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A lucky shot

February 28th, 2010

f-wwye

Friday evening at the Memphis airport I was in a great spot to watch the parade of FedEx jets taking off on their international shots.  One plane looked out of place so I grabbed the little Nikon I carry when I can’t be bothered to lug the D80 around.  It wasn’t until a few minutes ago that I realized what I’d got.

Airbus Industries F-WWYE.  The company’s first A330- 200F which first flew in November of last year.  I can only suspect that it was in Memphis to let FedEx kick the tires.

EyeNo Flying Is Fun, aviation, photo

I hate hub and spoke

February 28th, 2010

image

“Hub and Spoke” is a term used to describe how airlines in the US set up routes.  Instead of point to point flying (as seen in Canada) major carriers such as Delta use feeder airlines to service short routes to get passengers from smaller cities (spokes) to major points (hubs).

The map shows my trip to Memphis and back home this week.  I started off on Friday the 19th by driving to Niagara Falls for the Northeast Council of Air Shows (NECAS) meetings.  On the 21st, I hopped a flight in Buffalo on a Pinnacle regional jet operating for Delta to Detroit.  Then it was a “real” Delta flight to Memphis which, unfortunately, had engine problems resulting in a 2 hour delay.

Coming home, US Airways got me to Charlotte, North Carolina 10 minutes too late for a flight back to Buffalo so it was an uncomfortable sleep in the Airport until yesterday morning at 6:30 when they got me on a plane to Philadelphia.  There, I hopped on a Dash 8 100 operated for US Airways by Mesa Airlines to get back to Buffalo.  Finally, a snowy drive back to Toronto.

Hub and spoke may make some economic sense but normal connection times don’t leave any margin for weather or equipment delays. Of course, the fact that connecting flights NEVER, NEVER leave from the same terminal that you arrive in doesn’t help either.

imageI did get a nice shot of the sun rising at 31,000 feet from the US Airways 737-400 taking me to Philadelphia.

In three weeks I get to try this again for a trip to Lexington, Kentucky.  Hope everything works out better.

EyeNo Flying Is Fun

On the road again

February 18th, 2010

Wow, where did the time go?  Feels like I just got home and it’s time to get ready to get going again.

Tomorrow, it’s off to Niagara Falls, NY for the Northeast Council of Air Shows meetings at the Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station.  Cocktails tomorrow night with a chance to do some networking and then lots of presentations and discussions on Saturday.  Hopefully, we can convince some aircraft to come our way for Wings & Wheels in May.

Sunday, it’s a quick drive to the Buffalo airport for another trip down to Memphis.  Delta to Detroit and then down to Elvis Land.  sure hope the weather is better this time.

It will be interesting to see how intense base security is.  So far, it just looks like they want to make sure that you have a valid drivers license, insurance and registration.  Sounds less stringent than crossing the border which surprises me somewhat.  Who knows what that will be like tomorrow.

EyeNo Flying Is Fun, Wings & Wheels

Post trip thoughts

February 13th, 2010

After a good night’s sleep, some thoughts on the Memphis trip.

  • People in the Memphis area don’t handle snow and ice real well.
  • FedEx has a LOT of airplanes.  When you usually see 2 or 3 a day in Toronto you’re not prepared for 24 hour operations.  I joked on Facebook that the Tennessee state bird must be a FedEx jet.
  • Sticking to a diet while on the road is tough.  Especially when traveling with folks who like red meat and really, really like beer.
  • Air travel continues to get more and more of a chore every day.
  • You can find a place to smoke in most US airports – just need to do a little pre-flight research
  • The Chrysler PT Cruiser (my rental for the week) is a piece of shit.
  • Speaking of cars, white is a very popular color in Tennessee and Mississippi.
  • Graceland (at least from the street) is less than spectacular and the area is incredibly run down for such a popular tourist destination

At least I made it back without getting caught in all the travel delays and cancellations that have plagued the Southern US all week.  Luckily I had my return flights changed to get home earlier.  My original itinerary had me coming back through Atlanta.  Delta cancelled nearly all their flights to Atlanta on Thursday night.  Instead, I came back through Detroit and everything worked out fine.

Long weekend ahead, then 2 days in the office and 2 days of vacation.  Next Sunday, I get to do this whole trip again!

EyeNo Flying Is Fun

Don’t step on my blue suede snowboots

February 8th, 2010

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About 5am in Memphis and it’s snowing.  What the hell?  I leave Toronto where it’s cold but snowless, travel South and end up with this crap.  Forecast says up to 5 inches today with more coming throughout the week.

This sucks!

EyeNo general

Another year, more fun at airports

February 6th, 2010

imageIt’s February and it’s time to start flying again.  Tomorrow (Sunday) morning I’m off to Memphis on Delta for a week of meetings in the lovely? city of Southaven Mississippi.  First time in Memphis and I’ve picked a week that starts off with a huge snowstorm snarling air traffic all over the Eastern US.  The schedule has me leaving Toronto at 12:35pm for a flight to Atlanta and then, less than one hour later, hopping a MD-88 to MEM.  What could go wrong with that much time between connections.  Plenty.  Investigating alternatives now should I not be able to make that second flight.

In the new age of airport “security” a 12:30 departure means I have to be at Pearson by 9:30 am to see the latest instalment of Security Theatre as performed by US Customs and the good folks at TSA.  TSA as we all know stands for Totally Shitty Attitude so I can expect to poked, prodded and degraded for a few hours.  Of course, it could also be our  CATSA folks – CAnadians with Totally Shitty Attitudes.  Either way I’m sure I’ll enjoy the show.

Once in Memphis, it’s a quick drive to Southaven which is just across the state line so I hope to be in the hotel in time to watch most of the Super Bowl.  First time watching the big game in the US so I’ll be able to see all those multi-million dollar commercials that we don’t get up here.

Meetings Monday to Friday and then back to the airport for a 6:30 pm flight back to Atlanta and then home with a landing scheduled for midnight.  And just for shits and giggles, I get to do the same thing all over again 2 weeks later.

Flight reports to follow.

EyeNo Flying Is Fun, Travel

Plucky little rover

January 29th, 2010

Over at xkcd Randall Munroe comes up with the perfect goodbye to the little Mars rover Spirit as it prepares to hibernate in order to survive the harsh Martian winter.  Spirit, along with Opportunity were expected to last 90 days when they landed on the red planet in 2004.  Both have been going for over 6 years but Spirit is now mired in sand with an inoperable wheel.

 

 

NASA scientists have serious doubts that Spirit will survive even though they’re positioning the rover so that its solar panels can capture as much sunlight as possible.

EyeNo general

Checking in

January 24th, 2010

No posts since January 2nd?  What the heck have I been up to?

Been busy at work, some things never change.  Business still sucks but there’s a few bright lights on the horizon and I have a big project that’s taking all my time.  Looks like I’ve got a couple of trips down to Southaven Mississippi next month.  Southaven is just outside Memphis TN for those who are wondering.  Looking at flight schedules and they all suck – why can’t the US see that the hub and spoke method of air travel just makes for terrible connection times.  I can go through Detroit, Atlanta, Newark and those are the good ones.  I was looking at one Continental schedule that included 3 stops!!  I could probably drive there quicker.

The second trip looks to be interesting.  I’ll be going down to the Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station on the 19th to attend the Northeast Council of Air Shows meetings to try and drum up some interest in Wings and Wheels.  On the Sunday afternoon I’ll fly out of Buffalo to Memphis.

Speaking of Wings & Wheels, next week we start contract negotiations with Downsview Park to see how much they’ll charge for rental of the big hanger and tarmac.  Hopefully it’s less than last year.  The Festival itself is coming along very well.  Hope to start selling advance tickets over at the website real soon (hint, hint).  Private pilots are already starting to sign up to attend and quite a few people have requested volunteer information. 

The other thing that has kept me busy is my New Year’s resolution – my body.  Over the holidays I tipped the scales at 231 pounds which, unfortunately, was an all time high.  Something had to be done.  What’s a nerd to do?  Technology to the rescue!

First thing to do was to start tracking what I was eating and how much exercise I was getting.  The exercise part was easy – nothing!  I set up an account at a website called Daily Burn.  Great site that allows you to track everything and provides motivation and tips.  You set your goals – weight, nutrition and workouts – and update them religiously.  Next, picked up a digital scale because the old one was inaccurate and I had trouble reading it first thing in the morning.

The weather is still sucky so it was off to Best Buy to pick up a Nintendo Wii and the Wii Fit balance board.  I’m not into video games but as an exercise aid this thing is fantastic!  Who thought running in place could be so much fun!  Running for cardio and yoga for flexibility and strength.  It also does a good job of measuring weight and BMI and I’m happy to say that, so far, I’ve been able to bring the BMI down from obese to *merely* overweight.

Of course exercise without changes to diet is useless.  I’m rediscovering how good food can taste when you think about what you’re cooking and eating.  Lots of fresh fruit and vegetables and smaller meat portions.  Breakfast and lunch everyday.  No fast food.  I feel great!

The last piece of ammunition in my new arsenal is an Apple iPhone.  Why you ask?  The company cracked down on what we could access with our BlackBerries so I needed something to act as a personal communication and data device.  Of  course, the big thing with the iPhone is the number of apps that are available.  I’ve found apps that link to Daily Burn so I can track my nutrition and workouts even when I’m away from the computer.  Also a very accurate pedometer plus some fun stuff and a lot of travel apps.  Right now I’m listening to live air traffic control from Pearson Airport.  You got to love the WiFi feature that allows me to link to the home wireless network and avoid those terrible Rogers data charges.

Now the answer to the burning question, “Have you lost any weight?  Yes, as of this morning I’m down 8.6 pounds for the month.  The goal is to lose 10 pounds per month.  I’ve set a personal goal of 180 but I’ll probably level off before then.  Then the task of maintenance begins.

EyeNo general

Help

January 2nd, 2010

image Over the holidays, I’ve finished reading the biography “John Lennon: The Life” by Philip Norman.  A good but not great look at the life of a very complicated, and in some ways, nasty man.

A hard childhood coupled with some incredible strokes of luck led Lennon, McCartney, Harrison and Starr to storm the world of music and popular culture.  Through it all, Lennon remained remarkably aloof from everything that was going on around him.  He treated a lot of devoted people around him like crap but they still stuck with him.

Norman spends a lot of time dissecting the songs giving them a dark meaning.  For instance, “Help” really is a call for help.

I’m not sure that he doesn’t read too much into some songs that were just pure pop. 

The one revelation in the book is Yoko Ono.  She comes across as a smart but strange woman who had no part in the Beatles breakup. 

EyeNo general

How could I forget?

December 31st, 2009

With all the end of year, end of decade hoopla, I forgot that the ‘00s saw a very momentous event in aviation.

November 26,2003 marked the last flights of the incredible Aerospatiale-BAC Concorde.  In memory, here’s one of my favorite tributes.

 

When will we see another like her?

EyeNo aviation history

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