Monday, February 4, 2013

I get by . . .

 . . . with a little help from my friends:


I often leave my camera in the tower cab in case somebody else sees something photo-worthy. All of today's shots were taken by my fellow controllers. Some can be credited, while others just magically appeared in the camera. For instance, the sunrise and sunset photos are the work of TB and (I think) SH; the others remain blameless so far. Thanks guys!





I've only seen this airplane once or twice, so it was a rare catch:


 Here are a few more special sightings:



 There's probably a story here, but I haven't heard it yet:


Or this one:



If there's a story to either of these, I probably don't want to know:


6 comments:

  1. Is that you hiding.....behind....that plexi-glass....CaptainVector......???

    I really can't come up with any words that describe.....your pictures you post......!!!......They're so Unbelievable!!!..
    Thanks......!!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. No, not me - that's one of my better-looking colleagues! Someone tried to take a picture of me once, but the camera self-destructed!

      Delete
  2. The picture titled:
    "There's probably a story here, but I haven't heard it yet: "

    Two Brasilia's in the old United colors?
    I also noticed two trucks side-by-side east of the intersection with C8. I took a look on Google Maps, and apparently the vehicle road there has two lanes in both directions. I count eight vehicles at that intersection.
    --Filip


    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Actually, we still see Brasilias in the United colors that preceded those United colors! They may be the last place for you to see the "gray top" scheme still in action. I haven't yet seen any E120s in the ContiUnited livery.

      I suspect that the untold story is all the traffic accumulated at that intersection. The vehicles are all waiting to see where the airplanes are going to go, as aircraft have the right of way. A vehicle driver who cuts off an aircraft can lose his airport driving privileges, which may in turn cost him his job. The two Brasilias are waiting for the outbound Alaska. Meanwhile,the Alaska is in turn waiting for the Delta heavy to finish pulling onto the corner gate - a process that can take what feels like forever sometimes. The Delta heavy pulls up and stops short of the gate, and then hooks up to a tug to get towed in the last 50 feet or so. However, Delta has been bad about not having a ramp crew in place ready to receive the airplane. And so it stops and waits with its tail still blocking the intersection. I have personally witnessed this take ten minutes to resolve - and for a busy ground controller, that's an eternity!

      Delete
  3. Did an earlier attempt to answer on this page disappear? I'll try again.
    The picture entitled _There's probably a story here, but I haven't heard it yet_ features two Embraer Brazilias in (pre-merger) United colors. There appear to be five ground vehilces waiting. With the addition of the Alaska, that comes out to eight vehicles at the intersection. The ground controller must have been busy!
    The terminal in the right lower corner appears to be T6, so the intersection is the one of TWY C7 with Charlie ( and the open expanse of B5 beyond).
    I took a look on Google Maps and the aerial picture shows the road for airport vehicles there is two lanes wide in both directions.
    --Filip

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. No, it was here all the time - Thanks to spammers, I have to moderate comments, and will normally do them in batches when I get the time -- which means that your comment may languish for a week until I have blog time available. Sorry about that, but I do read each and every one that comes in, even if it doesn't get posted.

      You are correct: That is the C-7 intersection, with the E120s on Charlie. Horizon is on gate 66, Allegiant on 68A, and Delta almost on 68B. On the other side of the waiting vehicles, you can see Bravo, with B-5 on the left, then 25 Right, Hotel, H-3 on the left and H-4 in the center, then 25 Left, and then Alpha.

      Delete