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...