Sure is flat down there.
The last two times I flew out of IND have been at 0MG30 on a weekday, and I just basically walked up to security and got howdied on through, with nary a line in sight. This time they had the Disneyland queue ropes up and the place was a seething mass of aberrant humanity, all desperate to go someplace else of a sunny summer Saturday morn.
Over half an hour shuffling through that mess. It's a good thing they only have machines that can peek into your trousers, because if they had one that could peek into your brain, I'd be under the jail for multiple counts of sedition and worse.
Ran into Farmer Frank at the gate. I feel like a real gunwriter now. :)
They informed us that the A319 was booked to capacity: 126 souls en route to Salt Lake City. Amazing how many people got huffy that they wouldn't be able to bring 3 full-size carryons plus strollers for the anklebiters aboard a plane that was stuffed to the gills.
Sure used a lot of runway, FWIW.
Despite taking my time typing this, including a detour to the Wikipedia article on the A320 family, it is still flat as a board out there. Sure glad we're not doing this by Conestoga.
The taxi driver asked what was in the Pelican
, a musical instrument? I said, "Well, sorta." No freakout at the Delta counter. IND remains a pretty chilled out place when it comes to flying with heaters.Chatting with the Indy airport cop while waiting in the secure area, and he asked what I was going to be doing out in Portland. Visiting family? Business trip. Told him I was going to go shoot the Crimson Trace night 3-gun match, with lasers and flashlights and cool stuff like that. He wanted to come along.
STILL flat out there. The ground is covered with the distinctive circles of dryland farming, though, turning the Ogalalla Aquifer into food, so we're out over the High Plains proper now.
More later...
Man, PDX has got to wonder about all these trombone players wearing velcro front ballcaps coming in.
ReplyDeleteCaptain Dave has a post about a hot-weather takeoff in a fully-loaded Airbus.
ReplyDeleteHis blog is interesting if you like to read about aviation and SLTT.
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ReplyDeletePortland is nice once you get away from the caltards.
ReplyDeleteIf you have time, go up to Zigzag, and take a day hike up to Ramona Falls. Bring a camera.
You had to mention Zigzag? Here I am sweltering the heat, and you make me think of how cool it would be up there. And green.
ReplyDeleteHey, Tam, if somehow you find yourself at the Horse Brass Pub (which I highly recommend), say hello to it for me. Likely nobody there I know any more, except if Don, the owner, is around.
I don't care for the socialist design philosophy of Airbus. The computers are in charge, the pilot merely advises them of what he wants to do. This has caused a number of stupid crashes.
ReplyDeleteAlso, apparently, the training of French pilots is as stupid as their computers are, or more accurately, their programmers.
I'm wondering who got paid off in the FAA, to keep them from de-certifying Airbus from flying in the US.
Worst flight I ever had:
ReplyDeleteNear July 4th '88, heading to a wedding near Philly. Boeing 737, with every seat filled, every stop. Loaded with anklebiters. Seemed to spend as much time ascending/descending as level flight, maybe more. Think it was at least 9 airports, coast to coast. Had no idea what was involved when I bought the ticket. IIRC, it was the only ticket available, and got it more than 30 days prior. Three were in CA alone, and we missed being stuck at one, for noise restrictions, by 15 seconds when they released brakes. Not sure, but think it totaled around 24 hrs, most of it sitting in the plane, except for 5 hrs in Chicago. Oh, and the AC mostly didn't work. Same for my overhead light, which made reading difficult.
Hope you have a good trip out here to the Beaver State. I've heard the PDX folks can be a bit jumpy about guns at check-in.
ReplyDeleteThis doesn't help I'm sure... an ex pilot tried to hide his gun in a planter.
http://www.oregonlive.com/newsflash/index.ssf/story/man-arrested-after-trying-to-hide-gun/32a7bc375a5849ca8b4116598b8a2822