By Renee Worthing 

Register Reporter 

Airplane enthusiasts will be treated to occasional free aerobatic shows at the Sanford Airport beginning April 1 and will be able to partake in scenic open cockpit rides in a 1933 biplane.

On March 18 the council authorized Sanford Regional Airport Manager Evan McDougal to sign an operating rights agreement on behalf of the Sanford Regional Airport with retired Delta Airlines Captain David Trucksess, of York. The agreement allows Trucksess to provide scenic open cockpit rides in his Sanford Regional Airport-based plane.

While Trucksess will pay a Specialized Aviation Service Operator (SASO) fee of $150 annually and buy fuel at Southern Maine Aviation, it was not yet determined if the airport would receive any other revenues from the flights.

“This is a great airport to do this from,” McDougal said, citing close proximity to the ocean, lakes, lighthouses and the White Mountains of New Hampshire.

Also during its March 18 meeting, the Sanford Town Council also approved 7-0 an aerial aerobatic practice box, a three-dimensional airspace measuring about 3,000 feet wide by about 4,000 or 5,000 feet long and up to 4,000 feet high for a trial period from April 1, 2008 to March 31, 2009.

McDougal said Rob Holland, a professional aerobatic pilot based in Nashua, N.H., requested permission to practice his 12-minute aerobatic routine at the Sanford Regional Airport.

Holland is a three-time member of the United States Advanced Aerobatic Team and has a Bachelor of Science degree in Aviation Management and a Bachelor of Science degree in Aviation Flight Operations.

 He is rated as an Airline Transport Pilot (ATP) with a Certified Flight and Ground Instructor ratings and also holds a glider rating.

 McDougal said Holland’s practice routines are similar to an air show and require a waiver of specific rules from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). McDougal obtained a waiver of Federal Aviation Regulations (FAR), which stipulate the altitude an airplane may fly over a given area.

In “uncongested” areas, FAR prohibits planes from flying less than 500 feet above the ground, except over open water or sparsely populated areas, however, the FAA waiver means Holland can fly much lower.

“Rob Holland has the qualifications to come down to the ground,” McDougal said.

 The aerobatic airspace will not be open for more than two hours on any given day and requests to use the box must be made to McDougal via e-mail no later than four days before the proposed time.

McDougal said he will notify the Sanford Fire Department and other agencies 48 hours before any practice activity and will file the required “notice to airmen” (NOTAM) with the flight service station well before the event.

The airspace would be closed, McDougal said, and air traffic control as far away as Portland and Manchester would ensure no pilots entered the restricted airspace.

Practice times will also be posted on the town’s Web site and local pilots will be notified of affected altitudes.

In order for the practice box to be open there must be a 2,000-foot “ceiling” and five-mile visibility, McDougal said.

While any pilot may use the airspace, McDougal said they must have a minimum of a $1 million general liability insurance certificate on file with the town. In addition, Sanford must be named as insured on that policy.    

“When pilots go to an insurance company to request permission to fly aerobatics in a box within 100 feet of the ground, they won’t give you a policy unless you’re highly competent and have proven yourself,” McDougal said. “That means that pilots who just want to practice barrel rolls and spins cannot practice [in the practice box]. Most people don’t need an aerobatic practice box.”

He said most pilots can fly to a specific area outside of certain airspace to practice rolls, spins and other aerobatic maneuvers at high altitudes.

He said he does not anticipate high usage of the aerial box because not many pilots have the qualifications to fly aerobatic maneuvers so close to the ground. 

According to procedures drafted by McDougal, he will be present on the airfield and in contact with the participant and other aircraft in the area any time the practice box is in use.

To contact Renee Worthing, email news@intheregister.com or 282-4337 ext. 240