49 AirportImprovement.com November | December 2026 OPERATIONS 0B1 | PNN Pilots flying in and out of Bethel Regional Airport (0B1) in Western Maine recently got a major upgrade in the quality of weather information at their disposal. The state’s Department of Transportation and LifeFlight of Maine collaborated to replace the altimeter/visibility system (AWOS-AV), which was often insufficient to support instrument approaches, with a fully FAA- certified Automated Weather Observing System (AWOS IIIP). A similar upgrade is currently underway at Princeton Municipal Airport (PNN) in the northeast part of the state, and seven more are planned in the next two years. Although Maine is not the biggest or most rugged state in the U.S., getting around it can be a challenge. A main interstate road facilitates travel north to south, but driving east to west is much trickier. As a result, first responders often access remote areas by plane or helicopter. And they need accurate weather information for safe operations. Alan Lambert, director of Aviation for Maine Department of Transportation (DOT), says that was one of the main drivers for upgrading airport weather systems across the state. The new AWOS III being installed provide real- time monitoring and reporting of cloud height/ ceiling, wind, temperature and dew point; a precipitation identification sensor helps distinguish rain, snow or freezing rain. LifeFlight of Maine is partnering with the state DOT as it rolls out the new program. John Rolfson, aviation infrastructure engineer with LifeFlight of Maine, says the system’s enhanced capabilities are essential for life-saving missions because accurately assessing extreme cold, wind and icing conditions will help personnel make quick and safe “go/no-go” decisions. “The information you can get now from the AWOS III units is critical for those operations because the weather here in Maine can be incredibly hard to fly in with the mountains, fog and coastal conditions,” says Lambert, who flew search and rescue missions for the Navy. “The increased IFR capability these systems give us is a huge jump in safety.” Improvement Needed The two organizations began coordinating the project about five years ago. FAA’s New England Regional Airport District Office helped secure funding, and Delta Airport Consultants is providing project management at the airport level. To date, FAA has approved nine AWOS III installations throughout the state. Beyond the system already operating at 0B1in Bethel and the one in process at PNN, three additional airports are scheduled to receive upgraded stations next year. Another four installations are slated in 2028. (See Page 48 for specific locations.) Overall, the state has 35 airports that are part of the National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems (NPIAS), with just three that are N class non-hub primary commercial service facilities. The group as a whole runs the gamut from Maine’s largest airport, Portland International Jetport (PWM), to one of its smallest, Northern Aroostook Regional Airport in Frenchville in the far north part of the state. The nine airports identified to receive new AWOS III units have used DigiWx AV stations since the early to mid-2000s. “To the average pilot, a weather station is a weather station is a weather station,” says Rolfson. “But the data these stations provide matters, and the different types of stations come with different qualifications.” For instance, only the altimeter and visibility readings provided by DigiWx stations are considered certified FAA data points. “Even though they are equipped with all the other sensors, like wind and temperature and ceiling, you still end up with a METAR [Meteorological Aerodrome Report] viewable at your local airport that is not fully certified.” When data can’t flow through various FAA channels, it’s difficult for pilots to access through flight planning apps like ForeFlight or Weather Brief. One of the major advantages of the newer AWOS III stations, he explains, is a fully certified METAR that is eligible for more data networks and gets into the hands of pilots for safer and more efficient flight planning. “With the amount of instrument flight rated work that LifeFlight is doing these days, that becomes really critical,” he notes. State DOT and Medevac Service Collaborate to Improve Weather Data for Airports Throughout Maine BY JENNIFER DAACK WOOLSON ALAN LAMBERT JOHN ROLFSON Planning Engineering Environmental Industry Analysis Program Management Construction Administration Business & Financial Planning www.deltaairport.com DELTA AIRPORT CONSULTANTS, INC.
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