The Colorado Balloon Club (CBC) was created 46 years ago to promote hot-air and gas ballooning throughout the state of Colorado.
Our website is designed to serve as a resource for pilots, crew and enthusiasts to find more information about flying in the Denver/Ft Collins area and throughout Colorado. We invite you to browse our site, contact us with questions.
Tower at Northern Colorado Regional (Fort Collins/Loveland) airport
Below are our guidelines for operating within the airspace of Northern Colorado Regional (KFNL). Please note that our launch sites in Windsor are within this airspace (or very close) so this will apply to most flights from Windsor and many from Fort Collins. For planes, they request contact within 3-6 miles of the tower controlled airspace, so we should really adhere to the guidelines below if we are anywhere in that vicinity. Here they are:
Please call the tower the day before you fly to let them know your departure time and location, "destination" (the area you are hoping to fly in), and expected altitude (in our case, they are aware we don't always know so a general range is ok).
The tower number is 970-962-2867.
Very important: Call flight service for a briefing and get the NOTAMs that apply to our airspace. The tower expects to open at 8 am most of the time, but this can change at any time.
In flight, have your aircraft radio on at 118.4. The old channel does not operate any longer. Once the tower opens, if you are within or near the airspace, alert them to your location, altitude, etc. and then monitor the frequency. Again, this applies when you are within 3-6 miles of the tower-controlled airspace.
To address the tower over the radio, use “NoCo Tower”
At many times of year, we are launching close to or within their hours of operation so please call the tower the day before and again the morning of, prior to your flight, with the same information as above (launch time and location, expected direction, and expected altitude, which will be more accurate after seeing the pibal). Again, use your radio to contact the tower after launching if you are within their operating hours.
Please feel free to call or email with questions (contact info below). I am happy to help you practice radio communications, or go through a refresher on calling flight service for your pre-flight briefing.
Dan Griffin 970-667-2246 dan@nocow.net Also, should you have any specific inquiries regarding tower operations, here is contact information for the tower manager: Barry Dishman Air Traffic Manager Northern Colorado Regional Airport Barry.Dishman@serco-na.com
As luck would have it, the May/June issue of the FAA Safety Briefing magazine has some very good articles about communication among aircraft and ground stations and Flight Service and such. Here is the web site address for the magazine: https://www.faa.gov/news/safety_briefing/
1st Annual Snowmass Balloon Festival
Aspen, Colorado
July 1976
Photos by Nick DeWolf
Set includes photographs of:
- The 1st Annual Snowmass Balloon Festival - A lacrosse match in Wagner Park; Aspen State Teachers College vs. San Antonio - Rugby in Wagner Park, featuring the Gentlemen of Aspen Rugby Football Club - 'A Night in Old Ashcroft' - celebration in the area ghost town, part of the area's Bicentennial activities - Nightlife, at the Aspen Inn - The Aspen Alpine Cup Bike Race - Snowmass Village, from the air - Stapleton Airport, Denver - Live music, face painting and group dancing, under a tent; photos from an unidentified summer event - An unidentified wedding at Aspen Chapel
Part of an archival project, featuring the photographs of Nick DeWolf.
Image numbers indicate reel number and image number on reel.
With cold and flu season underway, the FAA has published its annual list(https://www.faa.gov/licenses_certificates/medical_certification/media/OTCMedicationsforPilots.pdf) of acceptable and unacceptable over-the- counter (OTC) medications for pilots who want to fly through the pain. The first recommendation is for sick pilots to take their self-certification responsibilities to heart and to wait until they’re feeling better. It’s more complicated than that, however. If, during their illness, pilots have taken any of dozens of OTC product they may have to wait up to 60 hours before flying depending on the recommended frequency for taking the drugs. Short duration doses require a 30-hour lag time while the much-hyped 12-hour medications require the 60-hour waiting period.
The agency has published a list of the most common OTC drugs under their brand names and drug types and split them into “Go” and “No-Go” lists. In general, any medication that has a sedative effect is on the bad list and that encompasses most of the popular cold and flu remedies. However, brand names are not an accurate guide because different types of products under the same brand can contain different drugs. Cold remedies are the most common types of drug impairment found in crash investigations and the FAA says anyone in doubt about the safety of their elixir of choice should contact their AME. “If you choose to fly on medication, be certain that it will not impair safety,” the agency said. “Do not simply hope for the best.”
