Skydive LACONIA, NEW Hampshire
 

I can understand that some would try to suggest other alternatives for the Noonans to open an skydiving operation.
Just who, in their right mind would try to deny them, in any neighborhood around this planet??

The Noonans typify ( World Class ) and fully deserve a place right here at LACONIA airport!!

Should/or would it be fair that the people of NH are Way and far behind future well being?? I think not...

Tom has ( And Very Eli quaintly and very Clearly Stated ) in post # 307-4/26/2011, some of where he came from, and will continue on to.
Quote; Speaking of human nature, let me try to put this in perspective for you.

Back in the 1800s, my great grand parents arrived in Boston from Ireland. When they arrived, do you think they were welcome? I can assure that they were not. They were repeatedly told they were not welcome and told to go home. They refused to accept the status quo and stayed. They were then relegated to tenement housing and back breaking labor, because the Irish were considered outsiders and second class citizens. As my grand parents were attempting to seek a better life and leave the tenement housing for the blue collar suburbs of Boston, they too were again told they were not welcome. They refused to let the will of others affect their futures. My parents carried that resolve further, wanting yet an even better life for their children, and did the same thing. They refused to accept the will of others telling them they were not welcome in higher social circles. See the pattern?

It's in my genes.

Our cause is just and our resolve is unconquerable. There will come a day when this process reaches an end. I can't promise that we will be victorious, but I can promise that we will never lay down for anyone and we will fight for what is right until the last bell is rung.

There is only one person that will determine the outcome of my life, my future and my American Dream, and that is me. I apologize if that has inconvenienced a few people on the LAA.

We all have dreams we believe in and are told by others to quit. Some quit, others fight. Those that choose to fight can understand our resolve. Those that choose to quit will never understand our resolve.

"I am the master of my fate
I am the captain of my soul"

- W. Henley (from Invictus)

Skydive Laconia
 

Hi VB,

Moultonborough is a beautiful community, but for the business model that we intend to pursue, the close proximity between Weirs Beach and the airport is critical.

While I am on here, I was actually in the area again this past weekend and ran into yet another private jet pilot, this one flies them all over New England as part of a fractional ownership company. He has flown into and out of Laconia many many times.

So......I asked the big questions:
1) Would you stop flying into or out of Laconia if there was a parachute operation landing parachutes on the airport?
Answer: (Again) "Are you kidding me? I'm a pilot, I can fly anywhere."
2) What about taxiing past parachutists as they walk across the field?
Answer: (Again) "I'm a pilot, I can taxi past anything. I do it whenever I fly into or out of any of the other airports with parachuting on them.
3) (My favorite question) Have you ever heard of an insurance policy preventing landing jets at an airport with an on airport parachute operation?
Answer: (Again......) "Seriously, are you kidding me? In my entire professional career, I have never heard of such a thing."


Why are all these pilot surveys so important to you, the citizens of the community that is supposed to be benefiting from your airport?

To date, in three+ years, I have only heard two jet pilots willing to go on record against landing at an airport with parachutes on it. Both pilots are associated with Sky Bright Aviation located on the airport. One is the owner and the other pilot flies for him......... Other than that, I have never heard of a jet pilot with concerns about landing at an airport with an on airport skydiving operation.

For those of you that were at that first meeting in Dec 2008 you would have remembered a pilot of Sky Bright Aviation tell the LAA and all those in attendance about how she was startled (or surprised) by the presence of an onsite parachute operation at an airport located in Belmar, NJ.

The short version of the story is that while landing a private jet at Belmar, NJ, the pilot did not know there was a dropzone there and was surprised to see parachutes landing on the airport and had to make some heading correction to account for the parachutes.

Here is the factual truth to that story, and anyone that was there that night and was/is willing to stand up for the truth, will agree: The pilot stated that she was surprised by the parachutes (or some word similar to surprised). She stated that she was unaware of any parachute activity in the area, was coming in for landing, saw parachutes, and was startled, flying someone's multimillion dollar airplane......

The truth: Belmar, NJ has had a permanent NOTAM for skydiving for like the last 15-20 years. It's in all the charts. When pilots are doing their flight planning, they are supposed to check the charts of the airports they are flying into before they fly into it..... If the charts were checked ahead of time, there would be no way for the pilot to be surprised to find parachutes in the pattern or on an airport with a parachute center. The only way to be surprised, is not to know there is a parachute center there in the first place. The only way not to know that is to not check your charts before you file your flight plan.

Now, even if the pilot forgot to check the charts ahead of time, or even if she did, and simply failed to see the large parachute over the airport indicating that the airport has a permanent skydiving NOTAM, the skydiving aircraft pilots at Belmar, NJ broadcast every take off on the local frequency, call 2 minutes prior to drop to all aircraft on the same frequency and again announce when they drop skydivers "Skydivers in the air over Belmar, NJ, 10,000ft and below, use caution" or something to that effect.

So.......Why wasn't anyone in the flight crew of that multimillion dollar jet listening to the local frequency when approaching a non-towered executive airport? If they had been listening, again, there would have been no way to be surprised by the parachutes in the air. They would have known ahead of time.

So.........the reason I share this story now, is that it brings up an important issue.

To all of those in attendance that night in December 2008, they were treated to a genuine "Oh my goodness" story about a pilot that was startled by parachutes while flying a private jet.

The truth is, she never once said "I knew parachutes were there and I looked for them and couldn't see them." She stated something to the effect that she was unaware there was parachutes landing on the airfield and was startled when she saw one in flight.

(And for those of you following along back home, I believe that very story was even quoted in one of the local papers at the time.)

And that story was supposed to scare everyone in attendance into believing private jets and parachutes can't mix on the same airfield.

So again, I state for the record, I have never met a private jet pilot without direct ties to the Laconia airport that has ever had any issue whatsoever with flying into or out of Laconia if there is a parachute operation on the airfield.

Funny though, how this FBO with the photo of a jet colliding with a tandem skydiving pair in their window and the LAA want you to believe jets and skydiving are such a terrible combination.

Remember the airport belongs to the community, the community does not belong to the airport........

Blue skies to all and to all a good flight,
Tom

Moultonborough airport is a ghosttown. Not the model for a sucessfull parachuting business! Everytime I drive past there, there are no planes taking off, nor is there any cars parked to await rides to see views of scenic NH.

I understand Tom's choice of location and business plan. I was just offering an area alternative.

I guess I was looking at skydiving being the destination, not a drive-by activity. One of the popular (I think) places is in Pepperell MA, but people drive many miles to jump there.

VB,

I tried to send you a PM but your MB is full. Tom knows what market he needs to be in. You and I are on the same page though, we both want him to succeed.:)

Sorry, cleaned it out! yep, I hate seeing people going through the grinder when they try to do something a little outside the box.

A crew of at least 10 of us are driving to Maine on Monday to jump at Skydive New England. It's my birthday present to my 18 year old daughter and my entire family will be jumping. We did the same thing for my son's 18th two years ago and there were almost 20 of us. The people at Skydive NE were great but it's too bad we have to drive all the way there instead of staying in our own back yard.

Keep at it Tom. We'll be eager to jump with you when all this is has been resolved.

Skydive Laconia
 

With the recent rise of social media online it has become easier to track the popularity of certain activities and sports based on the "hits" that they receive when posted online.

I invite you all to view a clip uploaded 4 months ago by a friend of mine in Melbourne, Australia. 1.7 million views on vimeo and 200,000 views on youtube, in just under 4 months.

http://www.vimeo.com/22428395

This type of interest could be leading people to the Laconia Municipal Airport. They would be patronizing your stores while they were there.

As the economy continues to spiral downward and the end of your tourist season approaches, I ask the business owners of the area to consider this:

Are you happy with your current level of tourism patronage, or would you prefer additional customers and an extended tourist season?

Blue skies to all and to all a good flight,
Tom

And of course you won't be spending money in Maine on the following:

Gas
Food
Tolls
Lodging
Trinkets
The Jump itself

Is there anyone in Laconia or NH listening? NH people leaving the state to BUY stuff out of state because of some really stupid people in a position of power.

Sadly, they think they do not need to listen. All they need to do is increase the property taxes on owners that are not allowed to vote due to residency requirements. That is the easy way out and it is killing this great area.

R2B

Are you happy with your current level of tourism patronage, or would you prefer additional customers and an extended tourist season?

Tom[/QUOTE]

Laconia could be a lot tougher place to persuade than is reasonable to comprehend.

Just consider that in the last 40-years, going from 1970 to 2011, the population of Laconia has declined a little going from something like 17,500 to 17,000.

Laconia usually has an unemployment rate that is a point or two higher than the rest of central NH, except for Franklin, which is about the same.

There's been about four drug related Laconia deaths in the past 12-months.

Laconia is probably the national #1 bad example for how urban renewal can be very bad for the local economy. Just go take a visit to the Laconia downtown area, and look around at the narrow little entrance road that blocks away the entry to the downtown area.
...................

Do yourself a favor, and forget about Laconia, and just head 17-air miles north up to Rt 93-Exit 26, and the Plymouth Municipal Airport which has a very friendly, green grass runway that is perfect for skydivers, plus a big horizon of beautiful mountain views.

You sound like a very good guy so maybe you want to stop beating your head against that Laconia wall and just go north a little bit, up to Plymouth, and you will be happy that you did!

www.chutesup.com/aboutus.htm for an up-in-the-air, flying around, look-see at the Plymouth Airport, and click onto "Maxy's Plane Takes Off / Lands at Plymouth Airport" for an up-close look at Plymouth Airport, and just picture your skydive class landing on that grassy runway.......hey.....talk about a soft and scenic landing spot!!

Plymouth is home to the huge Plymouth State University, which is hugely expensive to attend. It and UNH down in southern NH are something like the most expensive state colleges in the whole country, so the students and visiting PSU parents must have some big money and could be a good new customer demographic to a Plymouth Airport skydive business. www.airnav.com/airport/1P1

Skydive Laconia
 

Just a quick update:

The FOIA information is on it's way to us in Florida. We requested all of the documentation used in both the FSDO and ADO erroneous reporting processes for both flawed and invalid air space analysis reports issued by the ADO.

It will take us some time to go through the hundreds of pages of documents, but when we are done, we will upload the documents on an informational website that we are setting up, so that you, the local public affected by this unjust process the most, can view the information.

As for the FAA's current level of activity in righting this erroneous reporting process, suffice to say, we are very pleased with how high the level of involvement has recently arrived at.

Blue skies to all and to all a good flight,

Tom

Not Bad Stats...considering
 

fatlazyless...I had to laugh at your evaluation of Laconia. It was spot on !!
Living here all of my 55 years, well as of Thur when I join the senior citizen dept, You have explained Laconia perfect. One thing you didn't mention was the different ethic cultures that Laconia has now. With the population of laconia shrinking slightly(which I agree with), and the growth in different cultures growing RAPIDLY, can only make me think that when the kids of Laconia move on to higher eduacation they stay away from Laconia and not move back. Hence=slightly declining.
I moved out of Laconia 24 years ago and would NEVER move back. Its been a downwards spiral in Laconia since Urban-Renewal back in late 60's early 70's. Remember the old Woolworths in downtown?

Well....Laconia may be a little bit down, but it is definitely is not out, and here's at least five very good reasons why one would want to make a special visit to Laconia's Main St downtown area!

www.laconiaantiquecenter.com in the huge retail space formerly occupied by Woolworth's & Bloom's

www.laconialibrary.org ...subscriber to the $630/year periodical: The Value Line Investment Survey

http://mccycleandsport.com ...a high quality bicycle store

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Just-S...38811859470067 .. Just Stuff consignments

http://www.earthheartfarm.com/earth-heart-yoga.html ...loose weight & build core strength!

Family Dollar-Laconia-Main St.....needs no introduction

SkyDive Laconia
 

Laconia could be a lot tougher place to persuade than is reasonable to comprehend.

Just consider that in the last 40-years, going from 1970 to 2011, the population of Laconia has declined a little going from something like 17,500 to 17,000.

Laconia usually has an unemployment rate that is a point or two higher than the rest of central NH, except for Franklin, which is about the same.

There's been about four drug related Laconia deaths in the past 12-months.

Laconia is probably the national #1 bad example for how urban renewal can be very bad for the local economy. Just go take a visit to the Laconia downtown area, and look around at the narrow little entrance road that blocks away the entry to the downtown area.
...................

Do yourself a favor, and forget about Laconia, and just head 17-air miles north up to Rt 93-Exit 26, and the Plymouth Municipal Airport which has a very friendly, green grass runway that is perfect for skydivers, plus a big horizon of beautiful mountain views.

You sound like a very good guy so maybe you want to stop beating your head against that Laconia wall and just go north a little bit, up to Plymouth, and you will be happy that you did!

www.chutesup.com/aboutus.htm for an up-in-the-air, flying around, look-see at the Plymouth Airport, and click onto "Maxy's Plane Takes Off / Lands at Plymouth Airport" for an up-close look at Plymouth Airport, and just picture your skydive class landing on that grassy runway.......hey.....talk about a soft and scenic landing spot!!

Plymouth is home to the huge Plymouth State University, which is hugely expensive to attend. It and UNH down in southern NH are something like the most expensive state colleges in the whole country, so the students and visiting PSU parents must have some big money and could be a good new customer demographic to a Plymouth Airport skydive business. www.airnav.com/airport/1P1[/QUOTE]


fatlazyless, won'dered an award at this years Forum Fest for $8.00 and some change. A hole in one, as pictured here; http://www.winnipesaukee.com/photopo...hp?photo=17964
:)

FLL knows how to take a thread ( Off Topic In A Heartbeat ), and also taking a black eye on the tennis courts, for not paying attention, and or... :)


Thanks to TheNoonans, most of us are very much looking forward to SkyDive Laconia!!!!
Love, Terry

..................

Yes, a very good photo of me taken by Don the Webmaster at the latest August, 2011, Center Harbor, Winnipesaukee.com Forum Fest! Not too bad.....still have all my teeth here....at age 59......soon to be 60.......yikes!....:eek:


Tom Noonan comes across as a guy who loves both the sport and the business of sky-diving, and hopefully he will be able to get started in the lakes region, either at Laconia, or 17-miles away in Plymouth. Either spot will be a very welcome addition to the area by me, and fair winds and blue skies to him and his NH sky-diver start-up business!!! Rrriiippp-cccooorrrddd!!!.....rock & roll!!!:banana:

Skydive Laconia
 

Thank you Less. I've been involved in every aspect of our sport for the last 12 years. Everything from testing prototype parachute designs to even driving aerial all terrain vehicles out of the back of a Casa at 14,000ft AGL. Skydiving is my life seven days a week, fifty two weeks a year. :D

I'm just trying to share this amazing world from my perspective, above the earth......outside the plane. Not a perspective that many people get to experience.

Blue skies to all and to all a good flight,

Tom

Executive Councilor Ray Burton visits Laconia airport
 

Do ya think they talked at all about Skydive Laconia....I highly doubt it!!!



http://www.citizen.com/news/laconia_...a4bcf6878.html

Ray Burton is a good listener, that's for sure, he likes to get out and chit-chat with people in his huge district which covers the whole northern half of the state. He drives around in a big old 1970's, bright yellow Oldsmobile convertible, to attend various local community events and he is the longest serving Governor's Councillor of all five, by far and away, holding his position since sometime in the 1970's. Just like the way that old Oldsmobile holds the road, Ray Burton holds onto his political seat!!!

http://www.nh.gov/council/district1/

Will go look for a good photo of Ray driving his "Ray-Mobile"; it's a 1970's land yacht, a huge old gas guzzler. Wonder if it's got an Olds 455 Rocket V8 under the hood? Off the top of my head, it's probably a 1975 Olds Delta 88 Royale Convertible in bright yellow!


Most likely, Ray would be right there to go for a sky-diver jump........seriously........he likes to get out and meet the people in his district! Apparently, looking at his website, both Plymouth and Laconia are in Ray's district.

Skydive Laconia
 

As we approach the holiday weekend, I thought I would just post a quick update.

As I mentioned before, the FAA at a federal level in Washington, D.C. have taken an active interest in investigating the flawed process that led to the two erroneous reports issued by the ADO, and are now actively investigating from the top down. It seems accountability within the FAA is just around the corner.

Ironic that I got ignored by the local FSDO for 87 days after sending him three emails, yet at the FAA's highest supervisory levels, I am responded to via email within 24 hours.

I'm happy to report that the FAA in Washington has taken the shortcomings of this process very seriously, and are actively pursuing a just and fair conclusion to this process.

Enjoy the holiday weekend! Mine will be spent "hanging around" helicopters all weekend......

Blue skies to all and to all a good flight,
Tom

just plane (plain) AWESOME!!!

Brilliant idea. They should allow you to have the option to jump out of an airplane. I'd take that over an upgrade.

Skydive Laconia
 

I am very happy to report that I just spent the last hour on a conference call with the Airports Division directors in Washington, DC, and that for the first time in 3 years in this process, I was surrounded by nothing but positive people. They recognize the failures in the current system and are committed to getting a resolution in place by years end.

They want accountability as much as we do.

They believe that an airport sponsor that signs a federal funding grant assurance contract must do everything within it's power to live up to it's obligation to ensure equal access to all aeronautical activities.

AND

When this process is concluded, they (the directors) intend to enforce the contract obligations personally.

So.....what does that mean in terms of the LAA?

Well, for starters, here is a question that will be asked by the FAA directors that I would not want to have to be the one to answer if I was on the LAA:

"The Noonans first contacted you in July of 2008 expressing an interest in bringing a legal and viable aeronautical activity to the Laconia airport. It is now December 2011, so please tell us, with the millions of dollars you have received in federal funding since first being made aware of the Noonan's intent to operate a skydiving operation on the airport, what have you done in the last 3 and 1/2 years to make the airport more accessible? What did you do to mitigate those safety concerns you raised? You were given millions of dollars intended to be used to make the airport accessible to all aeronautical activities, including skydiving, so what have you done?"

That question is coming, trust me. And it is not going to be coming from the local FAA, it's going to have a postmark on the envelope that reads "Washington, D.C.", and it won't be coming from a secretary.

And answering "Sorry, we didn't know we were obligated to do that" just isn't going to cut it, not when the millions of dollars that the airport received in the last ten years in all tallied up.

Regardless of the outcome of this process, in many respects, we have already won. The "Skydive Laconia" issue reached the desk of Randy Babbitt, the Chief Administrator of the FAA. (His boss is Ray LaHood, DOT Cabinet Member. Ray LaHood reports directly to President Obama.) Hence, there is no one higher in the FAA to bring the issue to, it reached the top of the organizational structure. When I say this is coming from the top down now, that's where I base my position.

Additional victories:

- Within the FAA, the LAA have become the case study on the breakdown of the federal funding grant assurance program and the lack of a national standard of FAA enforcement when such violations occur. Every agent of the FAA from Boston Harbor to San Francisco Bay will be briefed on Skydive Laconia and the LAA before this issue is finalized.

- The local FSDO and ADO ignored us every step of the way. As this nationalization process continues to reach it's conclusion, the directors level of the FAA have personally pledged to include Mary and I in the opinion forming process. What we were not given the opportunity to do on a local level, we will be given the opportunity to do on a national level.

- The conversation ended like this, (paraphrasing): "We recognize the short comings of the system and are intent on correcting them. We cannot get back the three years you lost, but we can ensure, when this process ends this year, that neither you, nor any other aeronautical activity proposer will ever have to go through this again on a federally funded airport."

- It's not just skydivers that should be happy about this. If you fly gliders, powered para gliders, sea planes or any aeronautical vehicle for fun or for business, this process will protect you as well down the road from ever having to go through what we have been forced to endure.

And lastly, now that the FOIA info has finally arrived, Mary and I are in the process of writing our memoir on this ordeal. Thanks to the creator of this thread we even have a wonderful outline of the last three years to keep the story straight. It's a 12 month project for sure, but in the end it will be worth it to put a public record out there that is veritable and just.

So much for "Put up enough red tape and delays and maybe they will just pack up and go away.......". Eh?

I said from the start that we were committed to seeing this through and I meant it.

Blue skies to all and to all a good flight,

Tom

This is a story for 60 Minutes!

R2B

I agree with R2B! Although, most of us sided with TheNoonans from the Get & Go here. And also about 60 minutes, in No Way could they ever show what TheNoonans have had to endure to further bring the economy of the Lakes Region Higher, and on into a greater future for all!!

Now, wouldn't it be refreshing to actually see a Government Wing, push us all forward, in these critical times??

We do also pay attention to a few of the winds here what and duly are Closed.

Terry

It is so ironic that the most vocal opponent to Sky Dive Laconia, Bill Hemmel (Flyguy) gave the Noonans the platform to state their case. In Tom's last post he thanks the "creator of the thread". Very Sweet!

I for one am very happy that the Noonans want to bring a new and viable business to NH. It sounds like their perseverence is paying off and they may now have a fair shot at actually opening. Keep up the fight alot of people support your plan. Rob

3 simple words...
 

"NEVER GIVE UP"! The Noonans should be an inspiration to everyone that is sick and tired of government (at any level) trying to control our lives. Keep up the great work!

Too bad the lady who has to suffer from Mayfew's Funeral Home got cutoff. She doesn't have a chance now without putting together a following. In any respects, I'm pretty excited for the Noonans and gladly look forward to giving them my business and hopefully next summer.

I believe this business in the beginning would be a fad and everyone would rush to jump out of a plane, specially lots of people following this thread. In time I feel the number of jumps at Laconia would drop off significantly. Maybe I'm wrong just my .02

I will
 

Count me in for sure. It's on the Bucket List, and I'd love to scratch it off.
Maybe next summer????

I'm waiting to see if Mr. Hemmel will weigh in on this latest development.

Listen tonight
 

I bet Obama will bring this up as his job's stimulus plan in tonight's speech:D.

While it sounds encouraging to supporters who want the Laconia Airport to be a home to a sky diver business, every issue like this always has two sides to it, and the Laconia Airport Authority hasn't made too many public comments on why they feel the way they do.

Hopefully, this latest new information in the long running saga will encourage the Laconia Airport Authority to be a little bit more open and public with their thinking on the proposed addition of sky-diving to their facility.

It's seems pretty obvious that the L.A.A., which has no regularly scheduled airline passenger flights, is very happy to welcome private passenger jets, but much less happy to welcome a sky diver business operation? How come .... and why is that?

I agree with RLW,I don't think this proposed venture will be a flash in the pan. People in S.NH thought the same about Sky Ventures in Nashua. It has become a thriving business since opening its doors. I think that a business will flourish when owners have both a passion and love for what they are doing along with a sound business plan in place. With that said I think the Noonans will do well given the oportunity. I hope the powers that be in DC have clearer heads and a fair hearing is given.

Skydive Laconia
 

Hi Less,

I don't think you'll ever see a member of the LAA post anything on here, but I think they did a pretty good job explaining from their perspective, why they don't want us here when they answered the ADO during their public comment period, they submitted "Summary Doc for FAA 3-30-11". I have a copy of it, it's a big file at 4mb, but I am happy to send you a copy, or I am sure you can get a copy at the airport from the manager.

It's a report compiled by the LAA, the experts on local topographical conditions, as Mr. Hemmel put it I believe........

The problem with their report is that none of them, literally NONE of them, have any background in aeronautical safety as it pertains to parachute operations. There opinions, as obtuse as they are, have no basis of content based on subject matter knowledge, education, practical application or personal first hand experience. But it reads well to the uninformed.

Remember when the LAA created that now famous (within the FAA) "safety committee" comprised of three members of the LAA that are neither pilots or parachutists or that had absolutely ZERO background experience in aeronautical safety studies as they pertain to parachute operations?

Remember when I asked the LAA to give me the aeronautical safety evaluation backgrounds of the Safety Committee and they had their lawyer send me a letter saying they were not legally obligated to provide me that information?

Well I do. I remember it well. And it is all documented and on it's way to the director of compliance in Washington, D.C. As is their obtuse report they submitted, and every other document that they generated that I have a copy of, including those private emails from the airport manager.

Back to that report, if you read it, you will see that they took that opportunity to go after me personally on page 7 of their report when they quoted me out of context from this forum and tried to paint me as someone who's "priority of responsibilities" as they put it, was not in line with theirs as it pertains to safety.

Well guess what? I have shown the FAA in Washington, DC my global resume that supports my statement that I am considered a subject matter expert on parachute operation safety protocols around the world.

When it's there turn to defend themselves, what can they show? That they sit around a table once a month and look for ways to keep aeronautical activities off the airfield?

They had their opportunity to work with us, to find a mutually beneficial resolution that everyone could agree on. Now we are past that point. Now it's full steam ahead with the FAA, now it's time for accountability.

Now it's going national. The national media is standing by and ready to go as soon as this is resolved. It doesn't take much background research to realize that the LAA and this process represent everything that is wrong with this nation. A small group of over privileged people in a position of power trying to distort local government and policies to satisfy their own agenda, that of keeping "outsiders" out and "insiders" in. And in that process actually PREVENTING new jobs and additional ECONOMIC STIMULUS from being brought to area.

As your store hours and your work hours scale back in November, ask yourself if you made enough money to comfortably get through the winter season, or if you would have preferred the opportunity to make more. This will now be the start of the THIRD winter that you could have ended your season with additional jobs and economic stimulus in your cash registers and your wallets.

When your next election roles around, I hope those of you that have helped bring this thread to 40,000 views remember what it is you are voting for, and who it is you are putting in office and thus onto the LAA.

Blue skies to all and to all a good flight,

Tom

Landing on grass vs. landing on asphalt?

Just picture this; you come in for a landing with one of those directionalized parachute wing things on some good quality grass that is a little bit wet. Ok...it's time to assume the skydiver surfer position and slide on home, back to terra firma, and make a sliding landing, where you come in to land and do a slide-in as opposed to a running step-step step landing.....just like a surfboard on the wet slippery grass.

www.jetphotos.net/viewphoto.php?id=6862732 Wow...just look at that healthy green grass and picture yourself coming in for a surfer style surfboard landing, sliding across the grass, with a chute up overhead!


And, then picture yourself doing the same surfer style landing on black asphalt......ouch....just not the same type of landing!

From the City of Laconia website
 

http://www.city.laconia.nh.us/index....rt-authority-2

"Current members are: Mayor Matthew Lahey (Laconia), Philip Daigneault (Belknap County Commissioner), Alice Boucher (Selectman, Gilford), Douglas Bartlett (At-Large/Laconia), Donald Flanders (At-Large/Laconia), Newbold LeRoy III (Vice Chair, At-Large/Laconia) Anthony Stracqualursi (At-Large/Laconia), Chris Tierney (Treasurer, At-Large/Gilford), Russ Dumais (At-Large/Gilford)."

If the "Russ Dumais" listed is the Russ Dumais that owns Airport Deli in Gilford I would be surprised that he wouldn't be in favor of more tourists driving by his store? Maybe a different guy?