Moultonborough Airport
 

Has the Moultonborough Airport changed hands? Over the past few days I have seen a blue and white twin engine plane (turbo prop) flying in and out alot.

The only place I'd know to look is on AirNav.com. Here is the current information as posted on that website, however I don't know how often they update it. It could just be a local/vacationer who recently bought an airplane--do you have a tail number?


Airport Ownership and Management from official FAA records

Ownership: Privately-owned
Owner: MOULTONBORO AIRBASE, LLC
P O BOX 68
MOULTONBORO, NH 03254
Phone 603-986-7338

Manager: PAUL ZANIS
P O BOX 68
MOULTONBORO, NH 03254
Phone 603-986-7338

It is (still) for sale, but someone is flying scenic tours and is set up by the entrance to Skyland Park.

Humm didn't even know it was for sale... But then again I don't use the airport for anything either.... Now here is an interesting question, could someone buy it and then take away the Airfield and turn it into something else?

Just a curiosity question.....

The planes that I have been seeing fly in there are high end planes. It would be nice to see the airport kept up.

You need not look any farther than Wolfeboro for an answer. Their privately owned airport was bought by a developer and subdivided into house lots. Many area residents tried to prevent that, but failed.
Instead, the economy failed and so too did the development scheme. The Marriotts, who were not parties to the failed development, but whose compound is across Winter Harbor from the old air park now own the remainder. Time will tell what happens next.

If it's privately owned and they have not received any funds from the FAA for improvements, etc then they can do whatever they want. That's what happened to White Mountain in North Conway and Lakes Region in Wolfeboro.

Maybe I could buy it and open up a drag strip like Epping....:D

The Committee to Save Wolfeboro Airpark...
 

The airport at Moultonborough had a black helicopter taxiing on it yesterday—Noon. :eek2: At the same moment, a large State helicopter flew over the same runway. :confused:

White Mountain Airport was where my Dad flew tourists over the White Mountains in one red Waco biplane nicknamed the "Red Baron". (Or its twin Waco, but in blue). Mom took tourist flight orders at the hanger desk. :look:

http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i1...6789101112.jpg

The two commuted daily from Wolfeboro Airpark by Cessna 180—Life was good. :)

Former owner Wiley Apte, Jr., later attempted to open a Heliport near his present home on Birch Mountain Road, but that effort seems to have not endured the years.

His father, Wiley Apte, Sr.—of whom I have a photograph—was a beribboned WWI fighter pilot. Both senior Aptes are buried in a North Conway cemetery located near Noth Conway's Eastern Slope Inn.

Wiley Apte, Jr., was a veteran military pilot (AAF) and later a TWA pilot. His first wife, Mary, was a crime victim in the condos that replaced the airport and later died as a result of the criminal assault. His second wife (Keller) was a former FAA inspector. His daughter is employed by the State Department.

One successful, but unregistered, Heliport was near the West Side Road home of the late helicopter pilot Eddy Lord. (The Heliport was located on a ledge on Moat Mountain). Eddy is described by my Dad as a professional electrician and "a good pilot".

(Coming from my Dad, this is rare praise for a pilot—indeed :eek2:).

White Mountain Airport was bulldozed into "new" condominiums—of which, a local restaurant owner tells us, is now in disrepair. :(

From the main drag in North Conway, you can see that the airport's hanger is clearly retained in the design of an outlet store.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The Committee to Save Wolfeboro Airpark (TCTSWA) tried to keep The Lakes Region Airpark, Wolfeboro Neck, as an airport. This effort was based on a NH law reserving the NH Legislature's right to keep private airports from impending development. Buoyed by support from the New Hampshire Attorney General, the Committee "kept hope alive" for several years.

On this "grass-roots" venture, I've kept some names and telephone/FAX numbers—if anyone in Moultonborough is interested in the "real-life" experiences of TCTSWA.

Also collected were some revealing news-clippings of those contentious years—printed by a local newspaper formerly not renowned for investigative reporting. From that publication, a redacted copy of a local bank document makes for some v-e-r-y interesting reading.

The shenanigans in print—taken by one bank, the new owner, and a local insider ("I am not a developer")...("I am not an insider")...remain as proof that the takeover of one private airport had became "nasty business".

Sometime around 2004 (photo below), Wolfeboro's "best shot" at a local airport had its forested margins cut down, the runway bulldozed, and its soil sifted. :confused:

Interestingly, the new paved roadways are arrayed in such a manner that a runway could be returned to the area. :cool: Even the hanger has been retained. Pilots who today "shoot" the new roadways, would observe that the most challenging runway approach is now cleared of those annoying "old-growth" treetops—and—it could become a much better airport today than formerly! :)

The edges of the new (private) roadways are becoming a bit "crumbly", due to the unauthorized bike- and drag-racing going on behind the chained-off entrance. :rolleye1:

Most recently, I understand that the lots (newly resurveyed) are now displayed as "For Sale". :confused:

ETA:
As of August 2010, the flyers are no longer there, and the chain (which was to be "temporary") hasn't been taken down. :confused:

We flew into Moultonboro on August 7 for our yearly two week vacation on the lake. Nothing appears to have changed since last year. There was no evidence it is for sale. It's a friendly, low key airport that serves as the perfect gateway to the Lakes Region.

Paul

Changed Hands? 'Guess It Depends...
 

At about 11:15 Saturday, I saw one floatplane (Taylorcraft?) on the ramp, one helicopter taxiing on the northern end of the runway, and six parked General Aviation aircraft. :eek2: