Originally published November 27, 2019
One of my favorite things about flying is when you get to your destination and you exit the passenger boarding bridge and see the airport for the place you arrived in. No two airports are alike, and I love walking by different shops and restaurants and spotting the differences. Now, I have yet to fly out of the United States, but I have flown to a few different places in the U.S.
Seattle/SeaTac: Obviously, being from the Seattle area, most of my flights are either to or from SeaTac. I think it's an awesome airport and I've gotten quite familiar with it. Security is pretty long I've found compared to other airports. But so far I have yet to find an airport with shops and restaurants that I like more than SeaTac.
Sacramento: The first airport I ever flew to was Sacramento. It's got wonderful architecture (I remember a hanging giant rabbit), perhaps the best architecture in an airport I have seen in person. And it has a tram that transports you as well (SeaTac has one as well for certain gates I remember). Once you get out of the airport, it's nothing but flat around with no parking garages, just a big parking lot. When I first landed in Sacramento, I noticed all the California sports teams like the Lakers, Warriors, 49ers, and Raiders were on prominent display in the apparel stores.
Oakland: A smaller airport to say the least. The wait for security for me has been non-existent the few times I've flown out. I also remember the airport is right next to the water/bay so when you fly in to Oakland, it almost looks like the plane is about to land in the water!
Las Vegas: I don't remember much about this airport other than that it has slot machines! And the one time I went on the slots there, I actually came out ahead. However, I do remember getting there and seeing a ton of taxis out in the arrivals area.
Honolulu: Surprisingly, I don't remember a lot about this airport. I remember it's a small-ish airport like Oakland, but as soon as you get outside you're met by palm trees and tropical weather.
Kona: The smallest airport I have ever been to. Want to know how small? The passenger boarding bridge leads you down to the ground. There's also just a bunch of huts that are for different gates. I don't think they even have any restaurants or shops, just vending machines. This is the one pictured in the above image (A rendering).
Showing posts with label Airplane. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Airplane. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 4, 2020
The long, arduous process of a plane flight
Originally published October 8, 2019
Commercial air travel is the fastest way a civilian can get from one city to another. Thousands and thousands of flights take off every day. But there is a process. Sure, the flights themselves are very quick for getting you from one city to another (quicker than driving, at least), but they require so much preparation and waiting and adhering to rules.
After you buy your plane ticket, which generally are pretty expensive compared to other things you might purchase, you eventually get to the day of your flight. Packing is fairly routine, but you must accommodate TSA regulations and requirements. No bringing liquids over 3 oz. on a plane. No bringing sharp objects, weapons, blades, chemicals. Those have to be in checked luggage. Most people can abide by these rules just fine.
Then there comes the part of travelling to the airport. Some people have to drive a long ways to get to the nearest airport. Myself, it's a fairly quick drive, depending on traffic (30-45 minutes). Then after you get there, unless you got a ride, you have to park. Then after getting there is checking in (if you haven't already) and possibly checking luggage. The wait in those lines can be long, depending on the airline and the time of day.
Then comes everyone's most favorite part: Security checkpoint! Not only is security a bit of a hassle, there's almost always a long wait for it. I'd say out of all the times I've flown, I've had a short or no wait time for security just a couple times. Both were at smaller airports. After the waiting, you get your boarding pass and ID checked by the TSA agent, then off to the actual security checkpoint. I won't get into the details because it varies by airport, but so far by my experience you either go through a metal detector type gate or go to a station where you have to lift your arms up. My favorite part is when someone ahead of me struggles with abiding by the rules and holds up the line. Even more waiting, yay!
After security, you're still not done! Then comes the waiting at the gate. Depending on how early you arrived and how quickly you got through security, you may have some time to kill, especially if your flight gets delayed. Then the time finally comes to board the plane. You board the plane at a speed in which you would get passed by nearby slugs. You finally actually get on the plane and take a seat. But guess what? Even more waiting! This time you have to wait for the plane to fully board, and then pull away from the tarmac. At last, long last, your plane hits the runway and gathers speed and takes off. Then comes the longest wait (usually)--the waiting to get there.
So you finally land, great! Now you must wait to get off the plane. If you're towards the back and/or in a window seat, this can take a while. Then you get off the plane and sometimes (and in my case--usually) have a bit of a walk to get to either the arriving zone or baggage claim. Some airports (Sacramento for one) have you board a tram to get to certain areas. Then, if you checked any luggage, comes the waiting for your luggage to come down the belt. And it never seems to be one of the first pieces of luggage down the belt, no sir. I once waited almost half an hour for my luggage and was starting to get worried before I finally saw it.
Then after getting picked up or getting a taxi, you still have a car ride to get to your final destination. So if you start at waiting in line to check in/check luggage, you've waited a total of six separate times now. Waiting and not doing much is actually pretty exhausting; no wonder flights tire people out so much.
But it beats the alternative (if there even is one), yeah? Driving, if it is an option, takes much longer and adds so much wear and tear to your car, mostly the odometer. Even if you rent a car to drive, the time you'd need the car and the gas you'd have to pay for wouldn't save that much money.
Is flying a plane worth it? Right now it's the most efficient way for travelling distances of over 300 miles. You certainly have to plan around flights. If you have a week off and are spending it flying somewhere for a week, you really only get 5 days there thanks to the flights in and out (depending on the length of the flights). It's not very worthwhile to fly someplace one day and leave the next, although I'm sure some people do that (mainly for their occupations). The longer the flight the more worthwhile and long the stay should be. Until we can develop some alternate form of transportation like suction tubes seen in Logan's Run, air travel and the long arduous process that goes along with it will be a part of our lives.
Commercial air travel is the fastest way a civilian can get from one city to another. Thousands and thousands of flights take off every day. But there is a process. Sure, the flights themselves are very quick for getting you from one city to another (quicker than driving, at least), but they require so much preparation and waiting and adhering to rules.
After you buy your plane ticket, which generally are pretty expensive compared to other things you might purchase, you eventually get to the day of your flight. Packing is fairly routine, but you must accommodate TSA regulations and requirements. No bringing liquids over 3 oz. on a plane. No bringing sharp objects, weapons, blades, chemicals. Those have to be in checked luggage. Most people can abide by these rules just fine.
Then there comes the part of travelling to the airport. Some people have to drive a long ways to get to the nearest airport. Myself, it's a fairly quick drive, depending on traffic (30-45 minutes). Then after you get there, unless you got a ride, you have to park. Then after getting there is checking in (if you haven't already) and possibly checking luggage. The wait in those lines can be long, depending on the airline and the time of day.
Then comes everyone's most favorite part: Security checkpoint! Not only is security a bit of a hassle, there's almost always a long wait for it. I'd say out of all the times I've flown, I've had a short or no wait time for security just a couple times. Both were at smaller airports. After the waiting, you get your boarding pass and ID checked by the TSA agent, then off to the actual security checkpoint. I won't get into the details because it varies by airport, but so far by my experience you either go through a metal detector type gate or go to a station where you have to lift your arms up. My favorite part is when someone ahead of me struggles with abiding by the rules and holds up the line. Even more waiting, yay!
After security, you're still not done! Then comes the waiting at the gate. Depending on how early you arrived and how quickly you got through security, you may have some time to kill, especially if your flight gets delayed. Then the time finally comes to board the plane. You board the plane at a speed in which you would get passed by nearby slugs. You finally actually get on the plane and take a seat. But guess what? Even more waiting! This time you have to wait for the plane to fully board, and then pull away from the tarmac. At last, long last, your plane hits the runway and gathers speed and takes off. Then comes the longest wait (usually)--the waiting to get there.
So you finally land, great! Now you must wait to get off the plane. If you're towards the back and/or in a window seat, this can take a while. Then you get off the plane and sometimes (and in my case--usually) have a bit of a walk to get to either the arriving zone or baggage claim. Some airports (Sacramento for one) have you board a tram to get to certain areas. Then, if you checked any luggage, comes the waiting for your luggage to come down the belt. And it never seems to be one of the first pieces of luggage down the belt, no sir. I once waited almost half an hour for my luggage and was starting to get worried before I finally saw it.
Then after getting picked up or getting a taxi, you still have a car ride to get to your final destination. So if you start at waiting in line to check in/check luggage, you've waited a total of six separate times now. Waiting and not doing much is actually pretty exhausting; no wonder flights tire people out so much.
But it beats the alternative (if there even is one), yeah? Driving, if it is an option, takes much longer and adds so much wear and tear to your car, mostly the odometer. Even if you rent a car to drive, the time you'd need the car and the gas you'd have to pay for wouldn't save that much money.
Is flying a plane worth it? Right now it's the most efficient way for travelling distances of over 300 miles. You certainly have to plan around flights. If you have a week off and are spending it flying somewhere for a week, you really only get 5 days there thanks to the flights in and out (depending on the length of the flights). It's not very worthwhile to fly someplace one day and leave the next, although I'm sure some people do that (mainly for their occupations). The longer the flight the more worthwhile and long the stay should be. Until we can develop some alternate form of transportation like suction tubes seen in Logan's Run, air travel and the long arduous process that goes along with it will be a part of our lives.
My favorite TV shows and movies that involve planes
Originally published on October 4, 2019
One of my favorite settings for either a movie or a TV show is a commercial airplane. It's something that I can relate to, having flown many times myself, so whenever something happens, such as turbulence, I know what the characters are going through, more or less.
Here are my favorite television shows and movies that involve planes:
LOST: LOST is one of my favorite television shows of all time, and the infamous Oceanic Flight 815 may be the most iconic single flight in television history. Oceanic Flight 815, which was from Sydney to Los Angeles, crashes over an uncharted island in the South Pacific, where strange and crazy things happen to the survivors of the crash, the gist of it being there were already people there on the island that they have conflicts with. After some of the survivors get off the island, they even board another flight (Ajira flight 316, Los Angeles to Guam) to get back to the island because the island "wasn't done with them".
Snakes on a Plane: This film made me apprehensive of flying for a bit. Obviously I am very unlikely to travel on a plane transporting live snakes, but it still was easy to imagine. My least favorite part was probably when the snakes went through the plane's plumbing and up through the toilet to surprise one unlucky man. Or when the giant snake ate a dog. Fortunately Samuel L. Jackson was able to land that "Monday to Friday" plane after those "monkey-fighting" snakes killed both pilots.
One of my favorite settings for either a movie or a TV show is a commercial airplane. It's something that I can relate to, having flown many times myself, so whenever something happens, such as turbulence, I know what the characters are going through, more or less.
Here are my favorite television shows and movies that involve planes:
LOST: LOST is one of my favorite television shows of all time, and the infamous Oceanic Flight 815 may be the most iconic single flight in television history. Oceanic Flight 815, which was from Sydney to Los Angeles, crashes over an uncharted island in the South Pacific, where strange and crazy things happen to the survivors of the crash, the gist of it being there were already people there on the island that they have conflicts with. After some of the survivors get off the island, they even board another flight (Ajira flight 316, Los Angeles to Guam) to get back to the island because the island "wasn't done with them".
Snakes on a Plane: This film made me apprehensive of flying for a bit. Obviously I am very unlikely to travel on a plane transporting live snakes, but it still was easy to imagine. My least favorite part was probably when the snakes went through the plane's plumbing and up through the toilet to surprise one unlucky man. Or when the giant snake ate a dog. Fortunately Samuel L. Jackson was able to land that "Monday to Friday" plane after those "monkey-fighting" snakes killed both pilots.
Air Force One: I love Harrison Ford for his roles as Han Solo and Indiana Jones, but he was great in this as well. I honestly don't remember too much from this film. I do remember the terrorists took over the plane but of course Harrison takes it right back. Gary Oldman was terrific as the villain, as I recall.
Red Eye: To me, Red Eye is a vastly underrated film. A lot of the film does take place on the plane, of course. On the plane is a hotel manager who is blackmailed into switching the hotel room of the Head of Homeland Security so that he could be assassinated more easily. He cons the hotel manager using her father as a hostage, and she attacks him as she leaves the plane and he chases her through the airport all the way to her home. The best part about this film is how the man/villain doing this is goes from sweet and charming to threatening and disturbing.
Breaking Bad: Not very prominent but it does become a decent-sized story-line in the end of season 2 and the beginning of season 3. Two planes crash into each other over Albuquerque, New Mexico. The cause is an air traffic controller who had just returned to work following the death of his daughter. He was distracted and his grief was too much for him to function at his job and he failed to divert the commercial aircraft (Wayfairer 515) from the other aircraft. The death of the air traffic controller's daughter was indirectly caused by the main character of the show. In total 167 people perished from the collision. The main character suggests it might have had something to do with faulty sensors/radar on the planes, perhaps as a way to assuage his guilt. He also said that the disaster was "No Tenerife", referencing the Tenerife airport disaster in 1977.
Sully: The film "Sully" reenacts the true story of Flight 1549 and how after a flock of birds destroyed both engines, captain Chesley Sullenberger had to execute a water landing into the Hudson River. The main story of this film was the lawsuit/case that followed the accident. The NTSB argued he could have landed in a nearby airport in Jersey and saved the millions of dollars in losing the plane. He then proved that it was too risky and that trying to land there would have resulted in a crash landing, risking the lives of everyone on board. Sully was played brilliantly by Tom Hanks.
Fast & Furious 6, Furious 7: In its more recent films, The Fast and the Furious franchise has included planes in its films. In 6, Dominic Toretto is able to drive a Dodge Charger onto a plane, and then later drives through the plane and off it. It's not entirely realistic, but it looks cool as heck. In Furious 7, our group of good guys jump out of a plane... with cars! They drive their cars off of a C-130 military transport aircraft, and the cars have giant parachutes attached to them. I don't know if this is even possible, but again, cool as heck.
Red Eye: To me, Red Eye is a vastly underrated film. A lot of the film does take place on the plane, of course. On the plane is a hotel manager who is blackmailed into switching the hotel room of the Head of Homeland Security so that he could be assassinated more easily. He cons the hotel manager using her father as a hostage, and she attacks him as she leaves the plane and he chases her through the airport all the way to her home. The best part about this film is how the man/villain doing this is goes from sweet and charming to threatening and disturbing.
Breaking Bad: Not very prominent but it does become a decent-sized story-line in the end of season 2 and the beginning of season 3. Two planes crash into each other over Albuquerque, New Mexico. The cause is an air traffic controller who had just returned to work following the death of his daughter. He was distracted and his grief was too much for him to function at his job and he failed to divert the commercial aircraft (Wayfairer 515) from the other aircraft. The death of the air traffic controller's daughter was indirectly caused by the main character of the show. In total 167 people perished from the collision. The main character suggests it might have had something to do with faulty sensors/radar on the planes, perhaps as a way to assuage his guilt. He also said that the disaster was "No Tenerife", referencing the Tenerife airport disaster in 1977.
Sully: The film "Sully" reenacts the true story of Flight 1549 and how after a flock of birds destroyed both engines, captain Chesley Sullenberger had to execute a water landing into the Hudson River. The main story of this film was the lawsuit/case that followed the accident. The NTSB argued he could have landed in a nearby airport in Jersey and saved the millions of dollars in losing the plane. He then proved that it was too risky and that trying to land there would have resulted in a crash landing, risking the lives of everyone on board. Sully was played brilliantly by Tom Hanks.
Fast & Furious 6, Furious 7: In its more recent films, The Fast and the Furious franchise has included planes in its films. In 6, Dominic Toretto is able to drive a Dodge Charger onto a plane, and then later drives through the plane and off it. It's not entirely realistic, but it looks cool as heck. In Furious 7, our group of good guys jump out of a plane... with cars! They drive their cars off of a C-130 military transport aircraft, and the cars have giant parachutes attached to them. I don't know if this is even possible, but again, cool as heck.
My ties to the Aviation Industry
Originally published October 4, 2019
Aviation has always fascinated me: It's humanity's fastest way of commercial travel. Anyone can get from one point on the planet to another within a day or so. If you're referring to the contiguous United States, you can go from anywhere in the U.S. to another spot in the U.S. in under six hours. Driving would take over eight times that. To me, it's stunning to think where our country and our world would be without the invention of air travel. People that have needed to get from one end of our country to the other can do so in a few hours, rather than over a day.
I have flown many times in my life, but not until I was 20 years old. I had a long distance relationship (with my current girlfriend), and I had to go to California to see her, and she had to come up here to Washington to see me. We would fly every couple months to see each other when we were long distance. Now that she's moved up here, we still on occasion fly down to California to see her family.
My most memorable flying experience would have to be flying to Hawaii with her. We flew down to Los Angeles, then to Honolulu, where we stayed for a few days, then to Kona on the big island, then back to L.A., then back home. These flights were the first time I had flown on an airline other than Southwest Airlines. We flew Hawaiian Air between the islands of course. I believe we flew Delta from between Hawaii and Los Angeles. The flight that was the worst was from Kona to Los Angeles, because it was so early in the morning and we were both running off very little sleep.
Not only do I have a bit of experience flying, my dad used to work for Boeing. I don't remember his job title or exactly what he did, but he worked on a computer and dealt with plane parts. He didn't work for them too long, but he picked up some knowledge there he still on occasion tries to share with me. Let's just say it's hard to retain.
My uncle, my dad's brother, currently works for Boeing and has for a long time. He is more on the manual labor sector. Again, I don't know his job title, but I know he transports a lot of plane parts.
Not to mention both my grandfathers flew planes in World War II. My paternal grandfather flew a B-17 in the navy and is still kicking at 93 years of age.
Aviation is, in a way, in my blood. It's kind of fitting I would work at an Aviation company. I don't know if I'll ever pursue a career in the aviation industry further, but I can say that I am fascinated by it. I have a lot to learn about it, however.
Aviation has always fascinated me: It's humanity's fastest way of commercial travel. Anyone can get from one point on the planet to another within a day or so. If you're referring to the contiguous United States, you can go from anywhere in the U.S. to another spot in the U.S. in under six hours. Driving would take over eight times that. To me, it's stunning to think where our country and our world would be without the invention of air travel. People that have needed to get from one end of our country to the other can do so in a few hours, rather than over a day.
I have flown many times in my life, but not until I was 20 years old. I had a long distance relationship (with my current girlfriend), and I had to go to California to see her, and she had to come up here to Washington to see me. We would fly every couple months to see each other when we were long distance. Now that she's moved up here, we still on occasion fly down to California to see her family.
My most memorable flying experience would have to be flying to Hawaii with her. We flew down to Los Angeles, then to Honolulu, where we stayed for a few days, then to Kona on the big island, then back to L.A., then back home. These flights were the first time I had flown on an airline other than Southwest Airlines. We flew Hawaiian Air between the islands of course. I believe we flew Delta from between Hawaii and Los Angeles. The flight that was the worst was from Kona to Los Angeles, because it was so early in the morning and we were both running off very little sleep.
Not only do I have a bit of experience flying, my dad used to work for Boeing. I don't remember his job title or exactly what he did, but he worked on a computer and dealt with plane parts. He didn't work for them too long, but he picked up some knowledge there he still on occasion tries to share with me. Let's just say it's hard to retain.
My uncle, my dad's brother, currently works for Boeing and has for a long time. He is more on the manual labor sector. Again, I don't know his job title, but I know he transports a lot of plane parts.
Not to mention both my grandfathers flew planes in World War II. My paternal grandfather flew a B-17 in the navy and is still kicking at 93 years of age.
Aviation is, in a way, in my blood. It's kind of fitting I would work at an Aviation company. I don't know if I'll ever pursue a career in the aviation industry further, but I can say that I am fascinated by it. I have a lot to learn about it, however.
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