Pilot Paul Russo is an expert on a really cool subject, having landed at the Ice Runway at Alton Bay, N.H. 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, Paul Russo will speak about his Alton Bay Ice Runway experiences and winter flying in general.
The presentation, part of the museum’s ‘Exploring Aviation’ lecture series, is open to the public. Admission is $10 per person; Aviation Museum members 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 located in Belknap County and acts as 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, which assists pilots (seaplane, ski, and conventional) flying into the bay throughout the year.
The single north-south runway is 2,600 feet long, or about half a mile, to provide 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.
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.
Paul Russo is an active member of the AOPA, EAA, and Chapter 35 of the International Aerobatic Club, having actively competed in aerobatic contests for two decades. He’s accrued time in many different aircraft, from training in Cessnas to a North American AT-6 warbird.
If you’re an aspiring ice pilot or just interested in how this one-of-a-kind New Hampshire landmark operates, join the presentation on Thursday, Jan. 15 at 7 p.m. at the Aviation Museum of N.H., 27 Navigator Road, Londonderry, N.H. Admission is $10 per person; museum members free.
For more information, call (603) 669-4877 or email ldearborn@nhahs.org. Follow the Aviation Museum on social media at www.facebook.com/nhahs.