Build a GE 747 engine in under 2 minutes 

NOTAMS For Sanford Airport: 6-27-09 (as of 10:15am):
Sanford ME (Sanford Rgnl) [SFM]: June NOTAM #11
Aerodrome closed except 10 {minute(2), minimum} prior permission required 123.075 effective from June 27th, 2009 at 10:30 AM EST (0906271530) - June 27th, 2009 at 12:30 PM EST (0906271730) 
Sanford ME (Sanford Rgnl) [SFM]: June NOTAM #12 
Runway 7 right traffic pattern effective from June 27th, 2009 at 07:30 AM EST (0906271230) - June 27th, 2009 at 10:30 AM EST (0906271530) 
Sanford ME (Sanford Rgnl) [SFM]: June NOTAM #13 
Runway 32 right traffic pattern effective from June 27th, 2009 at 07:30 AM EST (0906271230) - June 27th, 2009 at 10:30 AM EST (0906271530) 

PLASTIC PILOT CERTIFICATE REQUIRED! ~6-21-09: That's right, ALL pilots will be required to get a plastic certificate by March 31, 2010. That's less than one year away according to my calculator. AOPA mentioned it again in a recent newsletter and it's probably time to do something about it to avoid the last minute rush. Here's an excerpt from the AOPA article: "The FAA's mandate is based on the reasoning that plastic certificates are more counterfeit resistant than paper ones. For newly certificated pilots, compliance is automatic, since all new certificates are being issued in plastic. For those who have paper certificates in their wallets, a replacement certificate can be requested online or through the mail." CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO

New England Aerobatic Club (NEAC)6-19-09: The Fosters Democrat had an article about the NEAC appearing at Skyhaven. Have you ever heard of them? It is a unique club of pilots who fly aerobatic aircraft. The aerobatic club has asked and received permission to use Skyhaven as a practice airport because of its proximity to wooded areas. Skyhaven has fuel and food locally and a densely wooded area with low population just east of the runway. I've heard that they don't plan on starting before noon if they fly on Sunday. However, the recent weather report is saying that Saturday is the day if you want to do anything this weekend. I have a friend who lives in Florida, and whenever we talk about New England she always says, "Gee, how can you stand it up there, it's always raining!" Yah, and you can't fly either. I said, "Yah but, when the sun does come out it's beautiful."  Click here to see more information about the NEAC.

6-18-09: Sanford Airport is have an Airshow and Carshow Saturday June 27. Looks a busy fun day of flying activities. Between the Young Eagles flying here as Skyhaven and the Airshow at Sanford you won't have any excuses to get involved in showing your support for general aviation. Rob Holland and Dan Marcotte are scheduled to be their for an airshow that I'm sure will be a memorable occasion. Click on the airshow banner for more information.

The Current State of General Aviation6-14-09: Did you receive your AOPA invitation to the "One Hundred Club?" This could be your chance to meet the new AOPA president face-to-face. Here's the details of the invite:
You Are Cordially Invited to Join, AOPA President and CEO, Craig L. Fuller for a Cocktail Reception at The One Hundred Club. Please join us to hear the latest news on the current state of General Aviation and meet other AOPA Member Pilots from the Northeast. WHEN: Next Tuesday, June 16th 5:30pm - 6:30pm WHERE: The One Hundred Club 100 Market Street, Suite 500 Portsmouth, New Hampshire 03801 Hosted by Tom Haas, long-time friend and supporter of AOPA and owner of Great Bay Aviation.

Celebrate your freedom to fly 6-11-09: AOPA in a letter to pilots, is urging all 500,000 pilots in the United States to celebrate our flying freedom by taking a flight on the 4th of July. I wonder what would happen if everyone actual did go flying on the 4th? Probably the most congestion anyone has ever seen in the traffic patterns. While waiting an hour at a local restaurant before being served may be a bit annoying, waiting 30 minutes on the taxi way to take off could cost you $60... ouch!

Aviation Fuel Prices Going Up  6-3-09: Ouch! The fuel prices are going up again. I filled up my car at Cumby's the other day for $2.45/gal and the next day is was $2.50. And of course, avgas (boutique fuel) follows suit with an increase to $4.38. At those prices, 4 gal/hr flying a light sport aircraft sounds pretty good if you're taking a ride around the pee patch.

Looking Out The Window of an A22 Valor 6-2-09: I think I'm getting hooked on light sport aircraft. I'm hearing a lot of talk about the American Legend. You can see one over to Hampton airport. Mike Hart would love to sell you one. It looks like a super cub, but it's not? Although I hear that a lot of parts are interchangeable with the cub. Some of the differences is a wider cabin and the Legend has a left door. If you're a cub fan, I guess a left door doesn't exist. If you want to see more light sport aircraft, go over to Southern Maine Aviation. They have a Gobosh and an A22 Valor. The Valor is what the pics in this article were taken from.

GPS Outages May Start In 2010 5-25-09: Many articles are showing up on the web talking about the possibility of GPS outages. For cars, articles are saying, "Don't throw away those maps yet!" For aircraft, it's not quite that simple. How about an airplane with GPS only, with no alternate navigation method other than an paper map? Planning and flying a "dead reckoning" VFR course is one thing, but re-establishing your position solely by a VFR sectional and obscure landmarks can be challenging. Here's the map, and here's a pic on a northerly heading looking east: where am I on the map? Hmmm... tuning in to a couple of VOR's would help...
They're also appears to be no backup system in place, or being planned. There was talk of eLoran in the AOPA article but the feds say that Loran can't be used and have canceled work on Loran's as cost cutting measures. Anybody got any ADF radios kicking around in the attic? CLICK HERE for the AOPA article.

Mach 2,  2.5g's, 138,000 feet~5-20-09:  A company called XCOR is starting a company called RocketShip Tours. In spite of these economic times, we seem to be getting these entrepreneurial billionaires finding new ways to spend their money. Wanna take a 30 minute ride to 138,000 feet? For $95,000 you might have your chance. Here's an excerpt from a magazine called, "Time Compression."
"The Lynx will take off from the runway just like any airplane, but makes a steep ascent, hitting Mach 2 (1,522 mph) with a 2.5 g-force within three minutes. The engines cut off 26 miles up (138,000 ft) and the vehicle will coast upward another 11 miles (58,080 ft), breaking free of the stratosphere to reach a microgravity stage on the edge of space. After a few minutes of weightlessness, the Lynx begins its descent, reaching a 4G and gliding through a series of corkscrew circles." CLICK HERE to see a YouTube video.

EAA Young Eagles Free Plane Rides for Kids ~ 5-18-09: The local EAA  Chapter is having another Young Eagles Event here at Skyhaven, June 27, 2009. Here's a chance to learn first hand about flying. This program is more that just a flight. It's really a learning experience. You can find out more by clicking HERE to visit a webpage about a previous Young Eagles event held hear at Skyhaven. The EAA Young Eagles program was launched in 1992 to give interested young people, ages 8 - 17, an opportunity to go flying in a general aviation airplane. These flights are offered free of charge and are made possible through the generosity of EAA member volunteers.  Click here to visit the Young Eagles website.
 

MUSTANG GRILLE ~ 5-18-09 - How about some fries with that... The Mustang Grille is now open to take your order. Located right next to the Skyhaven office, you can enjoy a tasty treat while watching your favorite pilot doing some practice take-offs and landings. Take a look at the menu and you'll see a nice variety of food to fill the gap. In addition to the regular menu you will notice that there's some nice specials that will take care of your lunch or late afternoon meal. For more information, click on the "Mustang Grille" icon.

FAA Safety Seminars ~~  5-17-09: Here's a pdf version of that latest seminar list on an 80mile radius from Skyhaven. It looks like Keene is the place with all the seminar activity. But if you're a Seaplane buff, you might take a look at the seminar coming up in Naples Maine. New England Seaplane Safety Expo! Seaplane safety topics at Naples Maine, What Is It Doing Now? Technically Advanced Aircraft flight operations. at West Lebanon NH, GPS Primer and True Confessions! A primer on GPS usage and a discussion at Keene NH.

Light Sport Aircraft ~ 5-10-09: Everywhere I go pilots are talking about "Light Sport Aircraft." Flying in to Hampton airport the other day with a Gobosh, the aircraft that was getting a lot of attention was the American Legend. (The Gobosh collected its share of attention also.) Have you tried the restaurant there? If you don't mind standing in line, it's worth the wait. It's a famous place for pilots and the locals in the Hampton area. Click on the blue airplane to see pics from the Gobosh. Click on the Legend to visit the Legend website.

Flight Plan in Your E-mail/Cell Phones ~ 5-10-09: Every issue of AOPA has a copy of the DUATS FLYER. If you do some serious cross country flying, keeping up to date with the latest electronic options is an ongoing process. In the May edition of the flyer it talks about how to receive electronic acknowledgments to your email and/or cell phone. Click on the icons to see the PDF file of this flyer.

Free GPS Seminar by AOPA  ~ 5-3-09 Did you get your notice in the paper mail? AOPA is having a seminar in Manchester, May 21st, 2009, on GPS, RAIM, and WAAS. The notice says that a large number of pilots navigate by GPS today, but many pilots don't use them much beyond the "direct-to" and "nearest" options. Many of the GPS manuals can be overwhelming with the many screens and multi-function buttons. Navigating the many screens sometimes reminds me of video games where you can't go to the next screen until you find the magic key. The days of cranking in a VOR frequency and setting a radial to fly to on the OBS I'm afraid in many aircraft is no longer an option. Hey, I think I found a "magic key" for a GPS screen. When you are flying to a "direct-to" location and you want airport information, press the "direct-to" button (it says in the manual), and hold for five seconds and the AFD screen appears (I hope it doesn't cause my EFIS to reboot!). CLICK on the icon for more info...

Gibraltar Highway Crosses The Runway  ~ 5-2-09: Here's some great pics sent in by Jim of the road that crosses the unusual runway at Gibraltar. Although located at the tip of Spain, Gibraltar is actually "a self-governing British overseas territory." Along with its colorful history, it has a unique airport with major airline traffic that shares a highway that crosses the middle of the runway. (Talk about runway incursions...) CLICK on the icon to see some pictures and a YouTube video.

EAA Chapter 740 BBQ & Taildragger Fly-in  ~ 4-30-09: Another update from Jim. This time it's a taildragger fly-in being held at Parlin Field in Newport NH, July 18, 2009. Does this mean that Skyhawks are not welcomed? How about if it's a Skyhawk taildragger... at one of the airshows we had at Skyhaven there was a Skyhawk taildragger that showed up quite frequently. Maybe he'll be there. CLICK on the poster icon in this article to see a PDF poster of this event sponsored by the EAA Chapter 740.

Hampton's Aviation Flea Market ~ 4-28-09: An email from Jim Dubois advises that Hampton Airport is having the "Hampton Airfield's annual Fly-In & Aviation Flea Market, MAY 16-17 SAT. SUN 2009." Haven't flown into Hampton yet? Well, maybe this is your chance for a grass strip landing. Click on the yellow icon to visit the Hampton Airport website. CLICK at the following links for more Hampton information: CAP AERIAL AIRPORT PICS, FLEA MARKET WEBPAGE

GA Serves America ~ 4-24-09: AOPA has just launched another web site titled "GA Serves America" to campaign against negative publicity towards general aviation. AOPA has also sent out an email announcing their satellite web site with a featured video by Harrison Ford. In their email they said, “It’s time for us to let policymakers, opinion leaders, and the American public know who we are and what we do,” said AOPA President Craig Fuller." Click of Harrison Ford to see the email. Click on the blue icon to visit the GA Serves America web page.

Light Sport Glass Cockpit ~4-17-09 From what I've seen, it looks like the Light Sport Aircraft manufacturers are embracing the computerized flat screen instrument panels known as "Glass Cockpits." I just got checked out in an A22 Valor, and when I sat in the cockpit to do my preflight I found myself looking at the EFIS. The only two boiler gages I could see were the airspeed indicator and the altimeter, but they were also on the "EFIS." The panel on this glass cockpit is actually a combination  EFIS (ElectronicFlightInformationSystem) and the EMS (Engine Monitoring Systems). Set the barometric pressure and this unit tells you altitude, attitude and all the other instruments and more. For now, I think I still like having the conventional round standalone airspeed indicator. Picking out a vertical sliding bar on a colored screen surrounded with other colored arcs and bars and tics and bugs takes a little getting use. Click on the Valor icon for more pictures and information and comments... 
Click on the EFIS icon to enlarge and download the EFIS owners manual (PDF).

Mountain Goat ~4-11-09 I've seen some impressive numbers before, but I haven't seen anything that this new aircraft has. The 0-360 180hp Lycoming is a very popular engine for providing bush planes with good performance figures, but how about a take-off distance of 50 ft.! That's right, 50 not 500. You can even see a video at their website to show you what they're talking about. And their landing distance is 120 ft. Who needs a runway? I could fly this thing to work and land in the parking lot. Here's an excerpt from a NASA article about the Mountain Goat. "The Mountain Goat aircraft exhibits substantial gains in all categories, plus significantly lower manufacturing costs. The wing of this aircraft uses a modified NASA airfoil to enhance attached air flow, stall and cruise speeds." And... it has "flaperons!" Click on the aircraft icon to visit their website.

10,000 lbs OF THRUST ~ 4-9-09  According to some formula's I've seen, that would be equivalent to about 4,000 HP. Yikes! Here's an excerpt from the QuickSilver jet boat editorials. "It takes the power of a jet engine to send a boat over the water at speeds above 200 mph, and it takes a rigid and strong chassis or frame to hold that engine when it is spitting out more than 10,000 lb of thrust. The World Water Speed Record stands at 317.60 mph (511.11 kph). To achieve such high speeds, water conditions must first be near-calm. As it accelerates, the boat must overcome water resistance by rising clear of the water's surface and skimming across it." For me, flying at 120 knots in a Skyhawk is exciting enough.

RUNWAY SAFETY ~ 4-1-09 The FAA is giving away free safety DVDs in a couple of America’s most popular flying magazines. The April editions of AOPA Pilot and Flight Training magazines has a DVD with instructional videos about runway safety. The DVD collection includes four videos that are titled: Heads Up, Hold Short, Fly Right; Was That For Us?; Listen Up, Read Back, Fly Right; and Face to Face, Eye to Eye. You will also find a booklet glued to the same page as the DVD that's title: "A Pilot's Guide to SAFE SURFACE OPERATIONS." According to an FAA article, AOPA distributes 400,000 copies to it's members. If you took 400,000 DVD's and stacked them all up on a single pile, the height would be 1,666 feet. That's a lot of DVD's

CARTER COPTER ~ 3-26-09 What will they think of next. Now this is what I call short field take-off. Take off roll distance is 0 feet, and it's not a helicopter? It sounds like the magic of this machine is a factor they call mu-1. I was wondered what that meant so I went to their site. Here's some info I found. ""Slowed Rotor/Compound," abbreviated as SR/C, is simply the generic term used to describe aircraft such as the CarterCopter and our other concepts, which unload and slow the rotor to reduce drag in high speed flight, while using a wing to provide lift in that condition." Still confused? Click on the icon to checkout their video.

Disappearing Snow  ~ 3-22-09 One week makes a lot of difference this time of the year. The snow is beginning to give way to grass and pavement. The huge snow banks are melting and the blue sky returns for some great spring flying conditions. If you've taken some time off from flying during the winter, click on the AOPA airspace link to brush up on you B, C, D, and E's. If you need more, click on the FAA "Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge."
 

1000 MPH  ~ 3-21-09  A magazine I get called Time Compression  features high tech articles about state of the art technology which sometimes contains strange experiments and applications that companies and entrepreneurs are working on. Although this is not an airplane, calling it a car does not seem appropriate either. "The Bloodhound is 13-m long and weighs nearly 7 tons, with a lightweight body structure of carbon fiber and titanium. Its mass is due in large part to its “hybrid” propulsion system, which consists of a Eurojet EJ200 turbojet integrated with a Falcon rocket. The Bloodhound’s mid-section will also carry an 800-hp V12 engine used to start the jet and provide power to a hydraulic pump needed to flush one ton of high test peroxide to fuel the rocket for a 22-second burst to bring the car up to Mach 1.4." Click on the icon in this article to see a YOUTUBE video. Click HERE to see the whole article.

Signs Of Spring In The Air ~ 3-15-09 The hills may not be alive with the sound of music, but I'm beginning to hear more airplane engines buzzing around. A sound that is becoming more familiar these days is the sound of a Rotax four cylinder engine. According to Wikipedia, "The Rotax 912 is a normally-aspirated, air- and water-cooled, horizontally-opposed, four-cylinder, four-stroke, gear reduction-drive engine commonly used on certified aircraft, light sport aircraft and ultralight aircraft." Check out this beautiful experimental leaving the fuel pumps by clicking on the plane icon.

Garmin GPS Seminar At Pease  3-7-09 Did you hear about the Garmin Seminar coming this Thursday at Port City Aircraft Repair Inc. Thursday, March 12, 2009, 6-9pm. Their number is 603-430-1111 or pmekelatos@portcityair.com. The primary topic is listed as the Garmin G600 and GPSMAP 696. They will also have refreshments and a door prize. Click on the Garmin icon for more information.

Technologically Advanced Aircraft 3-4-09 There are some pretty interesting safety seminars coming up that are in the neighborhood. On March 7 at the Atlas Aircraft Center at Pease, is one on "IA Refresher Course." On March 12 is one titled, "Technically Advanced Aircraft," being held on Pease at Port City Air. How about some chili at Sanford Airport and a seminar titled, "Flying Safely Around the Hive," with Sue Tholen and John Gary ( FAA DE and 2008 CFI of the Year). CLICK ON THE FAA ICON for more information.

Aviation Fuel Price ~  3-1-09 The cost of aviation fuel at Skyhaven reported as of yesterday has remained at $4.19. Looking at the GlobalAir spread sheet, it looks like the average price for the northeast is running around $4.17/gal. Did you go flying yesterday? Mount Washington from the Skyhaven area was clear as a bell...

Alton Bay Ice Airport CLOSED! ~2-28-09 Thinking about landing on the ice airport... well you're too late! The latest report on the Hotline as of this morning is that the ice airport is closed, and probably closed for the season due to unfavorable ice conditions. My first Ice Airport landing was in 2005 with OVA's Skyhawk. What a beautiful day to go flying, I said. I don't believe there is a symbol of the sectional charts for "Ice Airport", so I guess you can say I landed at a sea plane airport with wheels. Here's a pic of my ice airport landing on final for runway 1.

Keeping It Clear ~ 2-22-09 The snow storms come and go but we are clear and ready to go. On one of the first storms we showed a picture with a  cloud of snow in the background. Click on the icon in this article to see what was making all the fuss. You can also see a beautiful VFR day on Saturday at Skyhaven. See the new taxiway on final for 33 and some pics of the snow banks.

Alton Bay Ice Airport  ~ 2-21-09 The ice airport is reported to be still up and running but the taxi way is not available and won't be available for the rest of the season. So, backtaxi will be the way back to the parking area. There are several web sites and blogs that have some great pics of Alton Bay. The runway shot in this article comes from the "Northeast Pilots Group" at the "Meetup" website. The Meetup website calls themselves a social networking site for groups. Maybe this is the next generation blog? At any rate, click HERE to see Clark Burgard's page about Alton Bay.

AOPA - Wrecks in the City ~ 2-18-09 Check out this Safety Seminar coming up in Bedford Mass. I believe the catchy title refers to the challenges of reacting to an in-flight emergency while flying over a metropolitan area. Not to long ago, the automobile associations could of had a seminar titled, "Wrecks on the Highway," when they had a multi-car pile up of 59 cars, trucks, buses, and whatever else was tailgating on route 93 during a snow storm. Click on the icon to see the AOPA mailing on this seminar, or/and click HERE to see the FAAST safety team listing of this seminar.

For All Pilots & Aviation Buffs 2-16-09 - Here's an interesting link sent in by Jim Dubois. The information from the internet available to everyone never ceases to amaze me. I read somewhere that one of Google's goals was to put all human knowledge on computer hard drives (or other storage type devices) all over the world and make it accessible to everyone. Well, they seem to be coming close to that already. Click on the icons to visit the website that has an impressive collection of aviation related links along with other aviation stuff...

The Most Modern Cockpit In The World?2-05-09 - Have you seen this link floating around the internet? Someone has put a 360 picture together of the A380 cockpit. It's quite impressive with it's MFD's (glass cockpit) and what caught my eye, was no yoke. It looks like the pilot has the whole world in his hand, sort of speak. I suppose, what's the difference, a control stick between your legs, or one up on the left console. Click on the icon to enlarge. Click HERE to visit the 360 website.

VFR and Clear ~ 2-1-09The snow keeps coming but it doesn't stop the flying at Skyhaven. The reason it doesn't is because of  the prompt and professional clearing of the runway and taxiways. The challenge of winter may capture some aircraft is the snowy surroundings but the ramp is clear and open for commercial and emergency aircraft and maybe even a weekend or afternoon getaway. Click on the pic's to see what I'm talking about...