Bureau of Aeronautics Calendar of Events -  Monthly: May & June

2008 Airport Awareness Days
May 31- Dean Memorial Airport, 12th Annual Airport Awareness Day, 10am to 3pm, see flyer for more information
June 25 - Dillant-Hopkins Airport, FAA Wings Safety Seminar, 6pm to 8pm, see flyer for more information
July 12 - Parlin Field, International Comanche Society 2nd Annual Fly-In, 10:30am to 2pm, see flyer for more information

Block Grant Airports Reminder
As the start of the FY2008 construction season is fast approaching, this is a reminder for all airport sponsors and their consultants that, as part of its grant oversight activities, the NHDOT/Bureau of Aeronautics must review and approve Safety and Phasing Plans of all airport construction grants in the block grant program. For more information, please see our Airport Block Grant Program Page.

NOTAMS Notice N JO 7930.85 amends FAAO 7930.2K NOTAM MANUAL effective January 28, 2008
The US NOTAM office is mandating changes to NOTAM formats. Local NOTAMs will become D or Distant NOTAMs. Read more about this change online or download the Notice in Adobe Acrobat.

FAA Safety Team: Stand Up for Safety, May 4-10, 2008
The FAA Safety Team will conduct a series of seminars throughout Maine and New Hampshire during the week of May 4-10. The initiative, known as "Stand Up for Safety," will focus on four main topics:
*Approach and Landing
*Loss of Control
*Aging Pilot
*Personal Minimums

The objective is to reach as many pilots as possible with a discussion about factors common to northern New England accidents. The initiative is important because any aviation accident is a tragedy for those involved and every accident has an impact on the entire pilot community through increased insurance costs and reinforced negative perceptions which can lead to further restrictions on aviation activiites. Although four main topics are the primary focus on Stand Up for Safety, some seminars will deal with other topics of interest to local pilots, aviation maintenance technicians, and other aviators. To learn about seminars in your area, register on line with FAASafety.gov. John Wood, FAA Safety Program Manager at the Portland, Maine FSDO and volunteer FAA Safety Team Representatives throughout Maine and New Hampshire are actively seeking locations for individual seminars. If you are interested in sponsoring a seminar, contact a local FAASTeam Representative. A list of local representatives is available at https://faasafety.gov/FAASTApp/directory/default.aspx. Select Region EA65 - Portland to narrow the list to representatives in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont.

Airport Legislative News Update

The NHDOT FY2008-2009 budget was signed by Governor Lynch on July 5, 2007. HB 1-A, as the adopted budget is known, can be found at http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/legislation/2007/hb1_asadopted.pdf (see page 334 of the budget).

Your support for this budget assisted in restoring both the 2008 and 2009 state fiscal years’ funding levels for Class 91, Grants to Airport Sponsors, to the same as state fiscal year 2007 (i.e., $61,742.00). This class of funding is used to assist the 24 public-use airports in New Hampshire with their annual operations and maintenance efforts. Despite our best efforts to identify the capital-improvement needs of the non-NPIAS airports in our state and to provide that information to lawmakers, Class 97, Grants: Joint State and Local, remains unchanged from previous years at $24,000/year. This class of funding is used to help those public-use airports that are not eligible to receive grant assistance from the FAA with capital improvements needed to maintain the airports as viable. These needs currently range from $0.75 million to $2.1 million annually based on the airports’ project five-year capital-improvement needs.
Please feel free to email or call Carol Niewola, Bureau of Aeronautics Senior Planner, for additional information at (603) 271-1675.

New England Aviation Expo
This event was held on March 29, 2008 at the Eaton-Richmond Center, Daniel Webster College, adjacent to Boire Field (KASH). The event was FREE and open to the public. It featured exhibits and classes for all aviation enthusiasts, but was designed specifically to educate and promote the safety of general aviation pilots and aircraft technicians throughout New England. All seminars qualified for credit towards the Wings Program (Pilot Proficiency Award Program)!! Selected seminars qualified for AMT Awards.   Stay tuned for next year's Expo...we hope to see you there!

New England Airport Coalition Releases Regional Planning Update
Burlington, MA - The New England Regional Airport System Plan (NERASP) study was realeased October 4, 2006 by it's sponsor, the New England Airport Coalition. According to the study, New England's location, its economy, population and scenic and cultural resources contribute to the region's unusually high reliance on air transportation, generating 2.5 air passenger trips per year per capita, which is almost 80 percent higher than the national rate of 1.4. The regional system has the ability to meet an expected annual passenger growth of 3.5 percent through 2020, but it will require continued efforts to enhance the performances of each airport in the system.

The New England Airport Coalition consists of the region's 11 passenger service airports, the aviation agencies of the region's six states, the Federal Aviation Administration, the Massachusetts Port Authority and the New England Council. The study was led by The Louis Berger Group, Inc. in association with a team of consulting firms that worked with the New England Airport Coalition. Over the course of the next two months, this study team will visit each of the study airports to discuss its findings. To view the document or for more information, visit www.nerasp.com.

Granite State Airport Management Association Meetings

The Granite State Airport Management Association (GSAMA) is an organization for airport managers, owners, and their representatives to exchange ideas and technology in an informal forum.  This organization meets quarterly, usually at the offices of NHDOT at 7 Hazen Drive, Concord, New Hampshire, at 10:00 a.m.  The 2008 meeting dates are:  March 21, June 20, September 19 and December 19.   For more information, please contact GSAMA President, Bruce Hutchings, at bruhutch@hughes.net or visit the association's website.
      GSAMA at the Capitol: April 5, 2007 at the Capitol Building.  A first for GSAMA, this event was a great success due to the hard work and coordination of all those involved, including: NH Airport Owners & Operators, airport consultants, FAA, National Association of State Aviation Officials (NASAO), approximately 135 NH Legislators and NHDOT Bureau of Aeronautics personnel.  A variety of topics were covered; please feel free to review the list below. 
      GSAMA Handout to all Legislators:  Includes airport contact & location data, Histories of Grants to Airport Sponsors Program and Funding to Non-Federally Funded Airports in New Hampshire.
      2006 Open to the Public Airports:  Depicts all Registered, Open to the Public Airports in NH on record in 2006.
      NH Airport Capital Improvement Program by Fiscal Year: For the period of FY2007 through FY2012 for NH's NPIAS Airports. 
      Federal Contributions to New England Airports:  For the period of FY2002 through FY2006 for NH's NPIAS Airports.  
     The Preservation of Privately-Owned Airports:  Prepared for the State of New Hampshire Governor and Executive Council and The Long Range Capital Planning and Utilization Committee on November 1, 2004.
     GSAMA at the Capitol: Event photos

Military Support at Portsmouth International Airport at Pease

In the Spring of 2005 the Seacoast Detachment, Marine Corps League met their first flight of Veterans returning from the Near East at the Pease Air Terminal in Portsmouth, NH. We now have flights both returning and heading overseas. For the first few flights there were only a few Marines greeting them in a rather sterile, gray, austere and cavernous room.  To read more about this wonderful outreach program, please click on the above link, or visit the airport's website.

Bureau of Aeronautics' Airport Consultants Seminar

On May 24, 2006, the NHDOT/Bureau of Aeronautics conducted a brief seminar to update the region's airport consulting firms about the Bureau's current procedures and processes as they pertain to projects at the state's public-use airports.

ALERT! *Bangor AFSS to close July 30, 2007* - Bangor AFSS has closed its Bangor operation and relocated to the Lockheed Martin Hub in Ashburn, VA on 7/30/07. Bangor AFSS has issued a flyer with more details. As you may already be aware, Lockheed-Martin Flight Services (LMFS) plans to consolidate all FSS locations into three sites (Virginia, Texas, and Arizona) by August 2007; this is the reason for Bangor's decommissioning. LMFS has posted helpful information at the following sites:
Transition Schedule
Transition Updates
Eastern Service Area Flight Services contact information
Pilot Tips

Errol Airport
As a participant in the State & Local Grant program, Errol Airport has constructed a new helipad. The helipad's main purpose is to support medical emergency air operations as well as United States Customs in the North Country region. Lebanon Municipal Airport also played an essential role in the completion of the helipad by providing painting and marking services. Read more about this project in an article posted in The News and Sentinel, a Colebrook publication. For more information on Errol Airport, please visit our Airport Directory page. For more information on the State & Local Grant program, please visit our Documents page.

LSA Flight School: New in New Hampshire
Hampton Airfield (7B3) in North Hampton, NH, is the new home of a flight school that exclusively provides light sport training. North East Light Sport Aircraft offers sport pilot training in two Czech Airworks SportCruisers. Owners Ed Gorman and Don Edie said they chose Hampton Airfield because of its "longstanding commitment to general aviation and to make flying a pleasurable, no-hassle experience." The flight school currently has 19 students, according to the article in SeacoastOnline.com.