Through The Mist Darkly

In 23 days I’ll hop a plane for a quick flight to Milwaukee to attend AirVenture 2010, better known as Oshkosh.

AirVenture is the world’s largest gathering of aircraft and enthusiasts.  First held in 1953 with about 150 visitors, it’s grown to the point that over 2,500 planes are set to arrive.  Here’s a long video that explains the whole thing.

Once a year, Oshkosh becomes the busiest airport in the world!

UPDATE:  Work got in the way.  Had to cancel.

Half way through this long trip to Lexington Kentucky.  It was a brutal week at work – I don’t perform well in a fishbowl.  Too many people, too many problems, too much stress.  We ended off further along the project than we started so I guess it should be considered a successful week.

Yesterday(Saturday) I needed to blow off some steam so it was off to “Thunder Over Louisville” the annual kick-off to the Derby Festival which culminates with the Kentucky Derby.  Thunder Over Louisville is 1/2 airshow and 1/2 fireworks display.  I only stayed for the airshow because I didn’t relish the thought of trying to get out of town at the same time that 1/2 million people have the same idea. 

I left the hotel in Lexington at about 8:30 and took the 1 1/2 hour drive to Louisville.  Beautiful country on the way and a very pleasant trip.  Downtown Louisville is very pretty and it was a short walk from the parking lot to the Ohio River where the event takes place.

I thought I had arrived too early (5 hours before the show started) but the locals know better.  Prime real estate on the riverfront along the flight line was already taken by tens of thousands of people and they kept coming all day.  Whole families had staked out their areas with chairs, tents, BBQs, coolers, toys, flags, etc., etc., etc.

These are dedicated folks who stay in the same place from, probably, 7 o’clock in the morning until 10 that night.  Everyone was in great spirits even though the temperature had fallen from the 80’s on Friday to the low to mid 60’s yesterday.

With plenty of time to kill, I wandered up and down the river checking things out and enjoying a lovely Saturday morning.  Hunger caught up with me so I stopped in to Joe’s Crab Shack which occupies a high vantage point to see the action.  Unfortunately, a ticket costs $200 in advance!  Was able to get in for lunch which was Bloody Marys’ and crab dip. I found out that they did have a slightly cheaper deal.  Underneath the restaurant, they had a fenced off area that you could access for $5 with bar and food service and dedicated Port-A-Potties which seemed like a great idea given the size of the crowd outside and the conspicuous lack of toilet facilities.  A wrist band insured that I would be able to come and go as I pleased.

Finally, the show started.  With all the good spots long gone, I had to make do with a spot right beside the massive speaker system that boomed out rock and roll all day.  It gave me a good view as the aircraft started their runs.  I’ve got about 200 pictures to go through but here’s a few of my favourites so far.

  My first B52!  This showed up late in the show but I was glad I had a chance to catch this cold-warrior that is still going strong.  Majestic and pretty dam quiet considering the size.  She made 2 quick passes and was off.

The KC-10 “Extender”.  Air-to-air refuelling.  Another old bird that first went into service in 1979.

I could post photos all day but it’s time to get ready to go to the Kentucky Aviation Museum near the Lexington airport.  Then it’s back to the hotel to do homework and get ready to have my spirit crushed for another week.  Oh, well at least I get to go home on Friday.

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.

“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.

I 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.

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.

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!

It’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.

If everything goes to plan an airplane registered as N787BA carrying the callsign ZA001 will lift off the runway at Paine Field in Everett Washington at 1800GMT (1pm EST).  Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner will finally spread its wings.

Plagued by problems and 2 years late in development, the 787 represents a quantum leap in the history of commercial aviation.  The future of Boeing rests on a successful outcome and planespotters are camped out waiting for the moment when the main wheels lift off the tarmac.

Millions of words have been written about the 787 and its tortuous journey to this day.  My main source for news has been Jon Ostrower and his excellent website.  Anything you would ever want to know can be found along with spectacular pictures and videos.  One of Jon’s favorite sources is Liz Matzelle who appears to live at Boeing.  A great selection of her pictures is available here.

Nothing, except gravity, is ever absolute in aviation and the flight could be delayed or cancelled but I’ve got my fingers crossed.

UPDATE: She flew!!

(image courtesy of Boeing)

I really thought with all the budget restrictions and the general state of business that I wouldn’t be flying anymore for the rest of this year.  Guess I was wrong.

Tomorrow morning I hop on one of these 18 seater Beechcraft 1900Ds operated by Air Georgian for Air Canada to fly down to Hartford Connecticut.  Once there, it’s a 1 hour drive to Waterbury and check-in at the Courtyard Marriott.

Monday and Tuesday are full days of meetings in the town of Naugatuck before heading back Tuesday night.  This is my 5th or 6th trip down to our US office there.  Promises to be 3 long days starting with a business dinner tomorrow night.

I haven’t commented on the unbelievable story that a Northwest Airlines flight overflew it’s destination because, frankly, the explanations have been unbelievable.

How you could fly through some of the most congested airspace in the world without noticing that you’d passed the airport or fail to respond to dozens of radio messages just boggles the mind.  Even with my minimal hours in the air I know that radio chatter is almost constant.  That’s in a little Cessna.  In a big Airbus on instrument flight it’s probably non-stop.  Not to mention that the autopilot knew they were at the end of the route and probably started firing off warnings left and right.  

Yet, through all this, the pilots say they were “distracted” because they had their laptops open (breach of company policy) and were having a discussion about the new crew scheduling system.  Well, you’ve already been suspended and will probably be fired so I don’t think that crew scheduling is something you’re going to have to worry about in the future.

The NTSB and FAA are still investigating so hopefully we’ll get the truth on this bizarre event sooner or later.

Having said my piece, let’s turn it over to David Letterman and his Top Ten Northwest Airlines Pilots Excuses:

10. Bunch of fat guys seated on the right side of the plane made us vector east.
9. We get paid by the hour.
8. Mapquest always takes you the long way, am I right, people?
7. Tired of that show-off Sullenberger getting all the attention.
6. You try steering one of those airplanes after eight or nine cocktails.
5. Wanted to catch the end of the in-flight movie.
4. Activating autopilot and making occasional P.A. announcements is exhausting.
3. According to our map, we only missed our target by half an inch.
2. For a change, we decided to send luggage to the right city and lose the passengers.
1. Thought we saw balloon boy.