NRRA NEWS FOR THE WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 24TH, 2006
Welcome to the 71st issue of NRRA News - an almost weekly, sometimes monthly,
occasionally quarterly, summary of events at New Richmond Regional Airport. This
newsletter is sent to approximately 245 individuals associated with NRRA.
There are a lot of exciting things happening at NRRA. Here goes -
TERMINAL AERODROME FORECAST
This is so cool. Effective August 1st, the National Weather Service began
issuing aviation weather forecasts for New Richmond Regional Airport. A Terminal
Aerodrome Forecast (TAF) is issued every six hours and covers the expected
weather within 5 statute miles of NRRA. Typically, TAF's are reserved for air
carrier airports, such as Milwaukee, Madison, and Minneapolis-St. Paul. It took
some serious lobbying on our part, but it was certainly worth it. We became
eligible for the TAF due to the locally based helicopter air ambulance operator
Life Link III and the increasing business aircraft activity. NRRA is now the
10th airport in Wisconsin to have a TAF. A special thanks to the staff at the
National Weather Service Office in Chanhassen for the extra hard work that went
into the establishment of the TAF. A link to the TAF is located on the NRRA
weather page
http://www.nrairport.com/weather.htm and directly from the NWS at
http://www.crh.noaa.gov/product.php?site=MPX&product=TAF&issuedby=RNH . If
you have XM Weather in your aircraft, the TAF is available there, too.
AIRSHOW 2006
The third annual New Richmond Regional Airport airshow was held during the last
weekend of June. By just about all accounts, the airshow was a success. This
year's airshow featured the B-25 Mitchell Bomber from the CAF out of South St.
Paul along with the AC-47 gunship "Puff". Local hangar owners Pete Tallarita and
John Mohr performed along with Darrel Massman, Joe Dooley, and Bob Post. The
two-day airshow attracted well over 2000 people. Thanks to the all-volunteer
airshow committee for making the show a success. Committee members are Jim
Letourneau, Pete Tallarita, Pat Anderson, Jay Griggs, and Glenn Newby. Thanks to
the volunteer workers who did everything from park cars, sell hot dogs, park
airplanes, and clean up. Thanks to our sponsors, too! Pete Tallarita is charging
ahead with plans for next year's airshow. Stay tuned. Pictures from Airshow 2006
are available at
http://www.nrairport.com/airshow2006.htm
FIXED BASE OPERATOR HANGAR
Hangar 11-12, the 18,000 square foot facility located on the north aircraft
parking apron, is the new home to Strand Air Service (SAS). SAS is the first
full-service FBO in the area in decades. SAS is offering aircraft maintenance,
flight instruction, line service, courtesy car and car rental, pilot lounge, and
full-service aircraft fueling via fuel truck. 24-hour restrooms, lounge area,
Meteorlogix weather computer and vending are now available. The new facility
also has a conference room with a tremendous view of the runway. A private pilot
ground school will be held in the conference room beginning October 19th.
http://strandair.com/_wsn/page3.html for more info.
ROAD PROJECT
Getting to NRRA by ground will be a lot easier in another week. The four-year
project of building a 14-mile stretch of 4-lane highway from Stillwater to
NRRA's doorstep is nearly complete. The last stretch of the eighty-five million
dollar highway will be opened as early as this Thursday. The new highway is
routed along the north side of the City of New Richmond. If you are traveling
from Minnesota, you will no longer have to go through downtown New Richmond to
get to the airport. That alone will save 5-10 minutes. The north hangars at NRRA
can be accessed via the CTH CC/Wall Street intersection with STH 64. The south
hangars are still accessed from STH 65. Signage along the new highway is still a
bit sparse. Watch for new directional signs to NRRA in the next month.
NEW SNOW REMOVAL EQUIPMENT
NRRA participated in a state wide bid for new snow removal equipment in June.
NRRA will receive a New Holland TV-145 articulated tool carrier tractor
outfitted with a 14' snow sweeper, snow bucket, 12' plow, and snow blower. The
local share of the $150,000.00 purchase will ultimately amount to approximately
$4,000.00 with the remainder coming from the FAA and State of Wisconsin. The
equipment will be delivered in November.
http://www.newholland.com/h4/products/products_series_detail.asp?Reg=NA&RL=ENNA&NavID=000001277003&series=000004882711
RUNWAY LIGHTS, PILOT CONTROLLED LIGHTING, AND THAT LIGHTNING ROD WE REFER TO AS
THE NDB
If you went flying during late July, you probably noticed the lack of pilot
controlled lighting at NRRA. A component in the constant current regulator for
the runway lights failed on July 21st leaving the runway lights out-of-service
for a few hours. The power source for the lights was switched to a different
regulator - the one that powers the precision approach path indicator lights (PAPI)
instead. The result was the lights were on low intensity 24-7 until the proper
parts were installed 17 days later.
The Non-Directional Beacon (NDB) took another lightning strike on the evening of
August 24th. The NDB gets struck once or twice a year. This time, it was a
little worse than usual. Several expensive circuit boards were damaged. The NDB
should be returned to service this weekend after about $2500 worth of repairs.
http://www.nrairport.com/equipment/ndb.htm
HANGAR SPACE
A mix of corporate and private hangars are available for rent at NRRA. A listing
of current hangar space is available at:
http://www.nrairport.com/rent.htm
If you are interested in building a hangar, we have hangar lots available. A
diagram of the north hangar area showing available is lots can be found at:
http://www.nrairport.com/pics/airport/2006 north hangar area.pdf
MIGRATORY WATERFOWL MANAGEMENT
Permit-only hunting on and near the airport is back. Last year, NRRA in
cooperation with the New Richmond Police Department, tried permit-only hunting
in an effort to reduce the number of geese landing on Hatfield Lake. It worked.
The geese quickly learned the area wasn't safe and moved on. Prior to the
permit-only season started last year, thousands of geese would congregate on the
lake resulting in a hazard to aviation. Police Chief Mark Samalstad announced he
is issuing 30 permits on a first-come first served basis. Each hunter must
receive written permission from the Police Chief and undergo a brief training
session prior to hunting in the area.
FREE AIRPLANE RIDES FOR KIDS
Young Eagles Flights for Kids ages 8 to 17 will be available 9 a.m. to noon on
September 30th at NRRA. EAA Chapter 25 pilots will provide the rides. A parent
or guardian must sign an EAA permission form, which are available at the event
or by request in advance. For information contact Jon Cumpton at 715-749-3134 or
jcbroke40@aol.com
http://www.eaa25.org/
SAD NEWS
Bill Hart, a longtime hangar owner at NRRA, passed away on September 8th
following a battle with cancer. Bill owned hangar 2-1 in the south hangar area
and flew a Cessna 182 for several years.
AIRPORT PROJECTS
Several small but important projects are underway at NRRA, including:
- New lights will be installed near the security gates serving the south hangar
area and the north hangar area
- A new airport sign constructed out of limestone and a new flagpole will be
installed near the north hangar area security gate
- A 4-foot tall fence will be installed near the north aircraft parking apron
beginning at the FBO building and continuing across the auto parking area
- Electrical outlets serving the 3 tie-down spaces on the north aircraft parking
apron will be installed
- Inmates from the St. Croix Correctional Center will be at the Airport later
this week clearing brush along Hatfield Lake on the south side of NRRA
- A $4500 project to repair the cracks in the airport pavement was completed
earlier this month
FEDERAL AND STATE INSPECTIONS
-The local flight school along with the certified flight instructors were
inspected by the TSA for the second time this year. The TSA will be inspecting
flight schools and instructors on a regular basis to assure accurate records are
being kept and adequate safety measures are followed.
- Personnel from the Wisconsin Bureau of Aeronautics inspected NRRA last Tuesday
to update the airport's 5010 form. The 5010 form is the master record of the
types of facilities and equipment at the airport, number of based aircraft, and
the number of aircraft operations.
A FEW LAST THINGS
- The New Richmond Area Economic Development Corporation held their monthly
meeting at the FBO Hangar at the Airport in June
- Due to the very dry summer, the grass around the airport went 6.5 weeks
without mowing. That's a record.
- If you are looking for an airplane, it's a buyer's market right now. New
Richmond Aviation has a handful of aircraft for sale -
http://www.newrichmondaviation.com/sales.html
For a listing of fly-ins around Wisconsin, go to:
http://www.dot.state.wi.us/travel/air/fly-ins.htm
Support the businesses based at NRRA.
http://www.nrairport.com/fbo.htm
Thanks!
Mike Demulling
NRRA Manager
mike@nrairport.com
Airports Mean Business!