[TheNoonans]

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