Ice-out — A rite of spring

GILFORD — Dave Emerson took his first flight when he was about 3 years old.

“I was flying before I even really remember it,” he said. “I didn’t understand the science of flight, so it was a bit terrifying.” His father, Alan Emerson, piloted that plane and eventually passed his love of flight to his son.

Emerson grew up around airplanes and has done everything from washing planes as a young boy to learning to fly. He was taught by his father to fly, and Alan was a good instructor. “I flew solo when I was 16,” Dave remembered.

“My dad took his first flight when he was 14 years old. Later, he worked at Laconia Airport for many years,” Emerson said. “He started out pumping gas and doing airplane maintenance and janitorial work at the airport. He came to the airport in 1962 and by 1976, he started Emerson Aviation. He was there until 2002 (he passed away that year).”

Alan Emerson was the chief pilot, director of maintenance and operations as well as airport manager. He also plowed the runways. During his life, he met and made friends with NASCAR drivers such as Dale Earnhart, who flew into and out of Laconia Airport.

Perhaps it was growing up around airplanes and seeing his father’s love of flight that brought Emerson to a career at Emerson Aviation. “We are longtime Lakes Regioners. I was born in Wolfeboro and later, we moved to Gilford," Dave Emerson said.

“When I was a kid, I was with my father at the airport a lot. I washed the planes and did odd jobs there. After high school, I joined the New Hampshire Air National Guard and served for 24 years, retiring in 2004.”

Retirement might seem an incorrect word to describe Emerson’s life, because when his father died in 2002, Dave Emerson stepped in as owner and president. He has continued the business Alan Emerson began many years ago.

As well as flying clients all over the New England area and beyond, Emerson Aviation offers flight school training and storage and fuel sales.

“Many of our clients are businesspeople going to New Jersey or New York. We have flown customers as far aways as Fort Myers, Florida, and western New York and northern Maine,” Emerson said.

Locals also look to Emerson Aviation for a bird’s eye view of Lake Winnipesaukee in the late fall and springtime when ice covers the lake.

“I started reporting ice-in and ice-out about 10 years ago,” Emerson said. “Ice-out has become a rite of spring.” Ice-out is declared when the five ports the M/S Mount Washington would travel are free of ice. Center Harbor can be the holdout; it is often the last port to be free of ice. As part of the process, Emerson flies over the lake many times, checking on the ice from a view high above.

“Many people want to know when the official ice-out is, and it is a poplar topic of conservation," he said. "Everything from office pools to predict the exact ice-out date to lake residents and contractors who must travel the lake to do work around the water and on Winnipesaukee’s island homes want to know when ice-out has occurred.”

“My personal predictions for the date of ice-out are usually bad," Emerson added with a laugh. "Typically, ice-out is around the third week of April. March 16 is on record for the earliest ice-out date. I think this year’s ice-out will be more normal, and not record-breaking.”

Ice-out is when people can think about preparing to get docks in the water and island camps open. It is also time for businesses to plan for the influx of summer tourists.

Ice-in is relied upon by many as a time when island residents staying in the area for the entire summer know it is getting on time to close their place for the winter. Contractors often want to run barges for work until the water freezes, so knowing when that occurs is vital. “We also get calls from people to let us know what they are seeing for ice around the docks. But in a plane, you can get a bird’s eye view of the lake."

“Ice-out is a big deal, for sure,” Emerson said. “Our Facebook page blows up until the end of April, and people all over the world predict and watch for the official ice-out.”

As well as flying passengers to their destination, Emerson Aviation offers flight lessons. People want to learn to fly for all kinds of reasons, and students range in age from high schoolers to retirees.

“Most people can learn to fly in six to 10 weeks,” Emerson explains. “If you keep practicing and stay with it, the time is quicker. But if you are busy with other commitments, it can take six months to a year.”

In the Emerson fleet are two Skyhawks and a Cherokee Archer plane. As owner and director of operations, Emerson says his work is full-time.

“We have 12 employees, and we lease from Laconia Airport. We do things like snow removal for the airport. We have two locations: at the airport terminal where we pick up and drop off customers and our main location on the north side of the airport where we have the flight school and maintenance," Emerson said.

“Emerson Aviation has been an icon in the community for many years. We provide a service at the airport that is needed. We also offer scenic flights, and if someone has never flown before, we want to make sure they enjoy the experience, so we pick a day with good weather.”

In the future, Emerson says his company will be building new storage hangars. As the airport expands and more people move into the area, storage is necessary.

Emerson has watched the business grow and the airport change over the years. Many consider him among the most knowledgeable concerning the history of Laconia Airport.

“It was a Works Progress Administration project in the mid 1930s,” he explains. “At the time, Germany was making noise about taking over Europe. There was concern that German U-boats were being spotted off the Atlantic coast. The federal government wanted airports close to, but not on the coast. The idea was to have an airport 50 miles from the coast.”

Laconia Airport was considered acceptable. Thus, construction began. The Great Depression was also going on and the WPA had workers building a recreation area in Gilford (today’s Gunstock Mountain Resort). Some of the workers were moved to help build the airport with two 35-foot runways. “Construction started in 1938 and was completed by 1940. Sky Haven Aviation was the first at the airport,” Emerson explained.

Ice-out may not be a business part of Emerson Aviation, but it is something the company enjoys. Seen from the vantage point of a plane, high over Lake Winnipesaukee, there is no better way to ascertain when ice-out occurs. It is what many wait to hear because it means springtime is upon us.

“I grew up in Gilford and the area has done a lot for my family. We want to give back and that is why we do the ice-out reports. We try to be as accurate as possible, for office pools and scientific research. Ice-out is fun and it’s different every year,” Emerson says.

For information on Emerson Aviation, call 603-293-7980 or visit emersonaviation.com.