Airport roadways

[ET21]

Midway's is merely a set of long ramps leading to/from Cicero Avenue.

Midway > O'Hare
So much faster, easier to access, less headaches.

[OCGuy81]

Midway > O'Hare
So much faster, easier to access, less headaches.

Agreed! Any time I need to go to Chicago, I usually try to find a flight into Midway. 

[jakeroot]

Midway > O'Hare
So much faster, easier to access, less headaches.

Agreed! Any time I need to go to Chicago, I usually try to find a flight into Midway.

If you're offended by me posting this, well, sorry.

[Roadrunner75]

Midway > O'Hare
So much faster, easier to access, less headaches.

Agreed! Any time I need to go to Chicago, I usually try to find a flight into Midway.

If you're offended by me posting this, well, sorry.

I remember flying out of Midway, and while we were taxiing out to the runway thinking "I can't believe we're this close to city streets..."

[empirestate]

Midway > O'Hare
So much faster, easier to access, less headaches.

Agreed! Any time I need to go to Chicago, I usually try to find a flight into Midway. 

I am starting to really like Manchester airport (MHT), whether in its own right or as an alternative to Boston.

[cl94]

Midway > O'Hare
So much faster, easier to access, less headaches.

Agreed! Any time I need to go to Chicago, I usually try to find a flight into Midway.

If you're offended by me posting this, well, sorry.

I remember flying out of Midway, and while we were taxiing out to the runway thinking "I can't believe we're this close to city streets..."

Pretty close. Only a few yards short of the runway.

[OCGuy81]

I remember flying out of Midway, and while we were taxiing out to the runway thinking "I can't believe we're this close to city streets..."

Landing too.  "Um....are we going to hit those buildin.....bump, bump, screech!!" Reminds me a lot of landing in San Diego. You just drop pretty suddenly.

[jakeroot]

I remember flying out of Midway, and while we were taxiing out to the runway thinking "I can't believe we're this close to city streets..."

Landing too.  "Um....are we going to hit those buildin.....bump, bump, screech!!" Reminds me a lot of landing in San Diego. You just drop pretty suddenly.

San Diego, and Bob Hope Airport in Burbank. The distance between the end of the runway and the jetway is so short, you have to sit at the end of the runway for a few minutes to let the engines cool down. At most airports, the distance between the runway and the jetway does this anyway. Oh, and did I mention the runway is really short? My father is a pilot at Alaska Airlines, and he told me that new pilots aren't allowed to fly to Burbank because of the unique design of the airport.

[agentsteel53]

Landing too.  "Um....are we going to hit those buildin.....bump, bump, screech!!" Reminds me a lot of landing in San Diego. You just drop pretty suddenly.

I can't remember what the reason is for planes not approaching from the ocean for landing.  I'm guessing it's so that the runway remains unidirectional and there is no risk of head-on collisions.  at the price of the Banker's Hill approach being a really sharp one.

[jakeroot]

Landing too.  "Um....are we going to hit those buildin.....bump, bump, screech!!" Reminds me a lot of landing in San Diego. You just drop pretty suddenly.

I can't remember what the reason is for planes not approaching from the ocean for landing.  I'm guessing it's so that the runway remains unidirectional and there is no risk of head-on collisions.  at the price of the Banker's Hill approach being a really sharp one.

Prevailing winds. Landing with the direction of the wind would increase the overall landing distance. That said, planes do sometimes land from the direction of the ocean, though it's rare.

[agentsteel53]

Prevailing winds. Landing with the direction of the wind would increase the overall landing distance. That said, planes do sometimes land from the direction of the ocean, though it's rare.

got it.

how rare is rare?  I had thought the provision was only if a plane was coming in late (11pm curfew agreement with the city of San Diego, IIRC, with no scheduled landings past then) or in case of emergency.

[jakeroot]

Prevailing winds. Landing with the direction of the wind would increase the overall landing distance. That said, planes do sometimes land from the direction of the ocean, though it's rare.

got it.

how rare is rare?  I had thought the provision was only if a plane was coming in late (11pm curfew agreement with the city of San Diego, IIRC, with no scheduled landings past then) or in case of emergency.

About 1 in 150 landings, according to my dad (a guess btw), are from the direction of the water. The curfew is midnight, and they only land from the direction of the water when absolutely necessary. The 737s have a tailwind max component of 10 knots.  I guess when that limit is reached they change the direction.

[agentsteel53]

My father is a pilot at Alaska Airlines

I wonder if he knows my father-in-law.  his name is Chris O*, and he works cargo at SeaTac for Alaska Airlines. 

* I won't give out his full last name; I believe he is the only Chris O with that workplace and job description.

[jakeroot]

My father is a pilot at Alaska Airlines

I wonder if he knows my father-in-law.  his name is Chris O*, and he works cargo at SeaTac for Alaska Airlines. 

* I won't give out his full last name; I believe he is the only Chris O with that workplace and job description.

According to him, he doesn't even know half the pilots. Lol. He's only flown the Cargo jet a few times and it was a long time ago.

[OCGuy81]

San Diego, and Bob Hope Airport in Burbank. The distance between the end of the runway and the jetway is so short, you have to sit at the end of the runway for a few minutes to let the engines cool down. At most airports, the distance between the runway and the jetway does this anyway. Oh, and did I mention the runway is really short? My father is a pilot at Alaska Airlines, and he told me that new pilots aren't allowed to fly to Burbank because of the unique design of the airport.

I've lived in southern California for most of my life, and have never flown in/out of Burbank.  Isn't that one of the few commercial airports left where you get out on the tarmac when you leave the plane?

I'm curious if your dad knows whether or not there are similar rules with Orange County/John Wayne airport for new pilots.  Takeoff from SNA is always a bit freaky if you're not used to it.  After climbing a few hundred feet, you hear the power get reduced so the noise ordinances over Newport Beach are adhered to.  Once out over the water, you hear the noise kick back in.  Sounds like difficult takeoff for newbies.

[Brandon]

I remember flying out of Midway, and while we were taxiing out to the runway thinking "I can't believe we're this close to city streets..."

Landing too.  "Um....are we going to hit those buildin.....bump, bump, screech!!" Reminds me a lot of landing in San Diego. You just drop pretty suddenly.

Yep.  Those houses get pretty close, then you see Cicero Avenue, and then you bump to a landing.  A quick landing at that.  I fly in and out of there far, far more often than I do O'Hare.

The photo is from December 8, 2005, when a plane skidded to a stop just beyond the end of the runway at Central Avenue and 55th Street during a snow storm that dumped 8-10 inches on Midway in very short order.  It hit a car stopped at the intersection.

[PHLBOS]

The photo is from December 8, 2005, when a plane skidded to a stop just beyond the end of the runway at Central Avenue and 55th Street during a snow storm that dumped 8-10 inches on Midway in very short order.  It hit a car stopped at the intersection.

IIRC, that's the only time there was a fatality related to (as opposed to on) a Southwest Airlines flight; a ground fatality involving a 6-year-old passenger in the car that the plane hit.

On a more amusing note, from Burbank circa 2000.

[realjd]

Prevailing winds. Landing with the direction of the wind would increase the overall landing distance. That said, planes do sometimes land from the direction of the ocean, though it's rare.

got it.

how rare is rare?  I had thought the provision was only if a plane was coming in late (11pm curfew agreement with the city of San Diego, IIRC, with no scheduled landings past then) or in case of emergency.

I've never once, ever, had a flight land or take off heading east in SAN. And I've only had it happen once at LAX which has similar issues, and that was at 3AM.

Landings to the east only really happen at SAN when they have the santa anna winds going on, and it has to be good and clear because that end of the runway doesn't have the same instrument landing equipment that the normal west-bound end of the runway has. I don't know if take offs heading east happen ever because of the steep ascent needed to clear that parking garage and the other buildings.

[oscar]

Landings to the east only really happen at SAN when they have the santa anna winds going on, and it has to be good and clear because that end of the runway doesn't have the same instrument landing equipment that the normal west-bound end of the runway has.

IIRC, occasional wide-bodies landing at SAN (like, in that era. DC-10s, which American flew into San Diego after cross-country flights to LAX) had to land from the west, because they needed the entire runway to safely land and couldn't give away any of the east end of the runway from having to swoop down after clearing structures at that end.  Those planes took off to the west, for the same reason.

[empirestate]

I remember flying out of Midway, and while we were taxiing out to the runway thinking "I can't believe we're this close to city streets..."

Landing too.  "Um....are we going to hit those buildin.....bump, bump, screech!!" Reminds me a lot of landing in San Diego. You just drop pretty suddenly.

San Diego, and Bob Hope Airport in Burbank.

And LGA, depending on the approach.

For that matter, pretty much every approach into LGA is dramatic in some way or another.

[roadman65]

I heard that flying into Mexico City is scary as the pilot has to drop the plane as the entire city is located between mountain ranges where there is not much space between the nearby ranges and the runways to descend at a shallow angle.  All planes have to come in steep after clearing the hills and to make the end of the runways.

This is from my mom who flew as a stewardess for the now defunct Eastern Airlines who remembers that unusual landing all too well.

[jakeroot]

I remember flying out of Midway, and while we were taxiing out to the runway thinking "I can't believe we're this close to city streets..."

Landing too.  "Um....are we going to hit those buildin.....bump, bump, screech!!" Reminds me a lot of landing in San Diego. You just drop pretty suddenly.

San Diego, and Bob Hope Airport in Burbank.

And LGA, depending on the approach.

For that matter, pretty much every approach into LGA is dramatic in some way or another.

I wouldn't know. Lol. The only airport in the NE that I've flown to is Newark, which is rather unspectacular. If I had to take a guess, landing at LGA is pretty similar to SFO? I'm more familiar with the latter.

[formulanone]

I wouldn't know. Lol. The only airport in the NE that I've flown to is Newark, which is rather unspectacular. If I had to take a guess, landing at LGA is pretty similar to SFO? I'm more familiar with the latter.

If you're flying out south of LGA, you can get a nice view of Manhattan. Problem is that it gets very backed up at times, and you'll wait on the tarmac for 30 minutes just to take off on a Friday afternoon. I don't recommend flying out of LaGuardia if you have a tight connection at whatever hub airport you have to fly into. I've also had some long tie-ups at SFO; 20-25 minutes being the worst. BTS shows from 10 minutes at 6am in the morning to 25-30 during peak times (I can't link directly to a query).

That said, summer thunderstorms at ATL or even at FLL has made me wait for an hour on the tarmac. Things happen.

[cpzilliacus]

Landing at National Airport (DCA) across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C. is fun, especially if arriving from the north, which means most must follow the twisting path of the Potomac River and the George Washington Memorial Parkway. 

It's not an issue if the approach is from the south, because the Potomac River estuary is relatively wide and straight. 

[roadman65]

I came into DCA via the south and it was nice seeing Old Towne Alexandria as well as flying over the Wilson Bridge.

I like the view that you get coming into MSY (New Orleans) from the east.  You can see the Superdome, the Crescent City Connector, and even the US 90 Business Westbank Expressway before you fly over residential areas that are not as glamorous as before you hit that.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DURlTYVDBGc&list=UUNxUjVe6NDGz5pe-2k6GfGQ If you want to see it.  The Westbank Expressway Bridge is at first along with the Harvey Canal.

We were supposed to come in from the south, but somebody was flying a model airplane in the flight path and our flight had to be diverted to come in from the east as you will hear our captain explain it.  In a way I am happy as I got to see more.