How to land on a lake – with wheels!
February 6th, 2009. Filed under: $100 Hamburgers, Cross Country, Fly-ins, Video.Guess what I did this past Sunday… I landed on a lake with my wheeled airplane. Ok.. it was a frozen lake but it was, none the less, a lake (smirk).
The place: Alton Bay on Lake Winnipesaukee, NH at the former Alton Bay Seaplane base (B18). To the best of my knowledge, this is the only sanctioned FAA frozen lake airport in the lower 48 states. And it’s only open for a few weeks (if the weather is accommodating).
The mission: A Purple Board for Pilots participants meet up for breakfast and do something with your plane that is totally unusual.
With the seaplane base going out of business this year and no one in charge of plowing and getting FAA approvals, the airport wasn’t going to be open this winter. But some of the folks from Alton Bay stepped up and got it done. There are several friendly restaurants and shops nestled along the shore worthy of visiting and the town has an annual Winter Carnival in February when dozens of people fly in to be entertained. Having the airport open is just good for business.
The week leading to the meet up, there was a lot of talk about what to expect while landing and taking off from the ice.
These are five things I learned:
1) Braking power is pretty decent. The runway is plowed and what is left is a pretty rough surface. It wasn’t at all glare ice, like you might expect. Even if it was glare, the 2400′ runway is plenty for just about any small aircraft.
2) That being said, it’s certainly not pavement. Go slowly when you taxi. With very little breaking (pivoting) this is typically the most challenging part. Just remember that if you slide into the snowbank, you can always shut down and push it out. There seems to always be a buncha folks around willing to help.
With so many of us meeting there was about eight planes in the parking area when I arrived I found the biggest challenge tiptoeing over the ice trying not to kiss wings.
3) Many of is were concerned that we wouldn’t be able to do a pre-launch runup. Luckily, I was parked on a patch of snow and preformed my runup there. But, again, the surface was pretty rough. Wost comes to worst and it is very slippery, there is a long(ish) taxi to runway 1 and a full length taxi to 19. Either way you’d have enough room to slip a bit while you do you runup.
4) The second biggest surprise for me was how much the left torque of the engine, prop and prop wash pushed the plane sideways on the ice on takeoff. Just remember to use even more right rudder than you usually do and you’ll be fine.
5) Back to that rough surface – do a soft field take off. Your plane’s landing gear will thank you.
Q: Have you landed at Alton Bay (in the winter)? What was your experience like?
Q: Have you landed anyplace unusual?
February 6th, 2009 at 1:58 pm
Wow. Nice video, Bob. That is something I would like to try one day (next February?) in the Ercoupe. I thought to myself, “That ice is a lot rougher that I thought it would be,” just before your title saying just that came on the screen. I wonder if the “Coupe’s heavy duty gear would smooth it out a bit.
Besides being a unique place and “way” to land a plane, Alton Bay sounds like a great place to visit. Shops, places to eat, friendly folks, other planes and pilots – what more could one want?
You keep doing these neat missions. Maybe next year (oops, it’s already next year – 2009) I’ll be doing some of the same.
February 8th, 2009 at 10:37 pm
I’m Bob’s dad. Alton Bay has a webcam facing the runway. Although the cam was zoomed out and the refresh rate/reception was not perfect, his mom and I watched his taxi in, park… other movements around and ultimately his take off. We called him on his cell and told him his parents were watching. He later gave us a call before taking off. Neat.
I am recovering from some surgery so it was really fun to share Bob’s adventure, realtime, from the comfort of our warm home.
Bill: I’m glad you’re a regular ‘commenter’. I enjoy reading what you say and look forward to meeting you.