to 2pm with the 3rd Annual Wings & Wheels event. If you can spare some of your time to volunteer on the ground or fly some kids in the air, EAA Chapter 225 would appreciate the help.  Just a reminder, "Pilots Eat For Free!" applies at all EAA 225 Young Eagle Events. The registration will take place in the Pilot's Lounge of the FBO, same as last year.  Our location on the field can be found in the diagram below. If you can help out as a volunteer and/or as a pilot, could you please reply either to this email or by phone to me at (603) 512-2356.  Note: my phone does not ring, so please leave me a voice mail message. Thank you to all in advance. Regards, Gerry
Today at the Wings and Wheels planning meeting it was suggested that the two tie-down spaces (T-1 and T-2) on the plan would be reserved for the Young Eagles program. T-2 would be a good place for the static aircraft that is used for ground school, and T-1 might be a good place to process Young Eagles waiting for, or right after the flight. (I think we did something like this last year).
CLICK HERE TO SEE LAYOUT

EAA 225 Newsletter 6-10-14: EAA 225 Dinner/Meeting at member Keri-Ann Price’s Home in Northwood.

EAA 225 Newsletter  & Meeting Notice  6-9-14: The June newsletter is still being edited and should be sent out Monday sometime.  In lieu of the newsletter,  Please read the attached email for directions to the June Meeting which is being held at member Keri-Ann Price's home in Northwood, NH.  Same times apply and there will be a cookout like always.  Hi Gerry, Could you pass the word that our next meeting, Tuesday June 10th, will be at Keri-Ann Price's home in Northwood, NH.  We will be visiting her L-4 plans-built project.   Directions are as follows: GPS address: 30 REA Road, Northwood, NH. Take Gulf Road off RT-107 to Cole Road, Gulf Road then turns into a dirt road at that point until, just keep going straigth on the dirt part of Gulf Road to REA Road, no turns until you come to REA Road, turn left on REA and go down the hill. My home is the 2nd on the left after turning on to REA Road .... What my house looks like. Piper shop entrance is side door off driveway. This is the google map address: GOOGLE MAPS

Electric Solar Flight Around the World  6-4-14: Tired of the everyday routine of getting up in the morning go to work, work all day, come home, have supper, go to bed and do it all again the next day? How about doing something no one has ever done before and fly a $150,000,000 electric airplane around the world. However, the preparation for the flight sounds more like an athlete preparing for a marathon endurance test, both physically and mentally. I've heard of people driving non-stop (except for gas) from NH to Florida, but spending 72 hours in a flight simulator is another story. In a safety training course I took a long time ago, I learned about the rule of 3's. You can't live more than 3 weeks without eating, 3 days without water, and 3 minutes with breathing, but I don't remember anything about taking a shower, among other things.

SkyCatcher's Replacement? 5-24-14: Another possible bid for the abandoned SkyCatcher could be, according to Flying magazine, is the Glasair Merlin. It has some unique specifications and design that sets it apart from the other competitors. For one, thecabin width spec is given at 48 inches wide. Another feature is a wing with no struts (maybe they forgot to draw them in). It also has a sliding stick under the instrument panel similar to the SkyCatcher along with the gull wing type doors. The flap switch will be on the control stick along with the electric trim and push to talk. It will be powered by a Rotax 912iS with its first flight scheduled in June with first deliveries expected by the end of the year. The Glasair Merlin will sell for $149,000 which includes one Dynon's SkyView Touch screen. That price is still almost twice the cost as AOPA's C152 refurbish program of $85,000.
 

AERION SUPERSONIC BIZJET 5-21-14: Avweb has recently posted an article about Aerion committing to making a $100 million supersonic bizjet. Looking at their website, it appears that they have achieved their goal in finding the optimum wing and fuselage design. Their SNLF wing design appears to be a departure from what we normally see in supersonic aircraft, and the key phrase is "laminar flow." The fuselage has a contoured shape that narrows and then enlarges in key areas to control the pressure wave. The company formed a partnership with NASA in 2002 and has been working on DARPA grants for airfoil supersonic development. Forbes magazine reports that the upper 1% in the U.S. contains the largest percentage of wealth in history and it looks like they want a supersonic bizjet to visit their investments.

AOPA AV8RS 5-19-14: AOPA promotional for teen pilots. Click on the add for more information.

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AOPA FLY-IN at Plymouth Airport, MA   5-18-14: Did you receive your AOPA email  invitation to the Plymouth Mass Airport Fly-in? Here's the opening remarks: Join us on Saturday, July 12, at AOPA’s regional fly–in right in your own backyard – at the Plymouth Municipal Airport (PYM)!  Here’s why you should join us: Eat a stack of pancakes and enjoy mouthwatering pork tenderloin and homemade root beer for lunch (lunch is free for AOPA members)

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VFR in May   5-15-14: Airport and aviation events are starting to show up everywhere. After the long winter people are itching to get out and enjoy the outdoors. However, the New England weather continues to make flying on a vfr trip to anyplace a challenge, especially when you fly along the coast. The scattered low level clouds can come together to create an IFR condition usually over the airport you're trying to land at. Here's some pic's of low lying clouds along the Maine coast from York to Wells

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TFR in New York City (and RI Blue Angels Air Show) 5-12-14 The President is coming to New York City, but if you look to the right, there's another pending TFR in Rhode Island for the Blue Angels Air Show at Quanset State Airport.

 

TFR in BRENTWOOD   5-12-14 Mini TFR's seem to be popping up every now and then. This one in Brentwood doesn't say anything on the FAA TFR site about what is going on. But, Google Mill Pond road and the hits light up with all kinds of news articles about a house explosion and a police officer was shot. I wonder if a TFR applies to small uav's.

EAA 225 Newsletter   5-12-14: EAA 225 Dinner/Meeting at our Chapter President’s Hangar

(hill side hangar row 1) The dinner beginning at 6:00 with the meeting following around 7:00 pm or so. There will be lots to discuss about a Young Eagle Rally in May at Sanford Airport for the Boy Scout Camporee slated for Friday May 16 through Sunday May 18 (EAA Young Eagle Flights are scheduled for Saturday May 17th) & then another EAA Young Eagle Rally slated for Saturday, June 14th at Skyhaven Airport. We will be holding our event all day, but between the hours of 10am to 2pm we will be working in conjunction with the 3rd Annual Wings & Wheels event with admission of food for Rochester’s Gerry’s Food Pantry. Come join in the Food & Fun! 

$100 Hamburger & Fly-in Flea Market 5-7-14: 

Everyone has heard of the $100 hamburger, and it's still possible to do a $100 plane ride to an airport restaurant from Skyhaven, as long as you go to the Cockpit Cafe at Sanford airport or the Airfield Cafe at Hampton airport.  If you feel like splurging you can go for the $150 burger and to the Runway Restaurant at Limington-Harmon, Joes' Landing at Lawrence, or how about the Midfield Cafe at Nashua (Boire Field)? With the "Fly-2-Lunch.com" website you can discover all kinds of reasons to visit airports you haven't been to for a while. I hear also, that the Hampton Airfield (7B3) Flea Market and Fly In is coming up on May 17 and 18th. Planes, parts and collectables plus a lot of friendly people. More info at  Garrett_Miller@comcast.net.  Well, now I have an excuse to go flying instead of raking the lawn. 

Safety Seminar at Hampton Airport  4-30-14: Title: Can You Talk the Talk?
Topic: ATC Communication Techniques, TFR’s, & Preflight Planning Date and Time: Wednesday, May 7, 2014, starting at 6:00 pm EDT, Speaker(s): Bob Adelizzi, Brief Description: Attend this informative briefing and improve your communication techniques, obtain a better understanding of temporary flight restrictions (TFR’s) and the potential consequences of poor preflight planning.