Silver Ranch Airpark

at Jaffrey Airport-Silver Ranch

From Nick Poulos on 09-Aug-2009

Things have changed here. Harvey and wife were friendly and accommodating. They do ask/insist that you use your tail number on the Unicom. Upon departure Harvey thanked us for visiting and asked that we come again.
 

From Alan Gardiner on 05-Jul-2009

Our flight of three flew in today to take advantage of the cool New Hampshire weather. The FBO called us to recommend parking spots on the ramp. We wandered over to the nearby farm restaurant for lunch and ice cream, and had a good time overall. Nice, quiet, country atmosphere!
 

From Chris Hand on 30-Nov-2008

My family and I landed here in our Cessna 180 and had a main tire tube fail right at touch down. Wife, a toddler, a baby, and myself were now completely stranded in the middle of the runway. I called Unicom and Harvey answered and I told him of our plight. He came out with some other folks including his wife who immediately ushered my wife and kids to the office to make them comfortable and get them indoors. Long story longer..... Harvey, his wife, and a small team of great local folks helped me get my wounded bird off the runway and secure until I could return with a tube to get airworthy again. They couldn't have been nicer to us. The food is great at Kimball’s and the whole thing is well worth a trip. Every airport has it's own story and sometimes it's just nice to listen to it rather than try to tell your own.
 

From Bob Williams on 09-Sep-2008

I planned to use AFN for a business trip to the area but after reading the comments from others, I would not go near the place. I have never seen these kinds of comments, over such a long period of time on any airport I have ever checked on AirNav. What a shame that no one seems to be able to do anything about this.
 

From Christopher Dingman on 20-Jul-2008

No problems at all for me during a recent visit. Traffic was using 16, as winds were 5-7 knots from 190. The departure on 16 is a little interesting as there are trees and slightly rising terrain just outside the airport boundary. The downhill takeoff gives the feeling that you're sinking into a pit. It was also a warm day and we'd increased T.O. Weight with the lobster rolls. :-) GREAT stop! We'll definitely be back.
 

From Anne Lapkin on 23-Jun-2008

We flew into Jaffrey last Friday. I have to say that I think Harvey is getting a bum rap from the vast majority of who post here. He was friendly, cooperative and helpful. When we contacted him on the Unicom and said we were getting ready to land on 34 (uphill), he advised us that the wind indicated a landing on 16 (downhill). We followed his suggestion and landed without issues. As we were getting ready to take off, we asked if he minded if we took off downhill on 16 rather than uphill, as there were thunderstorms north of the field. After takeoff, we radioed back to tell him that now we understand why he prefers an uphill takeoff - he knows the airport better than we do and in retrospect we should have followed his advice. The downhill takeoff is difficult - the previous poster who said he was at max weight and had an uncomfortable uphill takeoff would have had a MUCH less comfortable downhill takeoff. We never did get to the ice cream, so we'll have to go back.
 

From Jim Langlois on 11-Jun-2008

Good ice cream, bad guy earlier today, my girlfriend and I went to Jaffrey for ice cream. The ice cream stand is a five-minute walk from the airport, and was a good time. Upon leaving, we decided that we would take off on runway 16 even though the winds (300 at 4) favored runway 34 because runway 34 has a steep incline. Upon announcing holding short of runway 16 for departure, Harvey, the airport manager, started shouting at us on the Unicom that he would not allow it. After arguing on the radio for a couple minutes, we shut the plane down and confronted the manager face to face. We got second opinions from two CFIs and told Harvey that they also recommended runway 16 even with the tailwind, which was when Harvey announced that he would close the airport if we attempted to take off on runway 16. We decided that we were fighting a losing battle and used a performance takeoff in our C152. The ice cream was good, but not worth the encounter with Harvey. We will not go back to Jaffrey.
 

From Michael Stewart on 21-Dec-2007

The assisted self serve is only for people who have an account there. Hours are 8-sunset
 

From Lucas Hartford on 03-Sep-2007

Visited the airport for the first time and was a bit worried about the possible reception from the comments I read here. On final another plane on 34 moved onto the runway just as I was ready to land; he appeared to be holding prior to the displaced threshold but to be safe I went around (which was good because the cross wind was much greater than I expected). On the second landing, which was not pretty, I met the airport manager who was very friendly. Told me my radio was working poorly, offered some suggestions on what it might be, told me I could stay parked right where I was and had a big smile the whole time. What I was afraid would be a trip tainted by a bad attitude ended up being a great trip with a welcoming manager. And the ice cream next door is FANTASTIC!
 

From Bill Gordon on 01-Aug-2007

In 52 years and 10, 000 hours of military fighter and GA flying, this was the worst experience I have had at an airport. On departure, Harvey, the Airport Mgr, told me I had to taxi down to runway 34 to do my run-up. I decided not to do a run up. Then he told me to get off the ramp since my idle was too high. I announced my intention to T.O. On rwy 16 downhill. He told me that takeoff on 16 was not allowed. When I asked why, he said for safety reasons too numerous to tell my on the radio. I made a very uncomfortable rwy 34 TO up hill on a hot day at nearly max gross. Harvey thinks he is ATC and directs pilots on his radio. This is extremely dangerous and will eventually cause a serious accident. In a subsequent phone conversation he told me that unless I followed his "rules" I was not welcome at "his" airport. I think this is a case for FAA intervention. He is making decisions for the pilot. Check out the last comment on this page. BE CAREFUL AT THIS AIRPORT MAKE YOUR OWN DECISIONS.
 

From Eric Poole on 05-Jul-2007

The Assisted Service (A/S) price is only available to members of the fuel plan. You deposit an amount approx. Equal to 10 times the current fuel price, and then you get a discount of between 30 and 50 cents off of the full service price.
 

From John Taylor on 01-Jul-2007

This is the only uncontrolled field at which I've had to argue with an uninformed person on the frequency about which runway direction I would use. Actually, I didn't have to. Next time I depart from there, I'll just turn the volume down.
 

From Carl Kovamees on 24-Jun-2007

My first time to Jaffrey, there was a nice and friendly reception. 4 airplanes on the ramp when I showed up and two more arrived after me. Only 2 minutes walk to the ice cream place (they serve food too), it was very crowded on this nice day. $4.30/gal cash for 100LL, but the runway need some maintenance. I'm will go back there!