4-1-10: That was my plan. Many pilots see the TFR's and equate them with a "Not Fly Zone." But that's really the case. Especially if you're outside the 10 mile boundary, getting in and out of your airport should not conjure up fears of F16's or BlackHawk helicopters chasing you around the sky with the local police coming out to make a scene. Like AOPA says, the airspace may be getting more complex, but we still have options, even for sunny day VFR pilots. If the airspace around your favorite airport has a hazy red tint to it, then a presidential TFR is probably active. If that's the case, then call FSS and file for a VFR flight plane to fly out (egress) of the TFR. Then, you can loiter, or practice stalls, steep turns and slow flight. That's what I was going to do when I called, but after a short pause, the flight service person said that the TFR was lifted early and the red haze had lifted.

TFR OVER PORTSMOUTH-BOSTON-PORTLAND ON THURSDAY APRIL 1st  ~ 3-31-10: The presidential TFR's will be in full swing on Thursday covering a massive area along the New England coast.
Special Airspace Bulletin 
FAA TO ESTABLISH TFR OVER PORTSMOUTH, NH, ON THURSDAY
A notam has been issued that will restrict flight in the area during President Obama's planned visit.
FAA TO ESTABLISH TFR OVER PORTLAND, ME, ON THURSDAY
A notam has been issued that will restrict flight in the area during President Obama's planned visit.
FAA TO ESTABLISH TFR OVER BOSTON, MA, ON THURSDAY
A notam has been issued that will restrict flight in the area during President Obama's planned visit. 
Click on the map icon for more information.

NOAA Interactive Metar Map ~ 3-30-10: Weather maps are growing more sophisticated by the day. Here's a link sent in by Jim that's pretty unique. Just by hovering over the station points brings a popup window with instant Metar information along with the usual graphical data. There's an option menu on the map page that lets you select different regions or the entire United States. Click on the map icon to check out the Boston region. 

Daniel Webster College Closing Flight Program ~ 3-25-10: Daniel Webster College in Nashua, announced Wednesday that The Bachelor of Science degree program in Aviation Flight Operations will be phased out over the next several years. ITT Educational Services bought the college last year. The school's air traffic control and aviation management programs will continue, according to its new president, Nadine Dowling. The school currently has 18 flight instructors on staff and around 80 students in its flight program, 36 of which just started last fall as freshman. Bridgewater State College in Bridgewater Mass with an aviation program, has offered students transfer opportunities. The BSC Aviation Training Center is located at the New Bedford Regional Airport about a 1/2 hr ride from the Campus, and about 110 miles from Nashua.

NextGen Air Traffic Control System ~ 3-20-10: Nextgen is a word that keeps showing up not just in aviation but in other fields as well. We're seeing it used in many articles. The Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen) is the name given to a new National Airspace System. I've also seen it described as the "NextGen Implementation Plan (NGIP)." It is due for implementation across the United States in stages between 2012 and 2025. The NextGen Implementation Plan (NGIP) is being implemented by the NextGen Implementation Task Force through the RTCA.
NextGen consists of five elements: Automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B), System Wide Information Management, Next Generation Data Communications, Next Generation Network Enabled Weather, and NAS Voice Switch."

First Sunny Day! 3-17-10: Tuesday was the first sunny day in quite a while. So, what do you do on the day after the rain? That's easy, jump in your favorite plane and take to the sky, that is, after you get a full briefing on weather, TFR's, notams, sectionals, AFD's, and special notices, and... then you're ready to go... after your preflight. The sky was blue and inviting but the river's were still raging and causing grief to people who found their dream house lot overlooking a winding country river that turned into raging rapids flooding shorelines and peninsula's. Click on the Skyhawk picture icon to see some aerial pics of the Salmon Falls river. It looks like most of the roads were open but quite a few houses looked like they were surrounded by motes. It's a good thing we don't have alligators in New England.

A10 Aircraft ~3-14-10: This RC video is not your average RC Jet. The RC Jet club around here meets at Sanford and has also been at Biddeford Airport. The time and resources put into these airplanes is amazing. If you do a Google on model jet turbine engines you'll find that the engines along cost around $4000 each. This 70 pound A10 video is pretty impressive and when it's in the sky you might give it a double take. I looked at one video interview from the LAJets and the guy was asked about how much of an investment it would take for someone to have a plane like his and his response was, "the price of a nice car."

Full Scale Plastic TurboProp ~3-13-10: Very often in industry a new design comes along that will claim to be the first of its kind. Although that may be true, a little investigation will reveal that the actual technology has been around for a while but someone found a way to put the pieces together in a way that nobody thought of. In a recent magazine article, a designer was featured with a full scale plastic model of a new turboprop design. There's two things that are unique in this article. First, the model was made by a 3D plastic printing machine that makes the parts direct from a computer model. The second item is that his idea is an amalgamation of a 1950's jet engine, a gearbox from a Pratt & Whitney PT6-type engine, and contrarotating propellers inspired by a Soviet turboprop Kuznetsov NK-12 

Aeroworks LLC to begin operations at Skyhaven!   3-11-10: As of March 1, 2010 Aeroworks LLC has entered an agreement with the Pease Development Authority to establish an aircraft maintenance and flight support operation from hangar 5 at Skyhaven airport. Aeroworks LLC has been established in order to provide the Skyhaven aviation community with a full service aircraft maintenance facility. Services we offer include aircraft inspection, major and minor airframe repair, aircraft restoration, airframe and powerplant modifications, interior renovations, engine overhaul and Rotax engine servicing. Additionally we shall be offering parts support for common items such as filters, batteries, tires etc, pilot supplies and aviation consumables such as engine lubricating oil. Aeroworks LLC will be offering complete aircraft detailing services. “Quick wash” services will be available for those customers unable to wash their own aircraft but desire to attend to the finer aspects of detailing on their own. Click on the icon for more information.

FAA Safety Seminars ~  3-8-10: Be sure to check out a Safety Seminar coming up at Sanford, Saturday, March 13, 2010, starting at 10:00 am titled, "Aircraft Performance & Contaminated Runways." It will be at Southern Maine Aviation and the speaker will be Rob Montgomery speaking about Aircraft performance calculations and the more intimidating parts of aviation. "Join FAA Safety Team Lead Representative and Flight Instructor Rob Montgomery for a discussion of the practical aspects of aircraft performance, with an emphasis on runways contaminated with water, ice, snow and even grass." Click on the FAAST icon for more information. 

Spring Is In The Air    3-6-10: If you haven't been doing to much flying this past winter, than spring fever appears to right around the corner. Taxiing around the airport the other day looked more like a spring day than a winter day. If your airplane has spent the winter outdoors, you might have some extra work to do. I know from personal experience that springtime can bring some challenges keeping up with the extra requirements on preflight and maintenance. Two problems I recall when my plane was tied down on the grass were mud bugs and birds. The mud bugs would fill the inside of the pitot tube and pack it with mud. (Climbing out away from the airport with the airspeed indicator on zero would not be a good thing.) The other problem was the birds that were persistent on making a nest in the tail section of the plane. They would enter small openings in the tail section and leave me a nice present of a several eggs resting on a nice pile of grass.

SR-71 Email 2-27-10: I received another interesting email about the SR-71 that appears to be an email forward from a website. Unfortunately that usually reformats the original webpage and carrires megabytes of data. I managed to track down a website that appears to have the original source information from the email. The story told by a pilot of the SR-71 is very interesting. Here's an excerpt: "The SR-71 was the brainchild of Kelly Johnson, the famed Lockheed designer who created the P-38, the F-104 Starfighter and the U-2.  After the Soviets shot down Gary Powers' U-2 in 1960, Johnson began to develop an aircraft that would fly three miles higher and five times faster than the spy plane - and still be capable of photographing your license plate.  However, flying at 2,000 mph would create intense heat on the aircraft's skin." Click on the SR-71 icon in this article to read the full story. 

Plastic Pilot Certificate Dead­Line 2-26-10: The warnings are coming in and the last minute procrastinators are starting to scramble. The paper license you've been carrying around for thirty years is no longer any good. Those with paper certificates who plan to fly after March 31 need to get a plastic replacement certificate online or through the mail. AOPA says that they have been busy with members asking about plastic pilot certificates--suddenly realizing that the dead­line for compliance is fast approaching. Pilots are required to obtain a plastic pilot certificate by March 31, 2010. After that date, most paper certificates will no longer be valid. The FAA's mandate is based on the reasoning that plastic certificates are more resistant to counterfeiting than paper ones. Those with paper certificates who plan to fly after March 31 can request a plastic replacement certificate online or through the mail. Read more online (www. aopa.org/members/answers0310) or call 800-872-2672. FAA online registry registry.faa.gov.

UAV's Infiltrating Vast Swaths of Airspace2-25-10:  According to Popular Science, there are over 40 countries that fly UAVs. Last year, the U.S. Air Force trained more UAV pilots than fighter and bomber pilots combined. UAVs are getting faster, stronger and smarter with each generation. The new Avenger hunt-and-kill drone is three times as fast as the original Predator, which has flown more than half a million hours in Iraq and Afghanistan. The hand-launched Ravens favored by the Army stream encrypted digital data, allowing many of the 7,000 birds currently in action to serve as an instant communication relay. On the civilian side, crafts like the hovering Embla will be available to scout disaster sites as early as this summer. The slide picture gallery of 30 different types of UAV's covers anything from hand held foam models to airline size aircraft like the Predator. Click on the icons for more information...

VFR Flight on Washington's Birthday 2-24-10:  Here we go again. Finding a VFR day this week was probably a better bet on Monday, Washington's Birthday. All the weather that was out by the central states has arrived bringing with it rain, sleet and snow. Looking at the charts on Monday, I quickly made a decision to stop by the airport on the way home from work and take a quick look of the New England sky before all the red and pink dots come in. Clicking on the "Instant Radar" icon gives you an immediate picture of the VFR and marginal flying conditions across the country. Seeing all the green circles and squares on Monday was the green light for taking a flight. Here's a couple of pic's of the sky on Monday evening.

Another Portable Reader, SolidFX 2-19-10: Jeppesen charts are now available on a portable reader courtesy of SolidFX and the FX10. SolidFX uses a branded iRex reader to provide Jeppesen charts at almost real size. The FX10 has claims to have many advan­tages over NACO chart readers on the market today, most notably in search capability. Ease of bringing up a plate and switching between plates is quick as well. Options for navigation include a stylus or buttons. Each has its ups and down, but the stylus seems to be fastest. There's a learning curve initially, but the FX10 is the only option for to have Jeppesen charts elec­tronically. Price: $1,595 for the reader; $120 to $700 a year for the plates, depending on coverage Contact: www. solidfx.com

EAA 225 $1000 aviation scholarship Info~ 2-13-10: Here's some EAA 225 information just in from Gerry Peterson. "Just wanted to let you know that EAA 225 has recently added a $1000 aviation scholarship application on its webpage.  Deadline for the 2010 time period is March 31, 2010.  Just go to: www.eaa225.blogspot.com for more information and application, which can be downloaded to interested & qualified applicants.  It is a pretty good deal for the winner some aspiring pilot in the age 15 to 25 years old group (only one selected each year) and can be used to help with expenses for either sport or private pilot training at an approved flight school in Southern Maine, New Hampshire, or Northeastern Massachusetts."

SR-71 Blackbird a.k.a. the "Habu" ~ 2-13-10: Everyone has heard of the SR-71 Blackbird and the many stories behind its mysterious history. But nowadays,  you can click on the internet and all the mystery goes away with article after article about the airplanes construction and flying and engines characteristics. The best cruise speed for the engines was Mach 3.2. That's over 3,000 miles per hour... When under attack, the defense procedure was to accelerate. The curiosity and attraction to this aircraft has led some people to make some extraordinary RC models. Click on the icon on the left in this article to see a link that Jim sent in. One article said this model is powered by only one jet engine mounted in the middle. Here's another video (on the right) that looks like it has two engines (red glow from the back of the engines). Although that glow may not be fire (l.e.d.'s?). The models actually may be one in the same... at any rate, the video's are pretty awesome.

JetMan ditches in the Strait of Gibraltar 2-7-10: News articles are reporting that Yves Rossy, the former Swiss fighter pilot was not successful when he tried to fly from Morroco across the Strait of Gibraltar to Spain. Due to cloud cover, he had to release his wing attachment and parachute into the water. They say that he was moving at 140 mph. I guess that wing would not qualify as a light sport aircraft. 

AOPA Cirrus SR-22 winner from California! 2-7-10: Sorry to say that no one from New Hampshire won the AOPA Cirrus. Instead, it went to an airline pilot from California. He already has a Cessna 180 that he occasionally fly's to work. I wonder if he'll sell his 180? Although I'm very disappointed that I didn't win, there's always next year when they announce the winner of a Remos LSA.

Military UAV MQ-9 Predator aka the REAPER 2-4-10:There has been in increasing number of articles about the new MQ-9 UAV that was on display at Oshkosh. A recent article I read said that the MQ-9 Predator B, a larger version of the original and recon-only Predator UAV, is now in service with the U.S. Border Patrol used primarily for border surveillance and drug interdiction. The Predator B platform also is capable of carrying heavier payloads, including rockets, and has seen service recently in with U.S. armed forces in Pakistan and Afghanistan. The article went on to say, " the older version could stay in the air for 40 hours powered by the ubiquitous Rotax 914, a 120-hp turbocharged version of the Rotax 912 seen in most LSAs. In the Predator B, they went with a Honeywell (Garret) TPE-331-10T in the 750-hp class. Despite this gargantuan jump in power, it can fly missions of more than 30 hours duration and the 3,800 lb payload translates into a large rack of Hellfire missiles." I just watched a couple of video's on YouTube on Hellfire missiles and the destruction caused by one missile is amazing... They say that the "Reaper" loiters at IFR altitudes. I wonder if you would see a Hellfire missile if it went whizzing by a Skyhawk at 7500 ft.?

 TFR OVER MANCHESTER/NASHUA, NH, ON TUESDAY, Feb 2nd ~2-01-10: Here we go again. This time the president will be in Nashua. 

SkyDive Laconia? 1-30-10:  In a recent newsletter from AOPA one article was about a husband and wife skydive team that has been denied a request to operate a skydive business at the Laconia airport. Googling skydive laconia turned up some interesting dialogue at the Winnipesaukee blog website. The LAA denied the application by a unanimous vote. The FAA office at Burlington, Mass. said the proposed skydiving operations would, at best, "Be a difficult fit into the operations at the Laconia Airport." I don't know about the pro's and con's of this subject, but I can say I rented a Skyhawk from the FBO at Santa Anna Airport in New Mexico. When I taxied out for my check ride, I noticed people with parachute gear within a few hundred feet of the taxiway. The instructor informed me that was the skydive landing circle and that was the reason for the right hand pattern on 28. So they were skydiving on one side of the runway and we were flying on the other side. Making a mistake on the traffic pattern would not be a good thing. 

PiperSport, LSA 1-23-10: Piper Aircraft has decided to join the light sport market by offering their own version of a light sport. But they are not the manufacturers of the plane. AOPA said it's a, "rebranded aircraft built in the Czech Republic that was formerly known as the Sport Cruiser." There seems to be a sort of pseudo standard evolving with these light sports. I'm seeing the Dynon EFIS and EMS glass panels accompanied with a Garmin gps. One A&E told me that the Dynon glass panels are less expensive to buy and maintain than the convention analog boiler gauge instruments. Another common sight is the Rotax 912 100 hp engine with a ground adjustable three bladed propeller. However, the PiperSport website shows a two bladed prop and the video shows a three bladed prop, hmmm. Click on the PiperSport icon to see the newpiper website.

Van's RV-8 at Skyhaven 1-22-10: Once in awhile, the sky opens up and the visibility becomes what we used to call CAVU. Today was such a day, and the entire mountain range in New Hampshire revealed itself right after take off from Skyhaven. I managed to click a few pictures before my camera battery gave up so I missed the bright red and orange sunset that lit up the sky. But I did manage to get a couple of pics of the beautiful Van's RV-8 that stopped into Skyhaven. The term "homebuilt" is not what comes to mind when you seen this airplane that cruises over 180 mph. The owner of this beauty said it took him 2 years to build this aircraft and he's thinking about building an RV-10, which is a 4 place plane.

TFR OVER BOSTON, MA ON JANUARY 17, 2010 ~1-16-10:  A notam has been issued that will restrict flight in the area during President Obama's planned visit. ==> 30 nm radius TFR <== Location: BOS VOR's 285-degree radial at 3.5 nautical miles. Surface to 17,999-ft-MSL Times: 2:00 p.m. until 5:00 p.m. local Sunday, January 17. According to Boston.com, "President Barack Obama will headline a rally at 3 p.m. tomorrow at Northeastern University to try to boost support for Democratic US Senate candidate Martha Coakley, Coakley's campaign announced today. Doors will open at 1 p.m. to the Solomon Court at the Cabot Center at 400 Huntington Ave." 

Winter Fly In At Southern Maine Aviation ~ 1-14-10:  Time....Saturday January 23, 2009
Place...Southern Maine Aviation 199 Airport Road, Sanford Maine 207-324-8919
Pancake Breakfast! pancakes, sausage, bacon, scrambled eggs, coffee, tea, orange juice!!! From 8 AM to 10:30 AM.......$6.00........... Breakfast donated by Cockpit Cafe and Southern Maine Aviation. All proceeds donated to the Kennebunk Animal Shelter. Seminar! 10:30    Winter flight operations, landing on ice and snow, aircraft icing recautions. Great prizes for the ugliest hat worn. Hope to see you there! All of us at Southern Maine Aviation

Do It Online! 1-13-10:  I have to say, that renewing the pilot certificate online worked out very well. The new card is a nice tribute to Orville and Wilbur with a catchy hologram that has some fancy color flashing when you rock the card back and forth. The website was uncomplicated and friendly and pretty straightforward to use, and the plastic license was delivered on time. You don't have to give your DOB or social security number, but it might take longer for the renewal process without one of them. So, if you've been flying for 20 or 30 years, your old piece of paper pilot license can now take its new home in the bottom desk drawer with all the other memorabilia you still don't want to part with. I put mine with my 1964 Cessna 150 manual.

Jeppesen’s VFR+GPS Charts  vs. FAA’s Sectional Charts~ 1-9-10: Could the long standing traditional FAA Sectional chart be headed for the obsolete bin? According to Jeppesen charts, they are producing a new type of sectional chart with changes that include new colors, shading, symbols, and some kind of compatibility with your brand new hand carry Garmin gps you got for Christmas. Even if you didn't get a new gps for Christmas, you can still sit around the kitchen table and gawk at the new Jeppesen VFR charts. On Friday, Jan. 22, at 4:30 p.m., AOPA will feature Dave McClean of Jeppesen to conduct a Webinar that will feature a presentation detailing the charts' alignment with actual VFR flights, workload reduction features, and the modern GPS technology behind the charts. Click on the icons to see comparisons with San Francisco and Jacksonville.