12-02-07 - AOPA is announcing that Cessna has acquired Columbia Aircraft. If I understand correctly, Columbia Aircraft is a the commercial spin-off from the Lancair kit aircraft. It is also being touted as the fastest piston type aircraft on the planet. Well now, I hear the Columbia 350 and 400 will soon become know as the Cessna 350 and Cessna 400. Something tells me that if you like flying our Cherokee 180 you might fall in love with a Cessna 350. CLICK HERE for a Plane & Pilot in depth article about the Columbia (Cessna) 350. Dear Santa, All I want for Christmas is a Cessna 350. I promiss to fly it at 60% power... most of the time...

ADS-B is coming!11-23-07 - Another article from AOPA talks about the new GPS system based equipment upgrade that will be required for all aircraft entering class "B", class "C", and the airspace above 10,000 feet. The way I understand it, this new system will replace the transponder. Sounds like a large number of 30+ year old GA aircraft are in for some shock treatment. So, if you just spent $43k for a nice 1972 Skyhawk, you might be one day spending  another $8,000+ to replace your transponder.
CLICK HERE to see the the AOPA article.

Taxiway Construction Update! 11-19-07 - The construction work to the south section of Taxiway ‘A’ was substantially completed today, November 19, 2007. The project area will be stabilized for the winter and cleanup activities will be wrapping up shortly. For more information click on the "Project Update" icon.

FAA SafetySeminar ~ 11-18-07 - I just received a tip from Jim Dubois that some new safety seminars have been added to the list. There's one in Center Ossipee on "Flat Light". What is flat light you may ask? To help you understand they'll be serving Pizza Barn pizza at the seminar. How about a fly-in event at Laconia airport at Emerson Aviation called, "Loss of Control." I don't know if they'll be serving anything but they suggest you bring your own chocks if you fly-in. Click on the icon for more information.

Taxiway Construction Update! 11-14-07 - Taxiway contruction project continues to progress with the latest poster information. If you did any flying on yesterday you saw the paving equipment in full swing. 
For more information click on the "Project Update" icon.

VFR In The Dark ~ 11-14-07 - Keeping your pilots license up to date can sometimes be a challenge, especially when it comes to night flight proficiency. However, at this time of the year, you just need to wait until 5 pm.  If you're doing a solo night flight, you might bring more than just a handy cockpit light and grab that trusty MagLite flashlight that looks like a piece of black pipe with a lens stuck on the end of it. And as you preflight the aircraft, you might be thinking about those aviation news articles that talk about keeping a sharp eye out for any suspicious activity. But not to worry. It's very likely that the most suspicious activity anyone would see from the parking lot would be you, as you stealthily walk around the aircraft in the blackness with flashlight in hand doing your preflight... note: Any strange noises are probably animal critters... except for last night.

Taxiway Construction Update! 11-8-07 - Here's an update on the taxiway contruction project. Full paving production is anticipated for Monday, November 12th and Wednesday, November 14th, weather permitting. The taxiway will reopen to all traffic during the week of November 19th after the taxiway paint has been applied. Construction of the North Section of Taxiway ‘A’ may start as early as the week of December 3rd.
For more information click on the "Project Update" icon.

Smashing Pumpkins ~ 11-7-07 - And the winner is:  Eleven year old Joshua LeBrun who came in first place and hit the target with his first pumpkin, according to Foster's Democrat. The sky finally opened last Sunday and the Pumpkin Bombing Contest was underway. Click on the icon to see the article that was in the Foster's.

12 Golden Rules ~11-04-07 - Here's a link sent in by Jim Dubois to a web site about flying safety. This web site is called pilotworkshops.com. Here's what it says on their home page. "PilotWorkshops.com provides hands-on, practical, computer-based workshops focusing on skill building and pilot proficiency. Our workshops are taught by some of the best instructors in the business and are designed for pilots of all skill and experience levels." Click HERE to see the tip that was sent to Jim.

Taxiway Construction Update! 11-2-07 - The work on the South Section of Taxiway ‘A’ remains on schedule. Full paving production is anticipated for Wednesday, November 7th through Friday, November 9th, weather permitting. While the South Section of Taxiway ‘A’ remains closed during this paving, the FBO maintenance hangar will be accessible on a prior notice required basis. The taxiway will reopen to all traffic during the week of November 12th after the taxiway paint has been applied.
For more information click on the "Project Update" icon.

Taxiway Construction Update! 10-31-07 - The work on the South Section of Taxiway ‘A’ remains on schedule. Full paving production scheduled for Friday, November 2nd and completed on Wednesday, November 7th, weather permitting. While the South Section of Taxiway ‘A’ remains closed during this paving, the FBO maintenance hangar will be accessible on a prior notice required basis. 
For more information click on the "Project Update" icon.

Taxiway Construction Pictures~ 10-30-07 - Here's a few pictures of the taxiway construction. It's not a patch job, that's for sure. By the looks of the new foundation, the new pavement will be a smooth as glass. As you can see, getting to runway 33 is a "back taxi" procedure.
 
 

Taxiway Construction Update! 10-24-07 - The work on the South Section of Taxiway ‘A’ started as scheduled on October 23rd with all pavement reclamation now completed. Grading and base material will be placed on the South Section of Taxiway ‘A’ starting October 25th. Paving is anticipated to start on Wednesday, October 31st, weather permitting.For more information click on the "Project Update" icon.

Taxiway Construction 10-18-07 - Scheduled to start around October 23rd will be a major construction project on the taxiways. By the looks of the "Project Update" notice, it appears that we'll be having an extension going right to the beginning of runway 15. Click on the Project Update icon for more information. Also, the Project Update icon has been added to the home page right column during this project for easy access for the latest information.

FAA SafetySeminar ~ 10-12-07 - "CFI/DPE Workshop" 
Monday, October 29, 2007, starting at 6:00 pm, Avarax Aviation Services 104 Grafton Drive Portsmouth, NH. Flight instructors and Designated Pilot Examiners are welcome to join this forum directed toward your roles as educators and evaluators. 
 

Looking Out The Window ~ 10-12-07 - Flying VFR around the New England area brings a pilot in contact with all kinds of weather conditions. In flying, there is no such thing as a routine flight. Here's a small collection of pictures taken from 11R within a 20 mile radius of Skyhaven that depict various weather conditions.

FAA SafetySeminar UPDATE!~ 9-27-07 -  Here's an update from Jim on another local seminar. This time it's at Sanford Airport. The title is: "ATC Communications for VFR Pilots." The seminar is Oct 3rd beginning at 6:00 pm. Jim also passed this link along which is a pdf file about "5 steps prior and during taxiing operations." Click on the icons in this article to get the whole story.

B24 Bombers  ~ 9-24-07 - The Collings Foundation and other organizations like the "Confederate Air Force (Commemorative Air Force)" have amazing collections of well preserved and restored WWII aircraft. Their numbers are limited and sometimes listed as one of a small number of planes still flying. However, at one time, these aircraft  lined airport ramps as far as the eye could see. I recently came across an article about Lockheed Martin and they happen to have a picture of a B24 assembly line during the war.

FAA SafetySeminar ~ 9-23-07 -  Here's an update of the latest search on the FAA Safety Seminar. This week there's a fly-in seminar at Laconia airport at Emerson Aviation, this Tuesday Sept 25 at 6:00 pm. "The seminar will provide information regarding IFR departure, enroute, and approach procedures.  VFR pilots will find this seminar helpful in improving their ATC radio communication skills & system understanding." For more information click on the FAAST icon in this article.

Cospas-Sarsat ~9-16-07 - Here's an email from Jim Dubois he forwarded from the FAA about the FAA talking about changing the ELT's in the aircraft from 121.5-MHz to 406-MHz. AOPA says that the NTSB has recommended that pilots be required to equip their aircraft with a 406-MHz emergency locator transmitter (ELT). AOPA recommends that pilots should be able to choose between 121.5 ($200) or 406 MHz ($1000 to $1800) ELT's. AOPA also says that the association has been working to educate pilots about the two ELTs, personal locator beacons, and cell phones with GPS receivers that can be used in case of an emergency.
CLICK HERE TO SEE THE AOPA ARTICLE

AFD Online ~ 9-8-07  Wondering what the "Airport Facility Directory" has to say about your next destination? Well the FAA has a web site with the AFD (not AFV) in pdf format that allows you to search with various criteria like state, city, airport ID, etc. The web site is called "Aviation Systems Standards" (AVN). Huh? How do they get AVN out of "Aviation Systems Standards"? When it comes to acronyms, the FAA can't be beat! Normally, you use the first letter of each word to form the acronym. However, it looks like the FAA had a good reason not to follow this rule with "Aviation Systems Standards". Click on the icon in this article to visit their site. I've also added the icon to the right column of the OVA home page.
 

Maine Jet Rally ~ 8-31-07 Have you ever seen the Maine Jet Rally RC jets? Amazing... well they are having another rally at Sanford Airport. Here's some info... "The Maine Jet Rally is a three day, AMA sanctioned jets only fly-in. The event is in its 9th year, and this will be the third year at the Sanford Municipal Airport in Sanford, Maine
Friday through Sunday, September 7-9. Friday (no general public attendance) 12-7. Saturday -- all welcome -- 9-5. Sunday -- all welcome -- 9-3"
 

Aero Club of New England (ACONE)  ~8-26-07 Here's another new link added to the OVA links page. Thanks for this tip and message from Jim Dubois. Due to an inability to get an air traffic control tower for their 2007 event, the ACONE Basin Harbor Fly-in for September 9th 2007 has been cancelled. There will not be a fly-in at Basin Harbor this year. In place of the Basin Harbor fly-in, ACONE members and their guests are invited to join them for the ACONE Owls Head weekend in Maine this October.

Top Gun Pilot! 8-23-07 Check out the latest link added to our "Links" web page. I would have to think that this site offers a plane ride that could probably be the ride of your life. However, I simply cannot imagine a non-pilot thrill ride seeker stepping into an EXTRA 300L and doing  Lomcevak that's hard to say never mind do. Have you ever asked yourself what Air Force fighter pilots (F-18's, F-16's, A-10's, etc) do for fun, besides fly 737 commercial airliners? How about giving thrill rides in Extra's...

Runway Repairs 8-21-07 - If you Take a close look at the notam and you will see that the runway is open before 9 am and after 7pm. But during the day the repair crews are out and about making those needed repairs to maintain our runway. This may be a good excuse to get caught up on your night flying proficiency requirements. Click on the icon to see the men at work.

AIR SHOW at Pease (Portsmouth) Airport! 8-19-07 - If you managed to get down to Pease Airport to see the airshow this weekend you might have notice that many of the airshow performances were seen at the Skyhaven Airshow in 2005. Dan McCue was there flying his L-39 and the Collins Foundation Corsair. The F-18 also put on quite a performance showing off its sheer power with its 18,000 lbs of jet engine thrust gulping jet fuel by the gallons. Click here to check out some pics I took...
 

2007 WINGS OF HOPE AIR SHOW!  8-16-07 PORTSMOUTH — A world class air show returns to New Hampshire's Seacoast this weekend when Pease Air National Guard Base hosts the Air Force Week New England — Wings of Hope Air Show 2007. 
The show kicks-off Saturday, August 18 at 9 a.m. and features a wide range of air and ground shows throughout the day. The event continues on Sunday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.  Click here for more info

FAA SafetySeminar ~ 8-12-07-  Here's an update of the latest search on the FAA Safety Seminar from Jim Dubois titled, "Sharpen Your Edge: A Flight to Hartford". Learn how to communicate and navigate in the complex New England airspace structure. Sounds like they'll be talking about the AOPA event that will be happening at Hartford. Click on the FAAST logo for more information.

TFR IS Gone !  8-12-07 ~    Ok, the haze is gone and the TFR is gone. Haze doesn't mean IFR. Here's a few pics from 11R taken a few weeks ago and as you can see, the view is just as awsome. 

TFR Notice! - 8-8-07   AOPA is sending this message to advise pilots in and near Kennebunkport, Maine, that the FAA has issued a notam with a temporary flight restriction (TFR) in the area during President Bush's planned visit from Thursday, August 9, through Sunday, August 12. There will be a large 30-nautical-mile-radius TFR centered on the ENE VOR's 143-degree radial at 8.3 miles, extending up to Flight Level 180. It will be in effect from 1 p.m. local Thursday until 2:05 p.m. local Sunday. Also, there will be multiple smaller 10-nm-radius GA no-fly zones in effect within the larger TFR duringthat time frame.