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Cool Arctic flying videos to get you in the mood for winter

Winter tends to ground most recreational pilots in lower latitudes, but not in places like Alaska where cool weather still means cool flying and even cooler videos.

In this first video posted on the website of the Alaska Dispatch, Alaskan pilot Mike Collins takes you over the skies of Cordova in both a Super Cub and Cessna 185:

In this next video, also from the Alaska Dispatch, you will learn how to safely land your aircraft in a gorge during a blizzard:

Meanwhile, a quick look around on YouTube found this cool video (the person who uploaded it has a few other great videos as well) showing what to expect in good winter conditions for flying, skiing and sightseeing around the spectacular Glacier Bay National Park:

Finally, the Aviationist blog has found a really cool video shot from a cockpit of a NASA P-3B aircraft as part of an operation under a name of Ice Bridge which is intended to examine ice conditions at both the North and South poles. Its one of the largest surveillance missions covering both the Arctic and Antarctic regions with the main goals being to create a 3D map of the ice cover:

Cool videos from FlightFest 2013 in Dublin

Last Sunday, 130,000 visitors came to the centre of Dublin to watch FlightFest – an event modeled on the flypast that took place during the Queen’s Jubilee celebrations. Some thirty aircraft participated with the event being brought to a close by the British Airways A380 Airbus.

This first short video explains the complicated behind the scenes flight planning that was required to safely pull of FlightFest:

This next video was actually taken a few weeks before FlightFest and gives you a good birds eye view of what the pilots flying the aircraft saw on Sunday (with 130,000 added in):

If you really want to know what it was like to see FlightFest live, there is a couple of hours of footage posted in three videos on Aertv.ie here. Otherwise, this following video shows all the important action in just three minutes:

Sandpoint Airpark: Live in luxury with your airplane

We recently profiled the Mallards Landing Airpark in Henry County just south of Atlanta, but General Aviation News has brought our attention to the SilverWing at Sandpoint Airpark located in Sandpoint, Idaho.

The project was conceived by pilot owner John McKeown who wanted to build a residential airpark, but finding the right spot wasn’t easy because the right location had to be:

Adjacent to a public airport with a runway long enough for larger aircraft.
Close to a vibrant town where people could walk or take a short drive to restaurants, shopping and other activities.
Be in a beautiful location that offers year-round recreational activities and of course, flying.

A flight over Long Bridge, Lake Pend Oreille and downtown Sandpoint that culminated with a landing at the Sandpoint Airport (SZT) on its 5,501 foot or 1,677 meter runway convinced him he’d found the right spot.

John was quoted by General Aviation News as saying that:

“The Sandpoint Airport is one of a few mountain resort airports located in the center of town, just minutes from skiing, boating, shopping and restaurants. USA Today named Sandpoint one of the best five small towns in America and we couldn’t agree more. In the winter, Schweitzer Ski Mountain is the place to be. Just a 15-minute drive from the SilverWing, Schweitzer was named the ‘best kept secret’ by Ski Magazine. From the top of mountain, at 6,400 feet, the stunning views include Canada’s Selkirks, Montana’s Cabinet and Bitterroot Mountain Ranges, as well as Lake Pend Oreille. Downtown Sandpoint is picturesque with holiday lights, earning Travel + Leisure’s accolade as one of ‘America’s Prettiest Winter Towns.’ When the weather heats up, activities on Lake Pend Oreille are boundless. At 65 miles long and 1,150 feet deep, Lake Pend Oreille is Idaho’s largest and the fifth deepest lake in the United States, making it great for boating, kayaking, fishing and more.”

SilverWing purchased 18 acres adjacent to the airport in late 2006 with the first model home being completed in 2011. Today, there are 44 residential lots ranging in size from 6,000 to 27,000 square feet (557 to 2,508 sqms) and these lots can be individually built on or combined for larger hangar-home units.

Mike Mileski, one of the developers, noted:

“There are five designs to choose from, ranging from a 50 x 42 foot hangar with an equal size residence above to a 60 x 70 foot hangar with over 4,200 square feet of residence above. The average cost of building a hangar and a residential shell starts at $75 per square foot and can increase depending on finishes and other items an owner wants to do. All of our lots are on fee simple land and ready for immediate build out.”

In addition, there are plans to build a common area with an exercise center, swimming pool, spa and a BBQ area while a full service SilverWing FBO is already at the airport.

Click here to see the latest information about pricing and availability and do note that each owner must pays an annual fee of $150 to Bonner County for airport access rights plus additional fees of $75 per year will be required for any additional aircraft that is hangared for longer than 30 days a year.

Interested? You can find out more information and see plenty of pictures (including floor plans) of SilverWing at Sandpoint Airpark on the development’s website here while a quick search on YouTube revealed this really cool flying video over the area which gives you a good idea of just how beautiful the location and region around the Airpark is:

The joys of night flying…

Night flying:

Remember that the airplane doesn’t know that it’s dark.
On a clear, moonless night, never fly between the tanker’s lights.
There are certain aircraft sounds that can only be heard at night.
If you’re going to night fly, it might as well be in the weather so you can double count your exposure to both hazards.
Night formation is really an endless series of near misses in equilibrium with each other.
You would have to pay a lot of money at a lot of amusement parks and perhaps add a few drugs, to get the same blend of psychedelic sensations as a single engine night weather flight.

Friday the 13th’s Flight 666 arrives safely in HEL

Today is Friday the 13th and we are happy to report that Finnair flight 666 or AY666 from Copenhagen to Helsinki (HEL) has landed safely. Not only that, the flight departed and landed ahead of schedule:

For superstitious travelers, Helsinki happens to have the 3 letter designation HEL while flight AY666 from Copenhagen to Helsinki is a daily flight – meaning there are are two Friday the 13th flights to HEL this year.

The AP has noted that some airlines, like Scandinavian Airlines, take superstitions about the number 13 very serious and don’t have a row 13 on board. However, Finnair and other regional carriers like Norwegian and Estonian Air keep their row 13s because apparently the superstition has only recently arrived in northern latitudes – meaning some lucky passengers got to sit in row 13, on Flight 666 to HEL…

The AP also reported that today’s Flight 666 to HEL was almost full, but there is no word on whether or not any passengers lost their checked-in baggage in or on the way to HEL…

Finally and if you wish to replay an uneventful Flight 666 to HEL, click here to visit the flight’s page on flightradar24.com.

Inside Wayne Newton’s private jet terminal

Casa de Shenandoah is the ranch that singer Wayne Newton (“Mr. Las Vegas”) shared with his family for 45 years until financial problems led to a development company buying the property in the hopes of turning it into a Graceland-like museum. That deal has since fallen apart in various bitter lawsuits and allegations with the Newtons being booted out of their home.

The entire ranch is now listed for a mere $70 million with a lengthy slideshow being posted on Yahoo (even more pictures can be found here) as it features eight separate homes, a car museum, acres of stables and corrals, a zoo area, several pools and what interests us the most (since this is an aviation webzine…), a jet terminal complete with a jet!

In response to a comment we decided to add these two pictures for some clarification as the property is near the airport BUT it lacks an actual runway (the aircraft is visible in the closeup):

Over the top and rather tacky? Perhaps. But hey, what do you expect in Las Vegas? Moreover, it could be much worst (click here to see a slideshow of Liberace’s now rather rundown home that was recently bought by a British real estate developer…)

Golf Hotel Whiskey: for pilots and aviation enthusiasts