The Stuff That Falls From The Sky...

METAR for KBTV
Time: Sat 09:54 PM EDT
Freshness:
26 minutes old
Sky: MVFR
Wind: 320° at 6 kts
Layers: 1800 Few, 2300 Scattered, 2900 Overcast
Vis: 9 sm
Temp: 41° F
Dp: 39° F
Alt: 29.81
Wx: light rain


One by one, the birds are coming in to roost. There's a steady rain falling this evening at the airport and there's no sugar coating this one; it's pretty darn miserable out there. Making the evening a little worse, the Red Sox lost earlier in the evening and have quickly gone down 4-0 in the second game to the Tampa Bay Rays. The dreary weather, caused by a low pressure system south of Long Island, hangs over KBTV, KBOS, Fenway Park and the rest of New England. However, the operations office is a climate controlled 72 degrees, dry, with a touch of jazz (Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong), mixed with intermittent sips of dark roast coffee. The flights are on time so far, no problems have been reported and there's no volcanic ash contaminating the sky. Overall, I'd call that a decent night, despite the drubbing at Fenway and the cold rain falling. What the heck? It's April in New England. You have to take what you can get.

The volcanic ash floating over most of Europe is a real curious situation. So far, millions of people have been displaced, air traffic at a near stand still. The ash, lethal to both aircraft and human beings, hangs over Europe with little regard for the disrupted commerce, delayed cargo and ruined vacations down below. Volcanoes have no sympathy, emotion, nor empathy for the human inhabitants of earth. They have a job to do. Erupt, smoke, cool down, blow ash everywhere. Vacationing, shipping goods, business trips with expense accounts? Mere child's play...

The tower closed at the usual time tonight, 0000, with JetBlue 128 out of Kennedy still to land. Taxi times are long in JFK this spring and summer with runway construction underway. BTV will be engaging in several airfield construction projects later this summer, and I hope to provide many exciting updates and photos as the projects begin to take shape. The most significant project, RWY 15/33 overlay, will take place exclusively at night. This will bring more life to the night shift as concrete is poured, asphalt is removed and replaced and drainage in the runway safety area is improved. There will be lots to inspect, making sure the airfield meets Federal Aviation Regulations (FAR) Part 139 specifications (The governing standards/Certification of Airports). In addition to airfield construction, the terminal second floor bathrooms (adjacent to the restaurant), are being remodeled. Finally, land-side, the north end of the parking garage will have two floors and a roof added on. It's unclear whether a volcanic ash collection system will be added to the final plans...

JetBlue 128, was a sight to see landing tonight. On approach, the Airbus A320 looked like an enormous orb, an illuminated ball of light reflecting off the rain clouds. Given the never ending blackness of the sky, it was an impressive sight to see. She touched down on RWY 15 at 0018, after making up 20 minutes of lost time in the air. The runway was wet with good braking, but the captain opted not to bother with a rapid slowdown upon landing, instead slowing incrementally over the full length of the runway. The final scheduled flight of the night, JB 128 exited the runway west on TXY Charlie for gate 15. Just prior to the arrival of JB 128, the Red Sox, who fought back after being down 6-1, lost 6-5. It must have been a tough game to watch at Fenway; cold and wet, with only $7.00 beers to keep you warm. It's been a tough start to the season, but there are 151 games to go. Rest assured, the Sox are going to win their share of games, maybe even make the playoffs. I suppose it's what we don't know that will make it interesting, worth paying attention. What story lines will evolve? What unexpected things will happen? Are there erupting volcanoes in the Red Sox near future? The magic 8 ball says...

And then there was one...

METAR for KBTV
Time: Mon 12:54 AM EDT
Freshness:
33 minutes old
Sky: VFR
Wind: calm
Layers: Clear
Vis: 10 sm
Temp: 45° F
Dp: 36° F
Alt: 30.11


Tonight is the final night of winter season dual coverage for night operations, quietly putting an end to winter as we know it at BTV. Given the weekend of summery weather we just enjoyed, the timing seems about right. Alex, my co-host for The BTV Night Ops Show has been smiling all night, knowing he's heading back to his normal morning shift of 0700-1700, Wednesday to Saturday. I'm happy for the guy, though I'll admit, a little envious. Just a little. I'll resume holding down the fort in relative solitude, paying my dues, mindful of freedom and the light of day.

Still, I'm optimistic about the upcoming summer months. Though this summer holds a fairly intense regiment of night construction, last summer, there was a lot to enjoy. Summertime brings thunderstorms and rain and flights are typically delayed, the last dominoes to fall at the end of a long day. Awaiting those flights in the OPS truck (parked underneath the tower) gives me a strange sense of fulfillment; a connection to the quieter, more subtle nuances of the airport environment. By in large, these details go mostly unnoticed. But in the shadows below the tower, just clear of Taxiway Alpha and the airfield perimeter road, sits a terrific vantage point for viewing the majority of the airfield, including the entire RWY 15 (one-five) approach. Here, waiting for the elusive last flights, the nightly cadence of a summer finds rhythm.

Killing the engine, I'll usually flick the light bar to its slowest setting to conserve power. The windows down, sweet, humid air fills the truck, while a few vicious mosquitoes remind me that even paradise has its flaws. The airport, loud and hot on a summer day, is quiet enough to hear the crickets chirp on a summer night. Off to the south and east, a slow stream of headlights can be seen heading north on I-89. They travel silently, anonymously, off in the distance. With the exception of a sudden acceleration of a baggage tug, the chorus of crickets goes mainly undisturbed.

Meanwhile, inside the cab, there are four radios set to the following frequencies: CTAF (118.3), Airport Channel 1 (Police, Ambassadors, Parking Garage, TSA, North Security) Airport Channel 2 (Maintenance) and Boston Center (120.350). In the background, AM 960 is tuned in for Coast to Coast AM, hosted by George Norrie. George discusses alien abductions, UFO sightings or government conspiracies, often in the same night. It's perfect listening material at 0200, as nights are strange and mysterious.

But it's still April and despite what the thermometer read this weekend, summer is not in the forecast tonight. The weather is calm, but cool and the evening flights landed on time, even early. The tower closed up shop at midnight on the dot, the birds quietly resting at their gates. Back in operations, Liveatc.net streams Boston Center on my laptop. The Boston Center controller, located in Nashua, New Hampshire, blurts out seemingly random communications to aircraft I can only imagine:

"Continental 83, contact Boston Center 134.700, good night." A little detective work reveals these communications to be less than random. In this case, Continental 83 is a Boeing 777-200, originating from Delhi, India (DEL) and heading for Newark, NJ (EWR). Boston center might be relatively slow at 0300, but the blips on their radar are no less important.

A few minutes later, the same controller suddenly chimes in, "Delta 153, good morning, clear direct Charleston, West Virginia, Hotel, Victor, Quebec." I definitely recognize this controller's voice from last summer. Guess I'll be working with her again this year. Her current flight, Delta 153, happened to originate in Tel Aviv (TLV) and is headed for Atlanta (ATL), South Terminal, Gate E28.

A few taps on the keyboard reveals these additional details about Delta 153:

Carrier: Delta
Equipment Type: Boeing 777
Flight Distance: 6419 miles
Travel Time: 13 hr 20 min
ETA: 0555
Business Class Meal: Dinner
Coach Class Meal: Dinner
Movie: Yes

If Delta 153 lands on time, and I presume they are just a few minutes ahead of schedule, I'll be heading for my car at the same time the passengers are exiting the B777. I imagine they're just as tired as I am, maybe even a bit more. Thing is, I've got them beat all the way. I'll be asleep in my bed before they clear customs. Tidying up my desk, I glance over at Alex. He's still smiling. Only 90 minutes to go; the promise land awaits. One journey ends as another one begins. It goes on and on and on.