Skydive Laconia?

[eillac@dow]

I have 15 months before my youngest turns 18! I sure hope you and Mary are in biz then....cause we will be there!

Keep up the good work....it will pay off!

[Steveo]

Originally Posted by TheNoonans

Your right Steveo,

To be honest, as I read through the letters, most everyone's concerns are based on either one of two things:

1) Self Entitlement
or
2) Lack of knowledge.

I can't help with the Self Entitled crowd, that's an incurable affliction it would seem.

Tom

What is also going on here is the "native" syndrome. Tom, you are just not a native of Laconia therefore you shall not be accepted. I was not born in Laconia but I lived there during high school and then lived many years in Portsmouth. I was in front of a crowd one day in Laconia when my wife overheard some folks asking about me, asking where I was from and if I was a native. The other person said no, he is from Portsmouth. I use to think "native" use to mean NH native but not in Laconia. If a "native" was opening a parachuting business there would be no problems at all.

[tis]

That may be true in Laconia, Steveo, but it sure isn't in Wolfeboro. They don't like business period. They give EVERYBODY a hard time.

[TheNoonans]

It's interesting you bring up the "native" thing Steveo, because it helps explain why my wife and I are referred to as "Floridians" in this thread and occasionally in the papers.

I didn't know the US added two more states to the Union while I was living in New Zealand......lol.....the State of Laconia and the State of Gilford must not be on the map yet.......lol

Alas, I am not a native of Laconia or Gilford.

I am a civitas orbis terrerum.

I am a citizen of the world.

And I thought "Locals Only" was a phrase derived from hot surf spots on the West Coast?

Oh well, we're still coming to the party, even if we we're invited by the hosts. When we get there, the A-listers ("A" for "affluent"), can join us and make the whole thing work for everyone.

Or they can continue to try and bring down the whole show for everyone involved, us, them and the community as a whole.

Blue skies to all and to all a good flight,

Tom

[AC2717]

I just want to hurry up and jump over the lake already!

[NoRegrets]

Now back to the mundane process of "making a living". Thanks for the thrilling break!!!

[Seaplane Pilot]

Originally Posted by TheNoonans

It's interesting you bring up the "native" thing Steveo, because it helps explain why my wife and I are referred to as "Floridians" in this thread and occasionally in the papers.

I didn't know the US added two more states to the Union while I was living in New Zealand......lol.....the State of Laconia and the State of Gilford must not be on the map yet.......lol

Alas, I am not a native of Laconia or Gilford.

I am a civitas orbis terrerum.

I am a citizen of the world.

And I thought "Locals Only" was a phrase derived from hot surf spots on the West Coast?

Oh well, we're still coming to the party, even if we we're invited by the hosts. When we get there, the A-listers ("A" for "affluent"), can join us and make the whole thing work for everyone.

Or they can continue to try and bring down the whole show for everyone involved, us, them and the community as a whole.

Blue skies to all and to all a good flight,

Tom

Correction Tom, that would be the KINGDOM of GILFORD! Believe me, the Selectmen see themselves as kings and the taxpayers of Gilford as peasants. They need a wakeup call!

[Pineedles]

It's all about the power of the vote. Vote the bums out!

[tis]

Originally Posted by Seaplane Pilot

Correction Tom, that would be the KINGDOM of GILFORD! Believe me, the Selectmen see themselves as kings and the taxpayers of Gilford as peasants. They need a wakeup call!

I guess that's true in every town and state and fed. gov. They forget the work for US! Maybe next election they will get a wakeup call.

Meantime, I am glad it is not me who has to go through the awful fight that the Noonans are going through.

[fpartri497]

Originally Posted by Pineedles

It's all about the power of the vote. Vote the bums out!

It doesent matter, we will only vote more bums In.

\

[fatlazyless]

Originally Posted by Seaplane Pilot

Correction Tom, that would be the KINGDOM of GILFORD! Believe me, the Selectmen see themselves as kings and the taxpayers of Gilford as peasants. They need a wakeup call!

Yes, that's very true, and a big reason is because many of the local town selectmen get to receive the town's family health insurance coverage which has a cash value that can range all over in price, from maybe $12 to 24,000/year. By receiving such a major perk, it creates a non-adversarial relationship between the selectmen and the town's employees, and essentially all the selectmen and employees are all together in the same big boat. They's in the same boat; so they all sink, or they all stay afloat, together as one big happy group!

Maybe start to create a more adversarial relationship between the selectmen and the town employees by raising and raising and raising the health insurance co-pays via a warrant article at the town ballot vote, because it will never get yessed at a town meeting vote?

Lottsa luck!

The town selectmen's position in NH is supposed to be a very low paying, per-diem, volunteer style position, but with the very expensive health coverage, this is simply not the situation.

Here in Meredith, there is a town selectman who drives a white Mercedes Benz suv with a three letter, handicap, vanity license plate that is sometimes parked at a dentist's office on Main St in Plymouth. One has to wonder if the Meredith property tax payers are paying for his dental care while he is driving a very nice Mercedes Benz? That selectman's car parked at the dentist's office sure sends a message.

[TheNoonans]

So I finally got through all of the FOIA public comment submissions last night.

I have to say, now that I have read them, I feel much much better about them.

For starters, as I said earlier, most all of them could be classified as either:
1) The self entitled, "this is my airport" crowd
or
2) The "lack of knowledge" submissions, ie, the "your going to do WHAT here? type emails."

As I said, I can't help the self entitled crowd that believe they have a greater right to the airport than anyone else. "Sorry" is the best I can do for those people complaining that I want to play in THEIR sandbox.

But the lack of knowledge letters are interesting. It's alot of private pilots that simply don't know any more about parachute operations than what Mr. Hemmel and the LAA want them to know, which is very very very little. And that's okay, I promise you all, all of you in the latter category of submissions, that I will work with every one of you directly and personally. You can tell me your thoughts, even yell at me if you like, , and then when the emotion is out and gone, we can sit down and work together to educate each other (yes I said "each other", you can educate me too) on what we both need to feel good about this situation.

Now, of course, I'll be the first to say, there were some good letters in there too, and not just "for us", but also a couple of good letters "against us", so to speak. I never said this was a black and white issue, a lot of it is very grey. And for the small group of negative comments based on knowledge and experience, they were very thought provoking letters. I really wish the LAA hadn't turned this process into a tug or war, because I would have really liked to sit down and talked with the people that brought good questions and concerns to the table. Whether we ended up agreeing in the end or not, I would have genuinely enjoyed the opportunity to see and hear knowledgable thoughts without the emotional charge of "NO WAY!, NOT HERE" that most of the letters amplified. And a few of those letters were genuinely sincere attempts to understand the process and how it would affect us all.

My favorite submission of all actually came from a pilot at the FBO down the end of the north taxiway. His letter was filled with both his personal experiences and what questions he had concerning the integration of our proposal onto the airport. It was most definitely an "against" letter, but it was fair, without emotion, and inquisitive. It was brilliant. I read it three times, and I hope some day that he and I get a chance to talk about the letter. I'd really like to offer him answers from my perspective and get his unbiased feedback.

So I give Mr. Hemmel and the LAA credit, the majority of the letters were just what they wanted. Emotional stand offs based on very little factual information.

What I find disappointing, and what those of you that sent those letters should find INFURIATING, is that most of you, the property owners and private pilots, and even some of the commercial pilots writing in, were used as PAWNS by the LAA in this process. And here is how:

When the airport manager sent you all that email asking for your submissions to the comment period, ending it with the underlined:
"Your opinions count", she never once referenced that she had a volume of information on the topic that we provided her back in 2008. And we didn't just provide her our facts, we provided her AOPA's facts and the FAA's facts.

It is by no coincidence that her last line failed to say "Your EDUCATED and INFORMED opinions matter."

The LAA didn't want you casting informed and educated opinions in that public comment, they wanted you to cast uninformed hysterical opinions. If I were you, I would be FURIOUS that you got that email from the airport manager without the inclusion of a request to view all of the data available to you and making it available to you.

That public comment period that received over 80, "mostly negative" responses was an orchestration of fact omission responses. As I said before, the LAA wants your hysteria on this one, not your well thought, educated, unbiased opinions. And that is what they set out to collect, and thanks to that email from the manager of the airport going out without suggesting you educate yourself, that is exactly what the LAA got.

For those of you that sent in letters against us, if you did not read the AOPA article that we submitted to the LAA for instance, then you played right into the hands of the LAA. It's really that simple. It's unfortunate, but it's reality.

But in the end, the comments have all been thrown out, the good ones and the bad ones. That's the FAA's fault for even asking for them in the first place. The local FAA wasted everyone's time and energy by even asking for them. That's your local ADO. That's your local government.

As I depart now for Boston in a few hours, I want to leave you all with a thought.

While I believe it to be educated and without bias, I am only offering my opinions on this public comment process. I challenge everyone of you that either believes me or especially if you don't believe me. Make your own FOIA request. It's cheap, it's quick and simple. Get your own copy of the 80+ comments, get your own copy of the airport manager's email to 40+ locals telling them their "opinions matter" without providing them knowledge she has materials they can review.

Get it for yourself, read it all, and then make an informed decision about this minority public hysteria against Skydive Laconia. The facts are out there. The more you get the more you will shake your head at this entire process and the lengths to which the LAA have gone to oppose us.

This is America, it's still the land of the free, you have a right and an obligation to demand transparency and accountability within your government, a government of the people, by the people and FOR the people.

What is your government doing for YOU in this process.

Your "educated and knowledgable" opinion matters. Go ahead, give it to them.

Blue skies to all and to all a good flight,

Tom

[trfour]

Best of luck to The Noonans!!!!
Terry
________________________________

[TheNoonans]

Hi Terry

Thank you for your continued support. I have been offline the last month or so, for my yearly trek into the Himalaya (www.everest-skydive.com) where my team and I take clients skydiving beside Mount Everest. I just got back from Kathmandu a few days ago.

While I am on here, I thought I would share with you an email that I sent to your elected officials in Laconia and Gilford on Sept 19th, 2011. Would you believe that I never got a single response back from anyone on either government council in Laconia or Gilford? Ironic, huh?

I am surprised that any civic leader in a process like this would consider themselves just in ignoring such a request from a proposed business owner. Oh well, lesson learned. Ignoring us worked really well for the local FAA....now we are working with the FAA in Washington, D.C.......I wonder where we go with this next in NH government......hmm.

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

Good afternoon to all,

My name is Tom Noonan and my wife and I have spent the last three and half years requesting to operate a commercial skydiving operation at the Laconia Municipal Airport. To date, our proposal still remains unsupported by the Laconia Airport Authority, and I just wanted to check in with you all to give you a perspective of what will be occurring within the FAA in the near future and the impact it will have our proposal process.

As a background, there have been two "FAA" reports issued by regional FAA agent Michel Hovan of Airports Division, Massachusetts. As I have stated publicly, those reports were erroneous, and created without any guidance or oversight from the FAA in Washington, D.C. Since those reports were issued, I have been in contact with virtually every level of the FAA, including it's chief administrator, Randy Babbitt. I was able to provide Mr. Babbitt's department heads, the director level of the FAA, with verifiable facts and evidence to support that:

1) The LAA discriminated against Skydive Laconia on many occasions in direct violation of their federal funding grant assurances.
2) The NHDOT Department of Aeronautics failed to act to bring the LAA back into compliance.
and
3) Both of the reports issued by the local FAA are completely erroneous.

To validate the seriousness of position and facts, I would like you to consider the fact that at that high a level of the FAA, only factual, verifiable information can pass judgement from the FAA directors, and the fact that I am still in direct communication with them should suggest to you all the validity of the information that I have provided them.

For anyone involved in this process, it is easy to see that we were never given a fair chance by the LAA, and that it is the LAA that forced our position to bring this unjust process a national stage with both the FAA and the media.

I offer the following information for your consideration as it is my sincere belief that justice and accountability within the FAA is just around the corner:

The FAA will very shortly be finalizing a process that will clearly label the Laconia Municipal Airport as viable for a commercial skydiving operation, and equally as important, the FAA will also be enforcing the compliance of it directly and swiftly. If the LAA chooses to remain non-compliant when this process is through, they will forfeit any future federal funding and be required to refund the last ten years of funding they received, that I am finally sure of now.

The FAA has taken the discriminatory practices of the LAA and other airport sponsors across the country that have ignored airport access assurances, very seriously. In this day and age of fiscal accountability, the FAA is about to lead a charge across the nation and put an end to airport sponsors abuse of their funding privileges.

It is also important to understand that the actions of the LAA have now jeopardized the "block grant state" status of the NHDOT. The NHDOT requested to be actively involved in the dissemination of federal funding and the FAA has allowed a handful of states to pursue this role in a test program. I have been able to clearly demonstrate to the FAA in Washington, D.C., that not only did the LAA discriminate against us multiple times during this process, but that when we then informed the NHDOT about the discriminations, they ignored the facts and allowed to airport to continue to receive federal funding. It is with those facts and statements as the foundation for my request, that I asked the FAA to revoke the "block grant' status of the NHDOT and that request is currently under consideration in Washington, D.C.

It is our expectation that by the end of the year, this process will have finally reached it's just conclusion and the FAA will return a verdict that states that Skydive Laconia may be granted access to land our parachutes on the property of the airport, as we contended could be done in July of 2008. We also expect the LAA and the NHDOT to honor that verdict and work with us, not against us, in living up to the federal funding grant assurances that they agreed to.

I am writing to both the City Council of Laconia and the Gilford Selectmen today to renew an offer to meet with you all to help you better understand what impact our business will have on the area, both operationally and financially. My last request to meet with you all and to explain our proposal fell on deaf ears. I can only hope that your willingness to view our proposal with an open mind has increased since my last email and that you consider allowing my wife and I to educate you all on the process that we have been forced to endure, the just outcome that is soon to arrive, and what that means to both communities in terms of new jobs and economic stimulus into the area.

This is your chance to show the community your renewed commitment to economic growth and a just conclusion to the unjust process created by the LAA three and a half years ago.

If you would like to arrange a meeting, please let me know.

Best regards,

Tom Noonan
Skydive Laconia

[Pineedles]

Tom. Even though your most recent posts give us hope that you and your comapny may be up and going by the 2012 season, I sense a setback by the non-response from the locals. Do you need those of us that support you, to do something more?

[trfour]

Hi Tom.

You are the one that deserves a huge Thank You from most of us for opening our eyes to some of the closed room, back door politics that go on every day.
No one should have to go through what you have had to endure over these several years now!

However, I suppose we will eventually find out whether the LAA's lack of knowledge, ( in this case ), has any relevance. To date so far, they have shown ( Shenanigans, and more local concerns ).


Keep up you're great work and stay with us, Tom! We all need you!!
Terry
_____________________________________________

[riverat]

"While I am on here, I thought I would share with you an email that I sent to your elected officials in Laconia and Gilford on Sept 19th, 2011. Would you believe that I never got a single response back from anyone on either government council in Laconia or Gilford? Ironic, huh?"


These "Officials" being "Elected" by some of the readers of this Forum, you would think they would atleast acknowledge the reciept of this email. It is bad for their track record, that we review before casting our vote. Do you want to elect someone that will not answer your emails sent, I for one would not. And feel Tom should have atleast an acknowledgment of "Email recieved and read" response from these "Elected" officials.

[TheNoonans]

Hi Pineedles,

I sense a setback by the non-response from the locals. Do you need those of us that support you, to do something more?

Thank you for support. All I would ask of any of you that are reading this that disagree with the way your local elected officials have handled this situation, is to simply vote your conscience at the next election. As I have said before the real scary part of this process is that we are but one business, one proposal, and if your local government is capable of throwing due process out the window with us, it kind of makes you wonder what other programs and proposals are receiving the same treatment. The local government is making a statement to you, their electoral community, this is how they do business. If you agree with it, re-elect them. If you disagree, vote them out.

Blue skies to all and to all a good flight,

Tom

[trfour]

To The Noonans, from most of us!

Terry
________________________________

[RLW]

Originally Posted by trfour

To The Noonans, from most of us!

Terry
________________________________

Happy Thansgiving
I second those words

[fatlazyless]

...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.

[trfour]

Originally Posted by fatlazyless

...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!

Terry
___________________________

[TheNoonans]

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

[AC2717]

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

[Pontoon Goon]

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

[RLW]

To the Noonan's
Thanks for the update and here is a special

[TheNoonans]

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.

[TheNoonans]

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

[AC2717]

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

[RLW]

Tom & Mary,
I am wondering if it would be illegal for you to go out in a plane and decide to jump from a plane over the big lake and land on the ice. My question really deals with the legal runway in Alton Bay and it is not in use or even if it is????
Thanks for your response if you should decide to answer.
RLW

[TheNoonans]

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

[RLW]

Tom & Mary, I'm just wondering if any news yet as to what is happening with the OK for diving in Laconia. I'm one that is waiting passionately to see it happen this coming summer.

[TheNoonans]

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

[AC2717]

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

[trfour]

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
_________________________________________-

[kchadw]

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..

[RLW]

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.

[Winni-Retired]

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.

[NoBozo]

Originally Posted by Winni-Retired

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..? NB

[Winni-Retired]

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.

[NoBozo]

Originally Posted by Winni-Retired

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. NB

Now back to Skydiving...

[TheNoonans]

Here's hoping that 2012 will bring The Noonans to us!

Hi Terry,

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

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.

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

[Pineedles]

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?

[Resident 2B]

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

[RLW]

I think they will come around and quite quickly, IF the government holds back the money they give them for upkeep and other niceties they get from Uncle Sam.

[TiltonBB]

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?

[trfour]

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.

Okay, I'm almost done!

Originally Posted by pineedles

; Is public tarring and feathering still legal for local officials?

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
______________________________________

[trfour]

Originally Posted by TiltonBB

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?

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
_________________________

[tis]

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.

[Steveo]

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

[Pineedles]

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!

[TheNoonans]

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)

[Retired Ole Guy]

Originally Posted by Resident 2B

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

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

[AC2717]

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

[Ryan]

Originally Posted by AC2717

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

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

[NoBozo]

I Googled Skydive New England.

http://www.skydivenewengland.com/

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

[TheNoonans]

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

[AC2717]

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!!!

[Ryan]

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.

[TheNoonans]

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

Front cover, above the fold.

Blue skies to all and to all a good flight,

Tom

[dpg]

Oh my god not for nothing but can this post finally END???

[lawn psycho]

Originally Posted by dpg

Oh my god not for nothing but can this post finally END???

Obviously a lot of people are interested to see how this plays out.

If you don't like it, don't read it. Not that difficult.

I'm certainly rooting for the Noonan's.

[NoRegrets]

Originally Posted by dpg

Oh my god not for nothing but can this post finally END???

Why? The base story is not done yet. We have the plot, the suspense is building, and we should be entering the final chapter! There are many side stories within the main story that make one wonder what some are thinking but don't get distracted by them.

I hope the good guys win!

[TheNoonans]

Oh my god not for nothing but can this post finally END???

It will. In a few months when the FAA makes a return visit to the airport armed with a standardized national evaluation process. At that time, with about 99% probability, the FAA will grant us access and this thread will end.

As a side note, I am not on here regularly these days and only post when there is something pertinent to the thread. In four years, I have never gone on here simply to "bump" the thread back up to the top of the first page.

And of course, let's not forget, 100% of my involvement on this thread has been completely "reactionary". I didn't start it, I am only responding to it.

Blue skies to all and to all a good flight,

Tom

[RLW]

Originally Posted by TheNoonans

It will. In a few months when the FAA makes a return visit to the airport armed with a standardized national evaluation process. At that time, with about 99% probability, the FAA will grant us access and this thread will end.

As a side note, I am not on here regularly these days and only post when there is something pertinent to the thread. In four years, I have never gone on here simply to "bump" the thread back up to the top of the first page.

And of course, let's not forget, 100% of my involvement on this thread has been completely "reactionary". I didn't start it, I am only responding to it.

Blue skies to all and to all a good flight,

Tom

Well said Tom

[RLW]

I haven't seen anything posted at least on this site as to how things are going since 6-20-12. Have we heard ANYTHING good, bad or in different as to how the government is working on your requests. Maybe the election have taken over their time. I await some great news from you in the very near future as I'm looking to see beautiful chutes coming down into Laconia airport in the very, very near future.

Continue best of luck to the both of you.

[TheNoonans]

Hi RLW!

Thank you for the inquiry. Admittedly, I haven't been able to update much lately, as there hasn't been much to update in terms of news. And I didn't want anyone accusing me of posting replies just to keep bumping the thread up and keeping it on the first page.

Let's see, updates.......hmm

On a personal note, I had a great season in Taunton, MA this year with my new dropzone down there. Despite the concerns of a handful of people when we first got there, we have had a pretty much seemless integration into the day to day operations there. It is a truly amazing feeling to have a positive working relationship with the airport commission and airport manager. They call me and I call them, just to check in periodically and see how we all are doing.

Other than that, the big news is that we bought our first plane, a beautifully Cessna 182 which we are ferrying to Daytona Beach at the end of November after I get back from my yearly Everest Skydive expedition which I am leaving for to Kathmandu in a few days.

As for Laconia and the FAA, I've seen the document that will be published shortly. The FAA held off publishing it to do a "Re-proof" for lack of a better term. When it is published, based on what is written, the Laconia Municipal Airport will qualify as a viable location for a PLA (parachute landing area). When that is published, we will resubmit our proposal and the LAA will then have a choice, let us on the airport or they can continue to stand their ground and say no. This time around however if they say no, we will have the full backing of the FAA Compliance division in Washington, DC on our side.

Last but not least, during this process, even in the quiet times, I have maintained my contacts and relationships with all those FAA Directors I worked with in Washington. And somewhere along the line, I got this statement from the FAA: "The LAA has stated that when you approached them they told you no on the areas you requested, but said they offered you to land your parachutes adjacent to the North/South closed runway on the airport.......

Now for all of you that have been following this process since January 2009, has anyone on the LAA or the airport manager ever offered us anywhere to land ON the airport?.........lol. I told the FAA in response, laughingly, that the old airport location that Mary and I were offered to land at by the LAA was ANOTHER airport.....lol.....Moultonborough Airport.......lol

Thanks for checking in, I'll be back with more news as it comes up.

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

[robmac]

Well hope the FAA releases the report soon so the you can move forward with your business plan and bring a new and viable business to the area. Goodluck,Rob

[RLW]

Originally Posted by TheNoonans

Hi RLW!

Thank you for the inquiry. Admittedly, I haven't been able to update much Other than that, the big news is that we bought our first plane, a beautifully Cessna 182 which we are ferrying to Daytona Beach at the end of November after I get back from my yearly Everest Skydive expedition which I am leaving for to Kathmandu in a few days.

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

Thanks for the update and hearing the news of the new plane that you have purchased. Have a fantastic time on your trip to the yearly Everest Skydive expedition.

As you always say "Blue skies to all and to all a good flight" on the trip.
RLW

[trfour]

And, hoping for a Skydive Laconia here in 2013.


I would like to share some of Tom's credentials.

Tom Noonan

Chief Tandem Instructor

Tom Noonan is a professional skydiving instructor from the USA. He is also involved in both Civilian and Military Tandem Equipment design and test jumping. Tom has made 4,000 skydives and is a USPA Tandem Instructor-Examiner, USPA AFF Instructor, and USPA Instructor Examiner Rating Course (IERC) Director. He also holds a FAA Senior Rigger certification and is a USPA Safety & Training Advisor (S&TA). Tom holds the world record (along with Wendy Smith and Jai Kishan) for the highest parachute landing at 17,192ft. He has been with Everest Skydive since its launch in 2008 and is in charge of the tandem skydiving programme of Everest Skydive as well as the tandem equipment rigging and maintenance.


Terry
_______________________________________

[TheNoonans]

Hi Terry!

Thank you for the continued endoresement.

Looking forward to 2013 as well. We remain committed as ever and look forward to the FAA's final pubication.

Have a great winter!

Blue skies to all and to all a good flight,

Tom

[John A. Birdsall]

I think that my wife should take up sky diving, the higher she goes the faster she would come down. I'd even be willing to pack her parachute or duffle bag which ever would be lightger!

[Pontoon Goon]

There I said it. It's not that I want it to be true but think about it. This month marks the fourth year we have had an online "relationship" with the Noonans yet we haven't actually met them. There has been plenty of back and forth online, they have posted pictures and shared plenty of very convincing stories of world travels...yet nothing. I had never heard the term "catfishing" until this past week but now it all seems so clear. Good job Fly Guy you got us.

[Resident 2B]

Originally Posted by Pontoon Goon

There I said it. It's not that I want it to be true but think about it. This month marks the fourth year we have had an online "relationship" with the Noonans yet we haven't actually met them. There has been plenty of back and forth online, they have posted pictures and shared plenty of very convincing stories of world travels...yet nothing. I had never heard the term "catfishing" until this past week but now it all seems so clear. Good job Fly Guy you got us.

From what I read, on and outside of the internet, Tom and Mary are real. Here is a link to a world record Tom shares:
http://www.worldrecordacademy.com/sp...cord_90449.htm

Looks real to me.

R2B

[Pontoon Goon]

Just goes to show how deep this hoax is. By the way I was only kidding.

[Resident 2B]

Originally Posted by Pontoon Goon

Just goes to show how deep this hoax is. By the way I was only kidding.

You got me!

[AC2717]

I am good friends with a friend of Tom's and yes they do exist!

[TheNoonans]

That actually made me laugh this morning as I read the post (and I got the joke....lol).

Like some of you, Mary and I shake our heads sometimes that this process has gone on as long as it has. It's a testament to an unintended consquence of big government, bureaucracies.

To be fair to the LAA, when we first got there in Aug 2008, they didn't want us on the airport despite skydiving being a suitable business for the facility with equal access rights actually mandated in the funding agreement they agreed to with the FAA. So, the local push back began with the LAA, not unlike push back from a handful of other airports across the country each year with skydiving proponents trying to bring a legal and viable skydiving businesses onto other municipal airports across the nation.

The LAA, to the best of their knowlegde, decided that skydiving was "unsafe". As I have said for almost 4 years now, the problem with that statement then, as it still remains now, is that no one on the LAA has the background in aviation safety to be able to make that statement. As is written BY the FAA, ONLY the FAA can make that assessment.

So, then entered the "local" FAA and the start of the bureaucracy.....

In a perfect world, the "safety experts", the FAA would enter and make a safety assessment, and provide their findings to the local municipality to then make an informed decision.

In this case unforntunately, due to the size and lack of oversight within the FAA, the specific individuals within the local FAA that were originally tasked to do this safety audit, were unprepared to do it, cited all sorts of erroneous and inapplicable FAA doctrine and concocted what has gone on to become one of the most erroneous docuements ever created within this process, that STILL to this day, is used as an example of how not to do a safety audit.

What that whole process did however, was highlight to the FAA in Washington how truly broken the FAA oversight and safety audit process had become.

So like a half dozen other extremely patient business owners, we were forced to sit and wait, and wait some more, and wait again, and again there after, for the FAA on a federal level to issue a Parachute Landing Area assessment guide and process that will finally be the unified, non biased assessment of an airport's suitability for skydiving. It's final release was pushed back a few times for additional comments and reviews, etc, but it is forthcoming on the near horizon.

Both sides, Mary and I as well as the LAA I presume, have already seen what will become the final draft of this PLA document, and as is no surprise to anyone that has read anything that I have written in the last 3 years on here, Skydive Laconia will be able to find suitable property ON the airport to land parachutes on, with the full backing and blessing of the FAA.

It's been a long time to get here, and yes, life has moved on for all of us I would imagine. Sometimes in these cases, the proponent in our shoes simply gets frustrated and gives up from all the stone walling, all the waiting. We never did, never would. We were never going to just go away, our cause was just and the FAA in Washington knew we had a case.

So here we are today, anxiously waiting for this to resolve itself so that we can move forward, working with the LAA, to build a positive, mutually beneficial relationship with the LAA and the other tenants of the airport, those that don't mind us being there, as well as those that would prefer our little "dirt road business" sought residence elsewhere.......lol

Tomorrow is a new day.

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

[Pontoon Goon]

Tom,
Thank you very much for your response to my lame attempt to add some levity to an otherwise cold and boring day. There are many of us on this forum that can't wait for a resolution so you hang your shingle and get going.
Best of luck,
Pontoon Goon

[NoRegrets]

You should have saved your post for April fools day!

[RI Swamp Yankee]

Originally Posted by Pontoon Goon

Tom,
..... There are many of us on this forum that can't wait for a resolution so you hang your shingle and get going. ...

Including me!

I was at Sawyer's last week enjoying a very large "small" ice cream and expected to see parachutes. I didn't even see any planes at all. Has the airport closed?

Initially I thought I have no say in the matter since I am not a resident BUT since LAA is/was getting some federal money, it is MY tax dollar so I do have a dog in this fight.

Is there anything new?

[fatlazyless]

www.laconiaairport.com , which is actually 100% located in the neighboring town of Gilford, NH, has no regular scheduled airlines using it for a passenger stop. Once upon a time, many many many moons ago, it was used by Air New England http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_New_England flying its route from Boston to Laconia to Lebanon NH to Burlington, VT, but now it is used only by private airplanes and has no.......zero! .....regular scheduled passenger service. The Nascar race track down in Loudon, NH has some race car people who like to use the Laconia Airport, sometimes.


Why not just forget about Laconia Airport for a skydiving business, and go knock on the runway door to nearby, 17-air miles away, Plymouth Airport in Plymouth, NH? Located just 4-miles from Route 93-Exit 26, it is easier to get to by car than is the Laconia Airport in Gilford! For a look-see, including a small photograph, suggest you go to www.airnav.com/airport/1P1 Plymouth Airport is owned by the Town of Plymouth, NH, and they might just welcome a sky diving business to their small, single grass runway airport.

For a best bet view of the Plymouth Airport and surrounds ....... suggest you go to the "About Us" section of www.chutesup.com and click on the 40-minute video "An autumn evening flight over Plymouth, NH."

[TheNoonans]

Greetings RI Swamp Yankee and FLLess,

In my last post here it ended with:

So here we are today, anxiously waiting for this to resolve itself so that we can move forward

Unfortunately not much has changed to date. Still waiting. The sequester put a pretty big delay on this national landing area process being adopted. We're still waiting like everyone else for that.

The good news if there is anything to come out of this, is that on the western side of the country, another long standing airport access case was just resolved, with the FAA siding with the skydiving operation.

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

[Happy Gourmand]

You, Sir, have the patience of a Saint. Most would have thrown in the towel long ago.
If patience is a virtue, you are one virtuous individual! At some point, I'm sure this became personal.
Go Noonans!!

[ApS]

Title: Plane catches skydiver's parachute; both crash, but all survive...

http://www.latimes.com/nation/nation...,1758960.story

[upthesaukee]

Originally Posted by ApS

Title: Plane catches skydiver's parachute; both crash, but all survive...

http://www.latimes.com/nation/nation...,1758960.story

It does not look like an airport with asphalt runways. The video and Google earth looks like a small grass strip.

[rander7823]

Originally Posted by ApS

Title: Plane catches skydiver's parachute; both crash, but all survive...

http://www.latimes.com/nation/nation...,1758960.story

A week doesn't go by when I see on some news report an accident with a small plane. Check the Alton Ice Airport crash.

I can't remember seeing an accident like this happening since this thread started.

[rander7823]

Will we get to skydive this summer?

[SIKSUKR]

Starting to wonder if the Noonans resolve is still there. Its now been over 5 years.

[Steveo]

Not looking good

[Steveo]

I just researched and answered my own question. Looks like he is getting ready foe another Everest Dive in October:

http://www.everest-skydive.com/

[TheNoonans]

Hello!

I can't believe its been 5 years since we first looked into the DZ idea in Laconia. Wow, how time flies (no pun intended....lol). With the federal PLA analysis stalled by the sequester, and everything else going on in the world, admittedly, this project was forced to take a backseat to other more timing viable projects like, as Steve mentioned, Everest Skydive.

Ironic that putting on a skydiving expedition for the last seven years in one of the world's most remote and hostile climates in the Himalaya continues to be easier to put in place than skydiving at the Laconia Airport.....lol

That said, I continue to wish everyone in the area all the best. Skydive Laconia isn't off the radar, just had a few more viable projects pop up in the interim. I actually just returned from Australia where I spent a month touring airport and skydiving operations giving safety seminars, and now its off to Ireland to do the same.

Tempis Fugis, that's for sure! Hope to see you all over the skies in Laconia someday!