...say hey....there's still the Plymouth Municipal Airport.....you know....that little airport 17-air miles from Laconia, up at Rt 93-Exit 26, which is actually easier to drive to from Boston than the Laconia Airport because the airport is only about three or four miles from Rt 93-Exit 26.

PLYMOUTH - PLYMOUTH - PLYMOUTH .......Plymouth rocks!

Considering that the Plymouth Airport is home to a parachute www.chutesup.com/aboutus.htm flying school, maybe it would be welcome to a sky diving biz? A couple new local videos have been added to this link and suggest you take a peek at "Flying over Stinson Mountain" to get a birdy view of the Plymouth Airport and area. Could this be a good spot for a skydiver biz to start up?

www.longviewfarmnh.com is immediately to the west of the airport, and gives you a look-see at the neighborhood.

We have sure been getting our heaping helping of fat-for-less out here lately! :laugh:

Terry
___________________________

Skydive Laconia
 

Wow, we just went over 50,000 views of this thread. So much for no one caring about a "small dirt road business", eh? :)

We just wanted to take a moment and say thank you to all of you that sent us holiday well wishes both publicly and privately. As always, your support is greatly appreciated.

Just a quick update:

I've just been in contact with the Director of Airports in Washington DC and the national airport evaluation matrix is just about done. This is the matrix that will take the decision of whether or not an aeronautical activity can be accommodated on a municipal airport entirely out of the hands of potentially corrupted local airport boards that want to receive federal funding but don't want to follow the rules.

The "rogue" nature of the local FAA is also being corralled as we speak, so that's a good thing too.

And lastly, we are still driving forward with our request to have the Block Grant status of the NHDOT rescinded by the FAA and to have the federal funding process returned to Washington and the FAA. We have reached the top of that division as well and are working with the right people in Washington on that one.

As the holiday season rolls on, we remain confident this whole corrupted process that we were forced to endure is about to come to a favorable conclusion.

Blue skies to all and to all a good flight,

Tom

Sounds good Tom,
I, for one, look to be jumping out over the lake this July 4th weekend!!

All good news, I think.
 

Tom,
Merry Christmas to you and yours. Although I very much look forward to this whole debacle coming to a positive conclusion for you I am concerned about the other shoe dropping. Could you please explain what impact the region may be facing if the block grant is rescinded? I assume a good portion of that money finds it's way into the community through repair and upkeep and lack of said funds must also be a concern for you going forward as you will now be running your business out of this facility.
Pontoon Goon

Skydive Laconia
 

Thank you all for your continued support, and thank you RLW for your e-card.

Hi PG,

There won't be any impact to the regional airports as far as the amount of funding available if/when the FAA rescinds the NHDOTs Block Grant State federal funding status. The same federal funding monies will be available to "compliant" airports, the only difference will be that the airport managers will send their requests to the FAA like the other 43 states or so that are not Block Grant states, in lieu of sending it to the NHDOT.

The only airport that may suffer funding loss is LCI. I have made no attempt to hide the fact that I am vigorously petitioning the FAA to cease funding to this non-compliant airport unless the airport is both formally sanctioned for it's discriminatory actions and also brought back into compliance. If I am successful, then yes, LCI risks losing its future federal funding. If that occurs though, it will be the "fault" of only one person, the Chairman of the Laconia Airport Authority during the 2008-2009 term years.

Why? The Chairman is responsible for guiding the authority and ensuring it's actions are compliant with the federal funding grant assurances. "Chairman-ship" is not just a title, it is an official position that comes with responsibilities. And in our case, those responsibilities included knowing what the board was authorized to do what they did not have the authority to do. That the Chairman did not know these things does not preclude him or his board from following the rules.

If the airport loses its funding, then so be it, if that is to happen, then it will have been proven to the FAA in Washington DC that the airport breached its contract with the FAA and if that is the case, then they deserve to lose the funding.

It wont affect us though, our "little dirt road business" can sustain itself just fine if the runway is turned back into a grass strip........

If the runway turns back into a grass strip, then the John Marriotts of the world may stop showing up, but our dirt road business will bring jobs and $1,000,000+ dollars per anum into the community in economic stimulus, considerably more money going into the community from our business then the private jet crowd. The only person(s) that actually benefit from the jets is the person selling them the fuel.....So if your not selling them the fuel, these "jet setters" economic impact to your inns, and restaurants is truly nominal compared to what economic stimulus we will bring you in return.

On a side note however, I actually spoke to one of John Marriott's "handlers" for lack of a better term, and guess who has already stopped flying into LCI? Yup, Mr. Marriott. He stopped flying in and there isn't even skydiving on the field...........ironic, huh?

Same thing with the NASCAR pilots, Earnhart owned "Champion Air" is now flying most of the drivers that lease their jets into Manchester, not Laconia.

But that's not what the LAA wants you to know. They want you to think that all the drivers are still flying in, so that when we show up and start operating, they can say "SEE!!! No more NASCAR drivers flying in!"

Like I said, for those that oppose us, all they have is smoke and mirrors.....

So, here we are approaching 2012, 4 years into the process. Mary and I are as invigorated as ever to see this through. We have a national media outlet standing by, waiting for the final results to come it.

The irony in all this is that if the LAA had just done their jobs in 2008, we'd be peacefully and quietly integrated into the airport and everyone would be content and happy. Instead, they are about to be put on a national stage and a spot light will be cast on every one of their actions.

Thanks to this thread and the equally vigorous vocal minority, this has become a truly compelling story and with all the facts and truths surrounding this process.

Blue skies to all and to all a good flight,

Tom

PS For anyone showing up to this thread late that doesn't have the energy to go over all the past posts, I'll offer this:

Mary and I are not calling the recent decision of the LAA to deny us "discriminatory". Despite my repeated efforts to effectively communicate that concept to the NHDOT, they seem muddled by that point. We, Tom and Mary, agree that the airport board has the right to render any decision they wanted AFTER the FAA issued those erroneous reports. (The FAA then has a right to agree or disagree and force compliance if they disagree).

What this is about, is all the discriminatory actions and votes that the LAA cconducted in 2008 and 2009 BEFORE the FAA issued an erroneous ruling, that we brought to the NHDOT and were subsequently ignored by the NHDOT.

That is all our NH Block Grant status rescinding request and the funding forfeiture request for LCI is about.

The FAA will eventually reverse the decision of the LAA and enforce the rules. The LAA's decision after the local FAA's erronous reporting is off our radar, doesn't bother us at all.

We are now only seeking justice for being discriminated against throughout the process that led up to that decision. We gave the LAA a copy of the FAA rules of process for this proposal in October 2008 and they ignored them, threw them out the window. Today they are about to be called upon to answer for that choice. That is all this is about.

Skydive Laconia Update
 

Greetings to all,

It's been a quick winter season down here in Daytona Beach (remember, we are "Floridians" after all......lol), and I just wanted to offer a quick update on things.

I hope everyone had a great winter season around the lake.

I had a busy winter. First I was asked to run a "train the trainer" course at Ft. Bragg by the Army Golden Knights Tandem Demonstration Team. That was an amazing experience to work with such a dedicated group of professional skydivers.

Then it was off to Haiti where I met President Michel Martelly after skydiving into a new soccer stadium that my contractor friend just built as a community development project for. I wish the LAA and the local FAA that were so concerned about the accuracy of our parachutes could have been there to see the jump. We exited a mile away out of a Jet Ranger, 6000ft above the ground in a remote area of Port Au Prince, at sunset, with no alternative landing areas other than the soccer field that happened to have 4000 spectators standing around the field at the field's chalk lines. Despite those pesky "off shore breezes" and all that "drifting" we are accused of doing, all four of us landed on the center field circle......as planned.

As March rolls around, I am off to provide "Safety Day" training seminars up and down the East coast.

But I digress, the real reason I am posting today is to provide a quick update on the FAA and where things are currently in the process.

Obviously, the most pressing item is that we moved into 2012 and that Advisory Circular that the FAA is in process of drafting has not been completed yet. We are of course disappointed that it isn't complete yet, but the lack of completion is a good thing to be honest, as it means that the FAA is taking the expert input they have received very serious and making every effort to ensure that the AC will be grounded in reality and not subject to the "smoke and mirror" accusations that exist in the field from time to time.

When this AC is done, it will become the definitive resource on airport access issues. Why that is great is two fold, 1) It will settle once and for all, according to the FAA, whether skydiving can peacefully co-exist on the airport and 2) on a national level it will bring a much needed standardization of this airport access process.

Last update, Mary and I just had another amazing conference call with the FAA in Washington today on the progress of all of this. No one has given up on this process in Washington and we were assured today that as soon as this AC process is concluded that the FAA will be taking it to Laconia.

Blue skies to all and to all a good flight,

Tom

I wanna Jump over the lake this year Tom,
Make it happen!!!!

Could some one????
 

Alton Bay Ice Runway
 

Hi RLW,

It is quite legal to do that, assuming the appropriate NOTAM is filed and permission granted. A friend of ours used to make that (cold) jump into the ice airport in the past. The role of the "airport manager", thus permission giver, is actually an aeronautics supervisor at NHDOT.

The last time he requested permission to do the jump though, the NHDOT agent, acting as the manager of the airport gave permission for the jump but said she would require that the airport be closed to all other air traffic on the ice airport for a 30 Minute window.

There is no guidance whatsoever anywhere within the FAA that suggests that an airport must shut down for 30 minutes by NOTAM to all other traffic, but that's what the NHDOT now requires at the ice airport apparently, making up rules as they go along.......

The funny part is that he had safely made that jump multiple times in years past with no 30 min airport closure, his jumps were always timely and efficient, simply by filing the appropriate NOTAM and having his pilot announce the descent on the local frequency. And he politely informed the NHDOT via email of all the ATC regs and policies involved in years past.

But still with all that, this last time when he requested permission to do the jump from the NHDOT, a new person was in that manager role that knows nothing about skydiving regulations and the FARs apparently, and despite being presented with the appropriate information and data to suggest a 30 min airport shut down by NOTAM was not needed for a 5 minute parachute jump, guess what? The NHDOT would not budge an inch.

So, being an aviation enthusiast first and a parachutist second, our friend withdrew his request so as not to put all the other pilots under useless stress and delays waiting 30 min for the airport to close for his 5 minute jump to occur.

(This is a completely true story and I have the emails to and from the NHDOT to verify it.)

Blue skies to all and to all a good flight,

Tom

Noonan's, how are things going
 

Skydive Laconia
 

Hi RLW,

Thanks for the inquiry. We're just anxiously awaiting the finalization of this national evaluation advisory. Once it's done, the FAA in Washington has assured us that Laconia will be one of the first airports that this new process is applied to.

Closure in this process is on the horizon, and I'm sure all involved will be happy to see this proposal process reach a just conclusion.

Until then, enjoy your Spring thaw!

Blue skies to all and to all a good flight,

Tom

Hopefully I will be jumping over the lake the week of July 4th!!!!!!!

Skydive Laconia
 

Brings a new look to and over Lake Winnipesaukee for those with hearts still beating, and beyond!

Here's hoping that 2012 will bring The Noonans to us! Angels From The Sky is Good for all!

Terry
_________________________________________-

I'm originally from N. H. and learned how to fly there many years ago...this wonderful experience of doing cross-country flights throughout New England created many life long memories..Including a few go arounds at Laconia.

Skydiving would be a wonderful idea at Laconia..bringing these new business ideas is great...Now living in Florida during the winter months, and still with an interest in flying, I visit several airports just to spend a Sunday morning watching skydiving. Most all these airports in Fl. are very similar to Laconia with air traffic and being uncontrolled fields ( no tower ).. and very rarely are there problems...I've never heard of any in fact.. Usually its well announced on aviation radio frequencies that there are skydivers in the air.

Sebastian, Fl. Airport is very active with skydivers for example..Right along the east coast and Indian River there are many small planes in the area all the time...and without traffic incident for years...

My wife and I will be returning to beautiful N. H. and Lake Winni for the summer again this year with our motor home and will be visiting the airport on a regular basis to watch and get involved with the activity there...Looking forward to maybe even find a seasonal job in that area....

With my experience as an observer of skydiving on a regular basis in Fl. at this type of airport....I believe this activity to be very safe, and if a person can afford to rent or lease a private jet by the hour for the pleasure of visiting the area, they can easily afford to slow down and take a nice wide approach over the lake while skydivers are in the air..

Go for it folks...looks like your working on dotting all your " i's and crossing all your " t's ". making for a great and welcomed new business to that area. We're already planning to bring our hats and sunglasses along when watching the chutes open and float downward..

http://i44.tinypic.com/1499wms.gif kchadw, I just noticed that you are fairly new to the forum and glad you have joined us. Have fun and enjoy the Winni Forum while making many new friends. Thanks for your nice words regarding Laconia Airport and the support of the Noonan’s trying to open a skydiving business at that location.
http://i54.tinypic.com/2e56yqf.gif

The comment above, about flying years ago at Laconia made me think back a bit

I did my first 100 mile, solo, cross country flight to Laconia, from North Central Airport in Smithfield, RI way back on this date (25-March-1963) at the ripe old age of 16 years, 2 months, and 26 days. I was in an Piper Colt - PA-108

I plotted my paper path, then flew my real path. Rt 1, heading towards Boston, turned left above Rt 128, followed it to Rt 3, then the NH turnpike, counting toll booths, finally banking right at Pike Asphalt / construction co (now exit 20) using his private airport as a guide. I earned my private pilots certificate at age 17, a senior in high school, but my dad still did not let me drive his car "at all".

19 years later, 25-March 1982, my oldest child was born and she turns 30 today living in southern California.

So did you have fun taking your FAA Checkride with Gene Bulicki..? :D :D NB

He always scarred the living **** out of me

My primary instructor was Dick Burke (was a manager at Hasbro and later was the corp pilot for A T Cross). I also got many a free lessons from Mr Pansey in his twin Aero Commander by washing it on Saturday mornings

I must have been a sight, riding my (non 3 speed) bike to the airport then planking down my $4.00 in quarters / half dollars and dollar bills from my paper route to rent the training aircraft for 30 minutes of solo flying.

Gene did ripped my head off on a 720 turn over the reservoir, under the hood, because I loss more than 100 feet. I remember him to this day yelling at me to stop trying to tear the wings off his plane.

I took my checkride with Gene in June 1988. I think he might have been over 70 by then. I could have taken the ride with a checkpilot over at Taunton who was supposed to be easy. I picked Gene because he was supposed to be tough. He was.

He made me land at busy T.F Green in Providence on Rwy 16....which turned out to be dead Crosswind. I'm sure he knew it would be. :) I did fine and he even told me so. I've heard he rarely commented on the students performance during a checkride ..designed to put pressure on the student. You never knew if you had done the maneuvers correctly until you were back on the ground. Those were the days. :D NB

Now back to Skydiving...

Skydive Laconia
 

Hi Terry,

Thank you for continued support and enthusiasm. It is very very much appreciated.

Hi kchadw,

Thank you for your post. Mary was actually at Sebastian this past weekend skydiving. Like you, we see many similarities with the FL airports that sustain skydiving.

I'm not sure how much of this thread you have been able to go back and read, but the truth is, this was never actually about safety concerns, pretty much from the day we first set foot on the airport. This process (and lengthy delay) is really about outsiders (my wife and I) challenging the status quo. We appreciate your support and look forward to providing you a venue to watch skydiving on the airport some day.

To all,

The silver lining in all this, is that today, the Washington FAA is on point and fully aware of the erroneous nature of those two reports that the LAA cited when they denied our requests. When the national review process is finalized though, those two outstanding reports will finally be acknowledged as erroneous, discriminatory and in a word, FALSE.

As for us being able to open in 2012, that's actually going to be an interesting scenario. We would like to think that once the FAA in Washington announces that skydiving cannot be barred from the airport, that the LAA would finally own up to their role and responsibility and welcome us onto the airport.

What do you all think?

If (when?) the FAA comes back and determines that skydiving can occur at the Laconia Municipal Airport, what do you think the LAA will do?

Will they finally extend their hand and welcome us on to the airport?

Or will they continue to try and stall our proposal?

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

Will they finally extend their hand and welcome us on to the airport?

Or will they continue to try and stall our proposal?

No to question one is the anticipated answer.

Question # 2 is obviously. Delay delay delay is the M.O.

Is public tarring and feathering still legal for local officials?

My opinion is they will delay, appeal, whine and drag their feet as much and as long as is possible. I wish and hope this is not the case, but you are not dealing with open-minded people here. They have not gotten it, and they never will get it, that there are policies and rules they need to abide by. They like to make things up as they go. Big fish in the little pond syndrome.

I wish I had a different opinion and I hope you can be in operation this summer. You have been very professional throughout this process.

R2B

Just a question?
 

At some point this issue will be decided and what ever the outcome is, it will be final.

If it is decided in the Noonan's favor will they file a lawsuit to recover the last couple of years of lost income opportunity and any expenses they have had to pursue their dream?

Skydive Laconia
 

The keys to The Noonans new Skydiving operation and business here at The Laconia Airport have already been made...

The LAA's stance against, even has their waste basket empty'ears upset!

I do have faith in the Gazillion things that the FAA has to monitor, and make important decisions there and upon, hopefully quickly, on a day to day basis. :look:

Okay, I'm almost done!

Easy there big guy!.. Now, this is a big if!.. IF The Laconia LAA oFFicials should happen to get replaced, due to their own doing, we would just make it more difficult for them to get an permit to open an cool-aid stand this summer, that would give them any relief from there recent Unemployment. :)

Terry
______________________________________

Skydive Laconia
 

A mute question. It is quite obvious that the Noonans would like to bring more opportunities, Jobs, and enlightenment Too the Lakes Region. Not over yet!

Terry
_________________________

I agree with Pine and Resident. Unfortunately. I think I posted at the beginning that it would be a long tough battle. It is hard to do almost anything these days.

First Annual "Airport Awareness" Open House
 

I know I might be reading too much into this but I find this to be fairly suspicious timing. The Laconia Airport is having its FIRST Annual "Airport Awareness" Open House. If you read the article it is just huge propaganda on all the good that the airport does. All the programs, jobs, money it brings in. My suspicious mind reads this as a means to defend the federal moneys they get by showing all the good they do for the community. Obviously no mention of skydiving activity. Might be a good opportunity for the Noonan's and their supporters to raise a little awareness at the event.


http://www.laconiadailysun.com/index...n-saturday-920

Yes, the ad in Saturday's LDS has a sub-header that says,

"Come see what your neighborhood airport is all about".

It's all about stone walling a legitmate and proven safe business!

Skydive Laconia
 

Hi Steveo,

Thanks for sharing that link. Ironically enough, I was never notified of the open house....lol. I wonder if the FBOs took down those "Skydive Laconia?" scare tactic ads for the day? Probably not I would guess, it would be a great venue to spread their propaganda.

I'm not too concerned about it though. As I have been suggesting all along, the FAA knows about those erroneous reports, and that a national evaluation policy for skydiving is almost done, and when it is, the FAA will make a ruling and when they do, everyone will abide by it, us and the airport commission. We are standing by, plane and parachutes ready for that to occur.

On a related side note, while waiting the 4+ years for this Laconia situation to resolve itself, I have actually opened a dropzone in Massachusetts in the interim. This time around I was blessed to be working with a supportive and open minded airport manager and commission. The whole process took only 6 months to approve, and that included Mass DOT and FAA inspection and sign off.

So, while we patiently wait for the FAA to finish their national assessment policy that will finally bring skydiving to the Laconia Municipal Airport, we will be skydiving 125 miles south of you guys, just south of Boston, with the full blessing of the FAA, Mass DOT, Airport Manager and Airport Commission. What an amazing and refreshing change of venue and personalities. Everyone there is so supportive, encouraging and helpful, the way it should be.

Here's a funny little story for you as it relates to the issue in Laconia.....

While meeting with Boston TRACON (ATC) to coordinate our climb profile and drop procedures for our south of Boston dropzone, Laconia came up in casual conversation. The topic, ironically enough, was air traffic. You will never guess what comment the ATC supervisor made about the airspace over Laconia? (Now mind you Boston ATC coordinates with Skydive Pepperell and Skydive New England regarding Boston's busy airspace, so they are EXPERTS in air space analysis as it pertains to skydiving).

Yup. Without me even hinting anything, he said "Laconia is the perfect airspace for skydiving."

Don't worry.....when the time comes to address skydiving over LCI, you can trust I will have that on record for the airport commission......lol.

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

Edit to add - I have been so busy with my other dropzone project that I haven't really been here much recently, but I have to say, I am amazed that this thread has over 65,000 views. WOW. I thank you all for your continued interest and support. We haven't given up, not by a long shot. We are just as committed today as we were when we first showed up at the airport in 2008. (Yes, 2008.....lol)

Hey if Laconia's political genuises cant get a burnt out ugly a&& looking saloon taken down for two years you expect this bunch of hacks to do any better. SIck Howie Carr on them

and where is the south of boston location? as I am in Boston!!!

I second - Where is your new location south of Boston?

I Googled Skydive New England.

http://www.skydivenewengland.com/

Click on any of the City Locations and get a curious Bait & Switch. :look: NB

Skydive Laconia
 

We are located in Taunton, MA (KTAN). The "Bay State Skydiving Center" made it's first skydives last weekend over the airfield, along side flight school flights, banner towing and all the other aeronautical activities on the airport. Just like skydiving occurs at municipal airports across the country.

Local pilots and neighbors stopped in to wish us luck and learn more about skydiving and parachute manufacturing. It was a great weekend.

Our website will be up later this week. www.baystateskydiving.com

If you would like to come visit us and or make a skydive, email me at noonantommy@yahoo.com and I will provide you directions and details.

Blue skies to all and to all a good flight,

Tom

that is great and right in my back yard and I have family that lives down there, get that site up, I am looking forward to planning another jump!!!

I'm literally next door. Traffic pattern passes over my house.

While I wanted my first jump to be over the Lake, I might have to take a drive down the street.

Bay State Skydiving
 

http://www.tauntongazette.com/featur...azette?photo=0

Front cover, above the fold.

Blue skies to all and to all a good flight,

Tom