Comments 901 to 950 of 5,167
Not cheap, but OK service
I parked at Signature for three days during a business trip to the Route 128 corridor, and it wasn't too bad. The airport was friendly, and while gas was expensive (over $6/gallon), I didn't need too much of it. I think parking was $14/night. The FBO wasn't willing to brush snow off my plane for any price when I called -- they said they're not allowed to touch the planes (!!) -- but they were fast to give me a forced-air preheat when I had trouble starting in cold weather for departure on Valentine's day (and the line guy, Jeff, was very friendly). I don't know what, if anything, the preheat cost, because it hasn't shown up on my credit card yet. Excluding that (and the landing fee, which the airport will charge), my total bill was about $160, including 22 gallons of 100LL and three nights' parking. That's about in line with what I'd pay at Teterboro (TEB), which is a similar bizjet-style GA airport for New York City, though much busier.
Customs
This is a good place to clear Canada Customs flying to Ottawa from Boston or New York (during normal business hours only). It's a small, uncontrolled airport, but it does have a non-precision instrument approach, and you can use the TAF for Massena, NY (KMSS), right across the St. Lawrence River. When I stopped on Valentine's Day 2008 on my way home from Boston, the Unicom was staffed and helpful, and the runway, taxiway, and apron were all clear, despite a heavy snowfall the day before.
Australia's busiest air base
This is the RAAF's busiest base by aircraft movements, and serves as an alternate landing site for the U.S. NASA space shuttles.
American naval base
Although this base is located in Cuba, it's under American control due to a long-term lease signed -- its the U.S.'s oldest overseas base, and the only one in a hostile country. It has received a lot of news coverage recently because of its use as a prison camp during the Afghanistan and Iraq wars.
History: Berlin Air Lift
The Berlin Air Lift, "Operation Vittles", started here in 1948 with USAAF C-47 and C-54 cargo planes flying supplies into the now-closed Berlin-Templehof airport. Rhein-Main Air Base joined as the main C-54 depot, and the British flew missions from several bases in the Hamburg area. France joined the airlift later.
History: Rhein-Main Air Base
The southern half of the field was originally the Rhein-Main Air Base, which was the main hub for U.S. military airlifts in and out of Europe (it closed in 2005). It was also one of the main departure points for the Berlin Airlift, serving as the principal C-54 depot.
Dornier and German Aerospace Centre
The aircraft manufacturer Dornier Flugzeugwerke (later Fairchild-Dornier) was located at Oberpfaffenhofen from the 1950s until 2002, when Fairchild-Dornier went bankrupt. This is still a major location for the German Aerospace Centre (DLR):
Filming location for Memphis Belle
In 1989, Binbrook -- a retired RAF field -- was used for the filming of "Memphis Belle".
World War II history
During the second world war, Gananoque (pronounced "gan-an-AH-kway") was a relief landing field for the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (BCATP) No. 31 school in nearby Kingston. It has had little modification since, and still maintains the classic BCATP triangular shape (with three runways so that taildraggers could always land into the wind) and, I believe, some of the original World War II structures.
History
This base figured prominently in 20th-century history. It was the primary pilot training centre for the Luftwaffe during World War II, and later, the site of the Munich massacre at the 1972 Olympic games:
Munich Air Disaster, 1958
It's just about the 50th anniversary of the Munich Air Disaster, when 8 members of the British Manchester United football (soccer) team and 15 other people died during a failed takeoff from this airport on a slushy runway:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Munich_air_disaster
The airport closed in 1992 and has been redeveloped, with only the control tower and a terminal building left.
Twin Otter accident
On January 30, 2008, a DHC-6 Twin Otter skidded off the runway into a crowd of people while landing, killing one person and injuring others. No one in the plane was hurt:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080130/ap_on_re_as/indonesia_plane_accident
Cow strike
On January 28, 2008, a Boeing 737 operated by Merpati Nusantara Airlines struck a cow while landing at Mopah airport, damaging an engine. It turns out that the airport is not yet completely fenced in:
Closed in 2006
From 1964 until it closed in 2006, this airport was home to the Northwest Antique Airplane Club and the annual Evergreen fly-in. It was sold in 2006, but as of early 2008, had not yet been redeveloped.
Photo
There's a nice photo of this strip online:
New control tower
The FAA has started building a new 336-foot control tower for the Memphis airport, close to the existing one -- it will be finished in 2011:
Direct flights from Dayton to Myrtle Beach start 23 May
Offered by Southern Skyways:
Gimli Glider
This is where the "Gimli Glider", an Air Canada Boeing 767, made its famous power-off emergency landing in 1983:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gimli_Glider
Air Canada retired the 767 from its fleet nearly 25 years later, on January 24, 2008, sending it to a bone yard in the Mojave Desert:
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/manitoba/story/2008/01/24/gimli-glider.html
Cessna 172 accident
On Saturday, 12 January, 2008, a Cessna 172 crashed into Old Tampa Bay about 800 feet short of the runway at St Petersburg Clearwater:
http://www.ntsb.gov/ntsb/brief.asp?ev_id=20080123X00090&key=1
CASA C-295M crash
On Wednesday January 23, 2008, a CASA C-295M military transport crashed on approach to the 12th Air Base north of MirosΕawiec, Poland, killing at least 7 of the 18 people on board:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080123/ap_on_re_eu/poland_plane_crash
The missing Boeing 727
American-registered Boeing 727 N844AA, formerly owned by American Airlines, was stolen from Luanda Airport on May 25, 2003. It has never been found, though there was a possible sighting at Conakry Airport (CKY) in Guinea:
Beech 200 crash
On January 19, 2008, a chartered Beech 200 (Super King Air) crashed on approach to Huambo airport in instrument conditions, killing all 13 people on board:
http://www.ntsb.gov/ntsb/brief.asp?ev_id=20080122X00086&ntsbno=DCA08WA031&akey=1
King Air crash
A King Air crashed 500m from Port Said airport on January 15, 2008 while performing training circuits:
http://www.ntsb.gov/ntsb/brief2.asp?ev_id=20080122X00084&ntsbno=DCA08WA030&akey=1
Midair collision near airport
Two Cessna collided a mile southwest of the Corona airport on Sunday 20 January 2008, killing all four occupants and one person on the ground:
Warbirds over Wanaka
Every two years, this airport hosts "Warbirds over Wanaka", a major international show attracting over 100,000 spectators:
Rail line crosses the runway
If you zoom in on the satellite photo a bit, you can see that the Palmerston North-Gisborne railway line crosses the runway.
15 new gates in Concourse B
Dulles has just opened an extension with 15 new domestic gates in Concourse B. JetBlue, Virgin America, and AirTran are coming in first, and American and Delta will take some of the gates later:
Cessna 210 crashes after takeoff
An Atlantic Aviation Cessna 210 lost power and went down in a residential neighbourhood right after takeoff from Eros Airport on 11 January 2008, killing all six people on board:
http://www.ntsb.gov/ntsb/brief.asp?ev_id=20080118X00079&ntsbno=DCA08WA027&akey=1
Landing fee
The landing fee is NOK 100.00 (EUR 12.50), waived with an overnight hotel stay. Prior permission is required for landing.
Alpine Air Beech 1900 crash
A Beech 1900 on a mail run went down 7 miles short of runway 35 on 14 January 2008:
http://www.ntsb.gov/ntsb/brief.asp?ev_id=20080117X00067&key=1
"Montreal's US airport"
Plattsburgh International (a former air force base) is 100 km from downtown Montreal (Canada), and draws heavily on Montreal for its airline business. Several carriers, including Allegiant and Xtra, offer flights to destinations like Myrtle Beach, SC and Niagara Falls, NY. General aviation has moved here from nearby Clinton County (PLB), which has mostly shut down.
TSB final report for Caravan crash
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada has released its final report on the Cessna 208 Caravan that crashed in January 2006 while trying glide to the Port Alberni Airport after an engine failure (five out of eight occupants survived):
http://www.tsb.gc.ca/en/reports/air/2006/a06p0010/a06p0010.asp
Boeing 777 runway undershoot
On Thursday 17 January 2008, British Airways flight 38, a Boeing 777 inbound from Beijing, landed short of the runway at Heathrow with its gear not fully deployed -- there's some indication that the plane had a power loss. There were only minor injuries, and the airport continued operations using its other runway. Wikipedia is already on top of the story:
EAA skiplane fly-in, Saturday 26 January 2008
The Oshkosh Pioneer Airport has enough snow on the ground to host the fly-in on 26 January. More information is available at the Air Venture Museum site:
Smoking areas at Indianapolis International
The airport has reactivated its five designated smoking areas until 30 June 2008. After that, smoking will be permanently banned anywhere on airport property except inside privately-owned vehicles:
Waterloo-Wellington stopped selling fuel
As of 1 September 2007, the Waterloo-Wellington Flight Centre stopped selling fuel, so it's available only from Flite Line.
New terminal
In March 2008, Heathrow will be opening its new Terminal 5, with 112 stores and restaurants (designed to handle traffic at the 2012 Olympics). There's a virtual tour at the airport's web site:
http://www.heathrowairport.com/portal/site/default/menuitem.d8b3e9cee80c57c1077c4e5d9328c1a0/
re: Information?
It looks like a private grass strip on a farm. There are lots of those around, but they don't usually show up in the CFS. Contact info for the owner is in the CFS, so you can call him for permission in late May, once the ground is hard enough to use the runway.
Reopened to civilian flights
The Mosul airport in Iraq reopened to civilian flights on 2 December 2007 -- it had been shut down since 1992 because of the U.S. no-fly zone and then the second Iraq war:
http://www.voanews.com/english/archive/2007-12/2007-12-04-voa9.cfm
Compass anomalies
Metal buried under the runways at London City airport is causing serious anomalies for magnetic compasses:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080114/sc_nm/britain_airport_magnetism_dc_1
STOL and rotorcraft only
The runway is short (1,500 ft) at high elevation (over 9,000 ft), so the airport is accessible only to helicopters and to STOL aircraft like Twin Otters.
Airport to be renamed
The Nepal government plans to rename the airport in honour of Tenzing Norgay and Sir Edmund Hillary, the first people to climb Mt. Everest (the airport serves Everest).
American architecture exhibit
Until 24 February 2008, the Tulsa airport is running an exhibit showing (pictures? models?) of the top 150 buildings, bridges, etc. in the U.S., as selected by the American Institute of Architects:
Serious delays and riots
Aerolineas Argentinas has had flight delays of several days out of Ezeiza, leading to riots by stranded passengers over the weekend of 12-13 January 2008:
Decommissioned 747 hostel planned
Stockholm Arlanda Airport has approved plans for converting a decommissioned Boeing 747 into a hostel with 80 beds and a suite in the cockpit:
Former site of Republic Aviation factory
This mall is built on the site of the former the Republic Aviation Corporation. During World War II, it built over 9,000 P-47 Thunderbolts together with several other aircraft. Fairchild bought out the company in 1965, and the plant closed in 1988. The last building was demolished in 1997 to make way for a mall expansion.
Building map
There's a building map and legend available here:
Area 51
This airport serves the infamous "Area 51", and the identifier "(K)XTA" looks like a parody of space alien conspiracy theories ("XTA" = "extraterrestrial"?):
http://www.aopa.org/aircraft/articles/2008/080110area51.html
New service from Skybus
Skybus will begin scheduled service to GYY from Greensboro, NC on 13 March:
Pixelated -- military stuff
π Fri, 15 Feb 2008
β @david at Laurence G Hanscom Field, United States
I notice that Google has pixelated the satellite view (as of 2008-02-15), probably because Hanscom is a U.S. military base as well as a public airport. Unfortunately, they've pixelated the civilian side as well, so you can't see the FBO, terminal, etc. very well.
I didn't see anything military when I visited, but I certainly heard it -- there were regular bugel calls coming over hidden intercom speakers, which was a bit funny, including (I think) reveille at 7:30 am on Valentine's day. Do soldiers really sleep in that long these days?