“Airport of the Month” is meant to showcase the unique airports of New England and give our students ideas on airports to go to.
Written by CHI Dispatcher Joe Palmer
Since it was Labor Day weekend, Kam and I decided to fly to LCI for a great view of the lakes region and to get in a few practice touch and goes. It was a calm night with a beautiful sunset so we could not pass up the opportunity to fly. Here are the airport details for Laconia and our planned route of flight:
At 6:30, we took off from an empty Portsmouth International Airport, since it was a few weeks before the runway shutdown. We then proceeded direct to Laconia and it only took us around 25 minutes to get there. We flew around Lake Winnipesaukee and got a few pictures of the view.
Our loop around the lake set us up perfectly for the 45 degree entry for the right downwind runway 08. What was fun about this approach was that the base turn and final turn were right over the water and it was an awesome view all the way down. There were a lot of private jets parked on the apron due to the usual Labor Day rush.
After two touch and goes, we departed the pattern straight out and saw one of the best sunsets of the summer.
The sun began to set on our way out and we arrived back at PSM just past 8. Our arrival was uneventful and the tower gave us a long straight in approach to runway 16.
The flight was a great way to spend a Sunday evening. Laconia was definitely not a challenging place to go, but it can get busy during certain times, especially on the weekends. We were fortunate to have the airport to ourselves and sit back and relax. If you’re looking for an easy flight to a beautiful part of New England, Laconia is perfect.