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Engineering study recommends exploring a seaplane base as lowest-cost way to improve North Haven air service
Summary
AVS Engineering presented options to improve air access to North Haven; land-runway extensions carry $4–6 million price tags while a water runway (seaplane base) could cost roughly $500,000 plus dock work. The board asked staff to consult local operators before any commitment.
Shane McDougall, an engineer with AVS Engineering, told the North Haven Select Board on Jan. 7 that a water runway — a seaplane landing area in the Fox Island thoroughfare — appears to be the most cost-effective way to improve reliability of air service to the island.
McDougall opened a presentation on an air-service assessment by describing the constraints at two existing facilities: Witherspoon Airport, a roughly 1,000-foot landing strip that is limited in bad weather, and Watson’s Memorial, a private 2,900-foot grass strip that meets ideal runway length for the aircraft commonly used but has practical access limits. The firm focused its aircraft analysis on the Cessna 206/207-type operations reportedly used by local carriers; those aircraft need 900–1,100 feet for the takeoff roll and significantly more distance — in some cases up to 1,900 feet — to clear a 50-foot obstacle under certain weights and wind conditions.
The study presented three alternatives: extending Witherspoon (options modeled for both 2,200- and 2,900-foot configurations); converting a straight section of Northshore Road to a common-use road runway; and establishing a water-runway (seaplane base) in the Fox Island thoroughfare. McDougall gave conservative cost ranges: roughly $4–6 million for runway-extension options, and an estimated $500,000 or so for building a seaplane dock and supporting infrastructure, with the caveat that dock construction and operator needs could raise costs.
McDougall said the seaplane option reduces land-acquisition, wetland and residential impacts, and noted modern GPS-based instrument approach procedures make many small-runway sites accessible in marginal weather if the obstacle environment permits. He also warned that saltwater operations impose additional maintenance burdens on aircraft and create operational limits in certain seasons.
Board members and residents asked about traffic in the thoroughfare, tides, conflicts with ferry and fishing traffic, and whether island operators would adopt regular saltwater operations. McDougall and his colleague Josh Dixon — introduced as being with Dixon Aerospace — recommended the town consult Ponobscot/Panovska Island Air and other float-plane operators before pursuing the water-runway option.
The board did not commit to funding or design work at the meeting but directed staff to arrange follow-up conversations with local carriers and return with more detailed estimates and operator input.
"From a cost perspective, the water runway is really the one to maybe further discuss with Panavska Island and maybe move that forward," McDougall said during his presentation.
