Pilot Paul Russo is an expert on a really cool subject, having landed at the Ice Runway at Alton Bay, New Hampshire, more than 100 times since his first visit in 2005.
It’s a landing strip that opens only when the ice reaches a minimum thickness of 12 inches. In practice, that means only for a few weeks each year, often in the dead of winter and after a prolonged cold spell. It’s the only FAA-approved ice landing strip in the Lower 48 states.
With the 2026 season fast approaching, Russo will speak about his Alton Bay Ice Runway experiences and winter flying Jan. 15, 2026, at 7 p.m. at the Aviation Museum of N.H. in Londonderry.
The presentation, part of the museum’s “Exploring Aviation” lecture series, is open to the public. Admission is $10 per person; Aviation Museum members are admitted free.
Russo, a general aviation pilot for more than 20 years, specializes in flying tailwheel aircraft and competition aerobatics. He’s amassed nearly 3,000 flight hours, many of them “upside down,” he notes jokingly on his resume.
Alton Bay Seaplane Base and Ice Runway (B18) is a seaplane base in warmer weather. The airport is owned, operated, and managed by the State of New Hampshire, Department of Transportation, Bureau of Aeronautics.
The single north-south runway is 2,600 feet long, or about half a mile, to give pilots enough room to stop on the friction-free surface. It’s 100 feet wide. There’s also a taxiway and a large parking area for planes. All are kept clear by snowplows while the ice runway is open.
The ice runway must cease operations each year by March 15.
Some years are too warm for the ice runway to open at all, but the 2025 season set new landing records, with pilots flying in from as far as San Antonio and Atlanta to cross this goal off their aviation bucket list.
With extended cold weather settling in during December and into January, the 2026 season looks promising. As of the first week of the New Year, officials have laid out a 2,900-foot landing strip and are waiting for the ice to reach a minimum of 12 inches of thickness.
At Alton Bay, activities are managed out of a bob shack, a portable shelter used for ice fishing, where incoming pilots are handed hot chocolate and their coveted “ice chip” tokens that pilots receive with a certificate for landing on the runway.
You can get updates on the status of the ice runway on the Alton Bay Seaplane Base and Ice Runway Facebook Page.
Read Steve Schapiro’s story about landing on the ice runway in 2022 here.
For more information: AviationMuseumOfNH.org
Thanks for an interesting flying article. I’ve landed on many runways that have slippery surfaces from winter ice and snow to grass strips after a rain. For these conditions crosswinds play a more important factor as there’s less friction (grip) of the tires to the runway. I’d like to know Paul Russo’s guidance and experiences with crosswinds, braking, throttle use, slipping and other skills. Thanks.
Hoped to mak it this winter, but we’re in the shop for an engine overhaul. I’ll be there in 2027.