Flight Training - October 2019 - 21

ROAD TRIP

BY DAVE HIRSCHMAN

CATCHING COLOR SEASON
FLYING AROUND BAR HARBOR AND ACADIA NATIONAL PARK IN MAINE

TAKE THE LEAP

COLOR SEASON
Fly here before
winter sets in

THE SCENERY IS ASTONISHING AS SOON AS YOU TAKE OFF FROM COASTAL MAINE'S HANCOCK COUN-

ty-Bar Harbor Airport (BHB)-and it only gets better during an evening circumnavigation of Mount
Desert Island. Summer is the busiest time of year in coastal Maine, but an autumn flight here is
magical.
October is peak autumn color season in this rugged and picturesque corner of America. Cadillac
Mountain, the central feature of Acadia National Park, reaches 1,530 feet from the ocean's surface to
its windswept peak. The mountain's flanks are blanketed in flaming yellow, red, and orange.
Acadia National Park, a long-ago gift from the Rockefeller family to the citizens of the United
States, covers about 80 percent of Mount Desert Island, and FAA rules and common courtesy dictate
that pilots keep their aircraft at least 2,000 feet agl over the unspoiled natural area.
Stately white-painted homes dot the shoreline at water's edge, and the town of Bar Harbor slides
by underneath. A menagerie of vessels ranging from tiny, low-sided lobster boats to exotic, tall-mast
schooners fill the harbor.
Bar Harbor is called the gateway to Acadia. Mount Desert Island is situated on Frenchman's Bay.
It has been a summer destination since families like the Rockefellers built their summer "cottages"
here. Today they are the gracious inns and hotels along the bay. Main Street has boutiques, restaurants, and shops. Summer is peak time, but fall offers warm days and crisp nights.
dave.hirschman@aopa.org

WHY YOU SHOULD GO

The bracing air, dramatic ocean views, and wondrous natural beauty make an
aerial lap around Acadia simply unforgettable.

Bar Harbor's Runway
22 is preferred for VFR
takeoffs and landings
when winds are 5 knots
or less. The 5,200-foot
Runway 4/22 is long
enough to accommodate business jets,
and they're frequent
visitors here during
color season, along with
turboprops operated by
regional airlines and a
variety of piston general
aviation aircraft. Gliders
land in the grass on the
west side of Runway
4/22, and they fly regularly throughout
the summer and
fall. The airport's
crosswind Runway 17/35
is 3,253 feet
long and has a
slight downhill
grade heading
south toward the
water that seems
steeper than the
1-degree slope. This
runway is little used
during the summer
when the winds tend to
favor Runway 22; in the
spring and fall winds
vary widely in direction
and sometimes blow
sharply from the north.
Columbia Air Service
is a full-service FBO and
offers plentiful tiedowns
and a courtesy car. But
the airport also is a
regular stop for Island
Express buses that
provide quick and easy
ground transportation
throughout Mount
Desert Island. Two
"lobster pounds" are
close by and can provide lobsters and other
fresh seafood to eat
there or carry out.

AOPA.ORG/FT 21

http://www.AOPA.ORG/FT

Flight Training - October 2019

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