Alton Bay B18 Ice Runway / LCI Laconia, NH Feb 10, 2024

[Mouseflyer]

This years Alton Bay B18 Ice Runway / LCI Laconia, NH Feb 10, 2024 Fly In is on the schedule.

For those that are unaware, the only lower 48 FAA/State DOT Sanctioned Ice Runway is on Lake Winnapasake New Hampshire. Each year the BAC schedules a fly in there in support. Due to the variance in weather and the days the runway is open for safety, The Northeast Region gives Presidents points credit to any member who makes it there during the season.

On the scheduled day however, we try and hit the Ice Runway about 10AM so photos can be taken of the landing Mice on the runway. 12 Noon meetup at LCI to grab fuel and chat in a warmer environment. Possibility of lunch at T-Bones or another local restaurant.

If you have not landed on the Ice Runway before, please routinely check NOTAMS and weather. The Alton Bay Ice Runway has a Facebook page, FAA Wings runs an orientation class for those that want some background. There is also an information phone line at 603-271-7398.

Hope to see some turnout this year with the coming cold weather.

 

[corcoran]

Global Warming has made ice thickness variable lately. Some years it has not been cold enough to open the runway at Alton Bay.
So..... if we get the chance about a month-and-a-half from now, TAKE IT!
It may be our last opportunity ever.



I look forward to being there. Tom Corcoran

 

[mvanover]

I wouldn't count on it not being there. I'm in Arizona and it's 38 degs and we will have ice in the bird bath in the morning. I have a space heater in the office going so my arthritic fingers can actually type this post. This getting old if for the birds. I'm finding I'm always cold. Loosing my sense of touch, my sense of hearing, I can't see too good and now it seems I've totally lost my sense of decency!

 

[rkittine]

Most of the guys I float fly with, convert over to skis for the winter and hang out in the Adirondack Park in Upstate New York with the snowmobilers. Always non-ethanol Auto Gas available on the either frozen lakes or snow covered fields.

 

[corcoran]

Report from Alton Bay, New Hampshire... KEEP WISHING!
I flew over Lake Winnipesaukee yesterday. It looked very nice; boats and all.



Presently there is no ice on any lake in that area. There is no snow on any field either.
Temperatures have been in the 40's. BUT DO NOT GIVE UP HOPE.
Landing on the ice and sliding through the roll-out is challenging and lots of fun.
There was no Alton Bay Ice Runway last year but maybe, maybe, maybe 2024 will be different.

 

[CalifDan]

I have a question for those who have landed single engine piston airplanes on ice. I have experience on the ramp with ice in a twin engine aircraft with reversible props. Absent any braking action, it is possible to stop and turn with accuracy. How do you handle ground operations on ice in a typical BAC aircraft?

 

[mvanover]

I don't know if they are available to GA, but the military can source tires with embedded wires for icy conditions. I found one once in the Navy changing a NLG tire on an A-4. I started using gloves to change tires after that. That being said, I'm also curious about taxiing about on ice. The clearances for the big tires on the fixed gears are too small for traction devices. Although, Snow will stick to ice and provide some directional control with our ribbed tires if it's not too deep. Come on expert on ice landings, people want to know!

 

[corcoran]

I am not an expert on anything, including maneuvering on ice. However, I have experience.

When the ice is glassy and there is absolutely no snow on it, you are in for the ride-of-your-life. Land fast and that translates into a slide without control into the side or far snowbank. The snowbank looks soft but is likely a frozen mass. "Bang".
Better to land slow. Touch down with the stall horn blaring. Use you rudder for directional "control". Brakes work like s___. Roll out to the end.

One year I could only turn by opening the door and using it as a sail in the propwash.

At Alton Bay you make a right turn to get onto the taxiway to parking. Runways there are always 01/19. Only landing on 01 is allowed. Parking is all the way back to the numbers on 01. Look at the photo of the scene I posted above in this thread. You are looking down final on 01.

In addition to the adventures landing and taxiing at Alton Bay there is a real cluster of airplanes trying to land. They are strung out for miles and in every direction. No tower, no instructions, myriad skill levels. It's a zillion GA pilots lining up his aircraft to get his turn to attempt a landing.
"A hornets nest" doesn't do the event justice. If your head is not out the window it is elsewhere and the darkness can kill you.

Hope for cold in New Hampshire! I'd like to meet you there.

 

[corcoran]

I have a question for those who have landed single engine piston airplanes on ice. I have experience on the ramp with ice in a twin engine aircraft with reversible props. Absent any braking action, it is possible to stop and turn with accuracy. How do you handle ground operations on ice in a typical BAC aircraft?

Ground operations are done by a volunteer with a handheld radio. He/she may be official or not. Though there is a level of authority, only you are liable for anything that takes place.

 

[dbdicker]

I am not an expert on anything, including maneuvering on ice. However, I have experience.

When the ice is glassy and there is absolutely no snow on it, you are in for the ride-of-your-life. Land fast and that translates into a slide without control into the side or far snowbank. The snowbank looks soft but is likely a frozen mass. "Bang".
Better to land slow. Touch down with the stall horn blaring. Use you rudder for directional "control". Brakes work like s___. Roll out to the end.

One year I could only turn by opening the door and using it as a sail in the propwash.

At Alton Bay you make a right turn to get onto the taxiway to parking. Runways there are always 01/19. Only landing on 01 is allowed. Parking is all the way back to the numbers on 01. Look at the photo of the scene I posted above in this thread. You are looking down final on 01.

In addition to the adventures landing and taxiing at Alton Bay there is a real cluster of airplanes trying to land. They are strung out for miles and in every direction. No tower, no instructions, myriad skill levels. It's a zillion GA pilots lining up his aircraft to get his turn to attempt a landing.
"A hornets nest" doesn't do the event justice. If your head is not out the window it is elsewhere and the darkness can kill you.

Hope for cold in New Hampshire! I'd like to meet you there.

Gulp.

Uh - I think i'm busy that day. Musketeers don't float, and my Super doesn't skate. You've sufficiently terrified me, Tom.

 

[kamwings]

Ditto. No desire to skid my plane into a snowbank.

 

[CalifDan]

No one can suggest that Tom understated the issues. Thanks Tom. I am now curious if there is any effort to provide a braking action report on the ice runway as conditions change? One of my concerns was landing towards the parking area seemed risky. As Tom pointed out, they eliminate that problem by only landing on 01. I guess if you land on 01, don't slide off the end and can taxi all the way back, chances are you have a pretty good chance of parking safely.

 

[a2324pilot]

There are You Tube videos of how not to do it. I am not sure if I have watched one on how.
I have landed on snow/ice covered in the mid-west, but I am not looking to expand the experience.

 

[corcoran]

If you normally land on long wide runways, for Alton Bay, you better practice short narrow runways.
You'll want to touchdown on the (imaginary) numbers on the (imaginary) centerline. If you don't touch the brakes you will rollout straight (Newton's Law?) and hope to dissipate momentum ("Objects in motion tend to stay in motion") before the snowbank 2,500 feet ahead.

If there is a thin layer of snow is on the runway you won't even know you landed on ice.

Every single one of us can do this successfully with proper control of your airspeed.

Photo: Annual magazine drop to waiting ice fisherman on the adjacent New Hampshire lake as reported in the New York Post.

 

[FASTFRED]

Nice

 

[Mouseflyer]

Still looking at lots of water where the ice runway should be.

Regarding the landing and maneuvering. For best results hope for a light snow the day before, this gives a crusty feeling to the ice and provides for added friction.

As stated earlier. Land slow. Full.flaps, nose high. Pretend you are going into a sopping wet field of grass with unknown potholes. Caution is the word.

 

[Mouseflyer]

Update Sunday 1/27 on conditions. Roughly 4 inches of ice on the lake. (We need a minimum of 10 to safely land and maintain the runway.)

Outlook does not look good with the currently forecasted rain. Mother nature is free to make my pathetic attempt to predict the weather wrong however.

 

[Mouseflyer]

Latest ice update from ALTON BAY - 6 inches of ice and the top 1.5 inches are mealy and weak. Unfortunately no ice runway this year due to weather.