PilotGEEK Blog

Barnes Airport in Westfield, MA (KBAF) and the Runway Restaurant

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What security precautions will affect pilots during this year’s Super Bowl in South Florida?

NOTAM Number: 10/0101

Issue Date: January 1st, 2010 at 0500 UTC
Location: Dolphin Stadium, Miami, Florida
Beginning Date and Time: February 06, 2010 at 2100 UTC
Ending Date and Time: February 07, 2010 at 0500 UTC
Reason for NOTAM: Temporary flight restrictions for Special Event
Type: Traffic Flow
Replaced NOTAM(s): N/A

Consult your briefer (such as PilotGEEK) for more details!

_______________________________________

There were 2 TFR violations during last year's Super Bowl. Zero for SuperBowl 44 would be a win for general aviation!

TFR Busts from Last Year’s Super Bowl

Temporary Flight Restrictions are often set up to assist with aviation security. They often correspond to the  movement of the president and vice president, special events, firefighting activity and other emergencies, and even sporting events.

Last year, there were two TFR violations during the Super Bowl.

TYNDALL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. – While a large portion of the world tuned in Sunday for Super Bowl XLIII, Continental U.S. NORAD Region fighters were busy protecting the skies around Raymond James Stadium in Tampa.

Air National Guard F-15 Eagles from the 159th Fighter Wing, New Orleans, La., and active duty Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcons from the 20th Fighter Wing, Shaw AFB, S.C., patrolled the skies overhead and enforced the Federal Aviation Administration’s temporary flight restriction zone during the big game.

With only two TFR violations – both of which were errors in flight planning and adherence to the published notice to airmen — the excitement appropriately remained on the field and in the stands.

. . .

The FAA imposed a one-mile TFR around the stadium from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and expanded to a 30-mile TFR from 4 p.m. to midnight. A TFR does not interfere with commercial passenger or cargo aircraft and applies primarily to “general aviation” aircraft.

http://www.norad.mil/News/2009/020309.html

Your PilotGEEK cell phone briefer will let you know of TFRs in effect while you’re doing your flight planning, and will also alert you automatically of any “pop up” TFRs  that may occur suddenly during your flight.   Be sure your briefer is set to send you automatic alerts for your route, and for your favorite airports.

PilotGEEK My Phone! 30 Day Free Trial

Many cell providers limit the number of text messages included in the plan, or charge you per message for text messages.

You can configure PilotGEEK’s event notification service to limit the number of text messages sent each day. The configuration parameter is located on the My Account page. To get to this page, just log on at www.pilotgeek.com. Once you log on you will be immediately presented with the My Account page. Once there, click on the Event Notification Setup tab.

Now it’s just a matter of setting the Maximum Messages Per Day to the maximum number of messages you’d like sent each day. Remember to save your changes by clicking on the Update Account Changes button.

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Cape Cod Flying Circus FBO (CQX) and the Flying Ace restaurant – an excellent VFR destination!

PilotGEEK My Phone! 30 Day Free Trial

So the front has moved through and now it’s beautiful weather and you want to turn event reporting back on?

It’s as simple as turning them off! Just open any of the text messages that pilotgeek sent you (remember that all event text messages are from pilotgeek@pilotgeek.com) and reply to the text message with the work ON. The case doesn’t matter, I just capitalized it for emphasis.

After receiving the ON message, PilotGEEK will resume sending event messages when the weather and TFR changes you’ve requested to be notified of occur.

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When a weather front moves through, you can get inundated with text messages and if you’ve requested all weather changes by checking the VFR, MVFR and IFR notification options at 5 area airports then you can get 5 times the number of text messages . . . all for a day it would be best not to fly.

So how do you stop the text message deluge? Easy, open any of the event notification messages that PilotGEEK sent you (they’re the messages from pilotgeek@pilotgeek.com) and reply to the text message with the word OFF (case doesn’t matter, I just capitalized it for emphasis). That’s it! Text messages will now be off to until then next day’s event monitoring time starts.

PilotGEEK My Phone! 30 Day Free Trial

by Matthew Elia

This month’s book, the second in my review series is Flight of Passage by Rinker Buck. To be perfectly honest I thought of having this be the first book I reviewed and decided I should try and hold it off for a while. I soon realized that this was a book which I could not wait to review. As you may have picked up in my first piece I am not a big reader, so the idea that I could read this book cover-to-cover three times is simply amazing. Flight of Passage is by far the best book I have ever read!

Unlike Beyond the Checkride this book is really a memoir of author Rinker Buck, but it is more than that. The story about Rinker and his older brother Kern has mesmerized me three times over. Each time I was constantly not wanting to put the book down, just turn the page. I do not want to go into to much detail, however I do want to tempt you enough to go and pick up a copy of this book. Reading this story is well worth it. The story (which is true) is set in the 1960’s and involved these teenage brothers (Rinker and Kern) rebuilding a Piper Cub and then embarking on an amazing journey.

Also, this book actually has a PilotGEEK history. Tom Nery, the original PilotGEEK, recommended this book to me a while back during one of our usual flights to dinner. After he gave me a brief synopsis of the story I knew it was a book that I needed to read. I ended up tracking down a copy and requesting express shipping since my local bookstores did not have a copy on hand. Once I had the book I read through it in just a few days.

The story of the book, Tom, and I goes even further. During the spring of 2009 I happened to be sitting in the flight school at the Mansfield, MA airport on a sunny Sunday between flights. Tom had just returned from a flight and after securing his airplane and the usual cup of coffee he was off to the bathroom before he went home for the rest of the day. I was thumbing though a magazine of some kind, just after Tom stepped into the bathroom, when a gentleman asked if there were any flight instructors available. I replied that I was qualified and free at the time. The gentleman’s son was writing something for school about flying and needed to interview a flight instructor and a student. I spent a good 15 minutes answering the child’s questions hoping to give him some “good stuff” for his writing piece. At the end of the interview I shook hands with the child and his father. I didn’t remember the father’s name and I am big on faces and names incase I ever bump into someone in the future. I inquired to hear his name again and when the man replied Kern Buck, I was struck. I could not place it immediately but the name which was unique defiantly stood out in my mind. Mr. Buck then said you may know my name from the book Flight of Passage. I could not believe it weeks after reading this amazing story I was standing face to face with one of the main characters of the book, which I thought was amazing. We talked briefly and I could not believe I actually met the then teenager who flew a Piper Cub from New Jersey to California. By the time Tom had exited the bathroom I was in the middle of the interview with Kern’s son in a different room in the flight school and Tom left just missing the opportunity to meet Kern himself. That day is one I will not soon forget. It is that connection I have with this book which makes it very special to me.

The story is much more than the rebuilding of an airplane and the subsequent flight, the book goes deep into the relationships between the brothers and there family specifically there father. As an aviation enthusiast I was totally in love with the story. My only complaint of Flight of Passage was that it ended. I wanted the story to go on and on and on… When I finished reading the book I was actually sad that it was over, the story was so good and entertaining that it really took hold of me. Thus I went on to reread the book twice! I will rate this book five out of five stars and would really encourage anyone I meet to read it. The book has something for everyone, especially aviation enthusiasts. Please go pick up a copy of this book and read it, you will not regret it.

Adding to the entire experience of this book, I recently found a couple of video clips on the ever-popular website YouTube. Below are three links to videos which can be found when searching “Kern Buck” on the YouTube website. The first link is to a video of Kern’s first solo flights! You will notice two different aircraft in the video. In one of the first couple of chapters in Flight of Passage Rinker describes the scene and events on the day of Kern’s first solo. The second two links are footage from an old television show which featured Kern and Rinker Buck after they flew across the country! I really enjoyed these videos as I’m sure you will as well.

Kern’s solo flight video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kR3fjA49d4w

To Tell The Truth Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Idy0A-PJaA&feature=related

To Tell The Truth Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ya8tJeJ56Q8&feature=related

Our Reviewer Matthew Elia

Matthew Elia enjoys writing about his own flying and instructing experiences in his spare time. Though he has never flown from coast to coast, Matt is known for writing about different aviation adventures he has had. Some notable adventures he has written about (mostly in the form of a blog) include a trip to Tennessee, a flight from Mansfield, MA to St. Louis MO for a national collegiate flight team competition, and most notably his Alaska blog. During an eight day trip with two of his good college friends, soon after becoming a flight instructor, Matt and his friends went to Talkeetna, Alaska, to learn how to fly seaplanes. The trip included run-ins with grizzly bars, rafting the Talkeetna River, and getting the best view from an airplane in the United States: The Denali Range!

Link to Matt’s Alaska Blog: http://www.thoughts.com/m1elia/blog/browse/2008-8

So you just requested a GEEK brief and would like to get information about the destination or origination airports. By highlighting the TRIP link then selecting it, the display will jump to the trip section of the briefing where you can see the great circle trip distance and initial course, in this case ACK is 68 nautical miles from 1B9 at an initial course of 131 degrees.

The next line presents links for the origination airport with links to Info, Fuel, Radar, Notam and Almanac. By highlighting Info and the selecting, PilotGEEK will return the origination airport information, including: contact data, navaids, frequencies, runways, noise abatement procedures, FBO information, repair facilities, restaurants, rental cars, taxis, etc.

If this is the first time you’ve requested data from the AOPA portal, then you will be requested to provide your AOPA username and password. Once you submit the same information that you’d enter if you were at your computer, you’ll be supplied the requested information.

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Airport information is provided by PilotGEEK’s AOPA portal and includes much of the information you’ve come to value from AOPA’s Airport Directory. As part of the AOPA portal, you will need to register your PilotGEEK enabled cell or smart phone with AOPA via the PilotGEEK AOPA portal registration page. The registration page will be displayed automatically the first time you use the airport information feature.

The best way to describe the information displayed by by showing a sample.  The following example is an actual capture of a PilotGEEK Airport Information request for Nashau, New Hampshire’s Boire Field.

__ NASHUA, NH
__ 3.0 mi. NW of city.
__ Publicly Owned, Public Use
__ N42-46.91 W071-30.89
__ Mag Var: 16 deg W
__ Phone: 603-882-0661
__ Fax: 603-881-5415
__ www.nashuaairport.com
__ ashmgr@comcast.net
__

Navaids:
__Type: VOR
____ID: MHT
____Freq: 114.4
____Radial: 246
____Distance: 8.30 mi.
__Type: NDB
____ID: AS
____Freq: 359
____Radial: 139
____Distance: 4.60 mi.

Communications:
__Communication Freqs:
____TWR – 133.2
____GND – 121.8
____CTAF – 133.2
____CLNC DEL – 121.8
____FSS- BANGOR 122.2
__Approach Freqs:
____Boston:124.9
__WX Contact:
____ATIS 125.1
____ASOS 125.1 603-578-0473
__FSS:
____BANGOR 800-992-7433

On the field
__Elevation: 199 MSL
__Hours: 7 am to 5 pm; later summer
__Tower Hours: 7am to 9 pm
__Fees: Parking Fee; Tiedown Fee; Hangar Fee
__Charts:NEW YORK;L33
__Traffic Pattern
____Heavy Aircraft: 1700 MSL;
____Light Aircraft: 1200 MSL;
____Turbine Aircraft: 1700 MSL;
__Runways
____(14-32) 5501X100; asphalt; PCL; tree ea end
__Lights: 133.2   Low – 3 clicks in 5 secs.     Med – 5 clicks in 5 secs.     Hi – 7 clicks in 5 secs.

Notes:
__ Daniel Webster College adj Intensive Flight Training
Obstructions:
__ migratory birds & wildlife in vcnty.
Special Operations:
__ Aerobatics
__Helicopter Ops
__Banner Towing;
Fuel:
__ 100LL; Jet;
Noise Abatement:
__In efct
__all acft
__24 hrs

PilotGEEK – AOPA Portal

Airport Directory and Resources
FBO/Facility/Fuel Information

Boire Field (ASH)
NASHUA, NH
Phone: 603-882-0661
Website: www.nashuaairport.com
E-mail: ashmgr@comcast.net
Operational Data
Return To Airport Directory Search

BUSINESSES/FBOs: to update your business listing for this airport click here.
Fuel prices provided by 100LL.com

Aerial Advantage Aviation, LLC
AOPA Credit Card: Earn Double Points Here
PHONE: 603-235-2207
FAX: 603-598-3182  LOCATION: CTR
Aircraft rental: single-engine, tailwheel. Flight instruction: aerobatic, fixed wing, tailwheel. Credit cards accepted: MasterCard, Visa.
E-Mail: aerialadvantage@earthlink.net

Air Direct Airways
AOPA Credit Card: Earn Double Points Here
Meteorlogix Weather available
PHONE: 877-659-1800  603-882-5606
FAX: 603-882-5665  LOCATION: N
HOURS:
After hrs on request; 9 AM To 5 PM on Sunday
Pilot services: charter, computerized weather and flight planning, internet access hi-speed, refreshments (vending), rest rooms. Aircraft rental: multiengine, single-engine, tailwheel. Repair services: airframe, all small aircraft (less than 12,500 lb), powerplant, propeller, fabric. Flight instruction: ATP, CFI, CFII, commercial, fixed wing, instrument, MEI, multiengine, private, tailwheel. Credit cards accepted: American Express, Discover, MasterCard, Visa.
Web URL: http://www.airdirectairways.com    E-Mail: ron@airdirectairways.com

Brouillette Aviation Training
PHONE: 603-595-9059
LOCATION: SE
Aircraft rental: single-engine. Flight instruction: fixed wing, instrument, private. Credit cards accepted: MasterCard, Visa.
Web URL: http://www.flythebat.com    E-Mail: brouillette1@msn.com

Daniel Webster College
Flight Training not available to public
Aircraft Rental not available to public
PHONE: 603-577-6000  603-577-6403
LOCATION: CTR
FREQUENCY: 123.3
Aircraft rental: multiengine, single-engine, tailwheel. Flight instruction: aerobatic, CFI, CFII, commercial, fixed wing, instrument, MEI, multiengine, private, tailwheel. Credit cards accepted: Credit Cards Not Accepted.
Web URL: http://www.dwc.edu    E-Mail: admissions@dwc.edu

East Coast Aero Club
AOPA Credit Card: Earn Double Points Here
PHONE: 603-595-1395
FAX: 603-821-4561  LOCATION: W
HOURS:
Closed Holidays; After hrs on request; 8 AM To 5 PM, Monday Thru Sunday
Pilot services: computerized weather and flight planning, internet access hi-speed, internet access wireless, pilot lounge, pilot supplies, refreshments (vending), rest rooms. Aircraft rental: multiengine, single-engine. Flight instruction: ATP, CFI, CFII, commercial, fixed wing, instrument, MEI, multiengine, private, rotary wing. Credit cards accepted: Discover, MasterCard, Visa.
Web URL: http://www.ecacnashua.com    E-Mail: flyecac@gmail.com

Edmonds Aircraft Service
PHONE: 603-598-4740  800-435-4740
FAX: 603-598-4740  LOCATION: N
HOURS:
Closed Holidays; 7:30 AM To 5 PM, Monday Thru Friday
Pilot services: courtesy car/van, internet access dial-up, oxygen, pilot lounge, rest rooms. Repair services: airframe, all small aircraft (less than 12,500 lb), powerplant, fabric. Credit cards accepted: Credit Cards Not Accepted.

GFW Aeroservices, Inc.
AOPA Credit Card: Earn Double Points Here
Meteorlogix Weather available
PHONE: 603-883-6372  603-883-2098  603-883-6372
FAX: 603-886-8171  LOCATION: CTR
HOURS:
After hrs on request; 6:30 AM To 9 PM, Sunday Thru Saturday
FREQUENCY: 122.85

FUEL:
Avfuel – 100LL
Avfuel – Jet

100LL Full Service – $4.88 (12/07/2009)

Jet Full Service – $3.91 (12/07/2009)

FEES:
Overnight Fee
Pilot services: catering, charter, computerized weather and flight planning, courtesy car/van, crew cars, GPU, internet access hi-speed, internet access wireless, oxygen, pilot lounge, pilot supplies, refreshments (non-vending), rental car, rest rooms, showers, snooze room. Aircraft rental: multiengine, single-engine. Repair services: airframe, all small aircraft (less than 12,500 lb), powerplant, rotor blade. Flight instruction: ATP, CFI, CFII, commercial, fixed wing, instrument, MEI, multiengine, private, rotary wing, tailwheel.
Web URL: http://www.flygfw.com    E-Mail: gfwaviation@aol.com

Harvest Aviation Services, LLC
AOPA Credit Card: Earn Double Points Here
PHONE: 603-882-1113
LOCATION: N
HOURS:
After hrs on request; 9 AM To 3 PM on Saturday; 9 AM To 3 PM, Monday Thru Friday
Pilot services: charter, pilot lounge, refreshments (vending), rest rooms. Aircraft rental: single-engine. Flight instruction: ATP, CFI, CFII, commercial, fixed wing, instrument, MEI, multiengine, private. Credit cards accepted: MasterCard, Visa.
Web URL: http://www.harvestaviation.com    E-Mail: info@harvestaviation.com

Infinity Aviation Services
Meteorlogix Weather available
PHONE: 603-598-4526  800-247-0102  603-598-4526
FAX: 603-595-2908  LOCATION: NW
HOURS:
After hrs on request; 6 AM To 9 PM, Monday Thru Sunday
ARINC FREQUENCY: 129.75

FUEL:
Air BP – 100LL
Air BP – Jet

Jet Full Service – $3.88 (12/03/2009)

100LL Full Service – $4.89 (12/03/2009)

FEES:
Overnight Fee
Pilot services: catering, charter, computerized weather and flight planning, courtesy car/van, crew cars, GPU, internet access hi-speed, internet access wireless, oxygen, pilot lounge, refreshments (vending), rental car, rest rooms, showers, snooze room. Repair services: airframe, all large aircraft (greater than 12,500 lb), all small aircraft (less than 12,500 lb), FAA repair station, powerplant, propeller. Credit cards accepted: Air BP, Air BP Sterling, Multi-Service, Universal.
Web URL: http://www.infinityfbo.com    E-Mail: info@infinityfbo.com

Leland Aero Service, LLC
PHONE: 603-882-1185
FAX: 603-882-1186
HOURS:
After hrs on request
Repair services: airframe, all large aircraft (greater than 12,500 lb), all small aircraft (less than 12,500 lb), powerplant. Credit cards accepted: Credit Cards Not Accepted.
E-Mail: lelandaeroservice@comcast.net

Wings Aviation LLC – Wings Pilot Shop
AOPA Credit Card: Earn Double Points Here
PHONE: 603-886-6663
LOCATION: S
HOURS:
Closed Holidays; 9 AM To 2 PM, Saturday Thru Sunday; 9 AM To 4 PM, Monday Thru Friday
Pilot services: pilot supplies. Aircraft rental: single-engine. Flight instruction: fixed wing. Credit cards accepted: MasterCard, Visa.
Web URL: http://www.wingspilotshop.com    E-Mail: info@wingspilotshop.com

GROUND TRANSPORTATION:
shuttle bus
courtesy car
limousine

TAXIS:
Five-Five 603-882-5155
Nashua 603-882-7444
NH Taxi Assoc 603-882-7444

RENTAL CARS:
Avis 603-888-1000

AOPA Discount Code : AWD A451300
Budget 603-883-5650
Enterprise 603-880-1122

AOPA Discount Code : AOPAP9
Thrifty 603-883-1935

RESTAURANTS:
variety fast food 3 mi

RESTAURANTS ON FIELD:
Midfield Cafe 603-594-0930

ATTRACTIONS:
America’s Stonehenge 15 mi
Anheser Busch Brewery 5 mi
Federal Fish Hatchery 2 mi
Rockingham Park/horse racing 15 mi

PilotGEEK My Phone! 30 Day Free Trial

One of our favorite features of the PilotGEEK cell phone briefer is the ability to find the best fuel prices along your route.  Recreational and private pilots know that a fifty-cent difference in fuel price at a fill-up can have a big impact on the cost of your trip.

If  a nearby airport has better fuel prices, you can save hundreds on fuel costs on a long cross-country trip if you know the alternatives!

Here’s how to do it:

Once you have requested a route briefing, you can get the fuel prices by selecting the FUEL link. Fuel links can be found in the Trip data for origination and destination airports or along the route at each METAR weather reporting station.

Clicking on a FUEL link will display a page with all of the fuel prices 25 or 50 nautical miles around the requested airport. The distance is determined by the route width that was specified in the Configure Cell Phone Options link.

If it is the first time you’ve utilized PilotGEEK’s AOPA portal, you will be requested to provide your AOPA username and password. Once you’ve supplied them, PilotGEEK will remember them for future use.

PilotGEEK My Phone! 30 Day Free Trial