airplane

Attention in the Terminal!

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Except where noted, all photos in this blog are stills from one of the best aviation movies of all time – Airplane!

If you have followed this blog for any length of time then you know that there are certain things at the airport I shouldn’t be given access to. The ATC tower, for example. If I could go up there whenever I wanted then I’d show up unannounced, commandeer a desk and refuse to leave. Some of my coworkers have clearly caught on, which is why the stairs trucks continue to be off-limits. But there are some co-workers who remain blissfully unaware.

A few months back there was a notice in the weekly staff email that the Customer Service Department was looking for volunteers to help them re-record the airport public announcements. You know the ones – they remind you not to leave bags unattended and to have your ID ready before you get to the checkpoint. We’ve had the same PAs for a very long time so the decision was made to refresh them.

I considered signing up. I mean come on – who doesn’t want to record airport PAs? I’ve been secretly plotting to access the system and page Captain Oveur for years. (And if you don’t recognize the reference then you haven’t seen the movie Airplane!, in which case we can’t be friends.) Unfortunately my job has been ridiculously busy and I completely forgot all about this golden opportunity until well past the deadline.

Then a couple weeks ago the fire alarm went off. This is not an unusual occurence – sometimes little kids escape from their parents and pull the alarm, sometimes one of the restaraunts burns someone’s lunch and sets off the smoke sensors. Any time the alarm goes off we are required to leave the office and stand out on the ramp near the tug drive. My coworkers congregated in groups. I hid myself around the corner where I could avoid small talk and watch airplanes.

But then I saw the Customer Service Manager waking my way. She said hello and asked how I was. Then she asked if I would be interested in recording some of the airport PAs. They had gotten several volunteers, but she was hoping to get someone from accounting. Of course I agreed to help out. I mean, we can’t let the accounting department go unrepresented, now can we!

The next day I got an email with a copy of the annoucements and a request to select a time slot to do the recording. I selected one of the last slots available. I then reviewed the verbiage I’d be required to read. *Yawn* Airport announcements are pretty darn boring. There has got to be a better way to remind people about all the things they should probably already know. “Yo! Listen up people! Keep an eye on your bags. Don’t take guns through the checkpoint. Find your ID. And for the love of God find your kids so they don’t pull the damn fire alarm again.”

One week later I showed up at my appointed time with a print-out of the announcements in hand. The Customer Service Manager was there. So was a tech who was in charge of the recording. They sat me in front of a microphone and explained that when I was ready the tech would start the recording, wait two seconds to capture the background noise, then he’d point at me to begin speaking. We would go through the announcements in order, beginning with the one about unattended bags and ending with the one about curbside lanes.

Things went pretty smoothly. The tech pointed, I read and we made small talk between takes until the tech was ready for me to read the next one. We worked our way through the list until we got to the last one. The curbside annoucement is supposed to be about lanes being restricted and unattended vehicles being towed. But I didn’t read it. Oh no. I was not about to pass up an opportunity to make the announcement I’ve waited my whole career to make. I took a breath, waited for my cue, leaned in to the microphone and said:

“The white zone is for immediate loading and unloading of passengers only. There is no stopping in the red zone.”

I watched the Customer Service Manager out of the corner of my eye as I was speaking. She looked confused. She checked the paper with the announcements. Then a look of recognition dawned and she began to laugh. Then the tech began to laugh. And by the end, I was also laughing. Bucket list item – complete!

Of course, I had to go back and record the actual curbside announcement. However, the decision was made to save the white zone announcement too, although I’m not sure what they plan to do with it. If you ever fly through a medium-sized midwestern airport late at night and hear an announcement about not stopping in the red zone, you aren’t imagining things. And if you need to use a courtesy phone, be sure to use a white one.

A Starship stopped by recently. So glad I happened to be watching when it left.

Corsairs and Connie

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Over the years you’ve heard me mention “only at Osh” moments. This refers to things that can only happen at Airventure. Every year there are at least one or two of these moments. This year’s “only at Osh” moment involved Corsairs and a Connie. And oh my goodness was it amazing!

I love the Corsair. It is easily my favorite WWII Navy aircraft. There’s just something about that bent wing. And the deep, throaty sound of the engine. While many of the remaining Corsairs are museum pieces, there are still a few that are flying, although it is unusual to see more than one or two at any given time. But then there’s Osh.

At Airventure this year there are at least nine of them here. NINE. All in flying condition. Six of them flew in the Thursday afternoon air show. It was AMAZING. There was an F-18 flying around too, but trust me – the Corsairs were the stars of the show.

But there was one party crasher who sneaked in to steal some of the limelight. Normally I’d be annoyed. But in this case I was thrilled because the party crasher happened to be a Connie. The Lockheed Constellation made its debut in the early 1940s. It was the first pressurised aircraft to enjoy widespread use commercially.

Today they, like the Corsair, are mostly museum pieces. In fact, I believe there are only a couple of them that are still airworthy. Never in a million years did I ever think I’d get to see one in flight. And then today I did. Only at Osh.

Do you love airplanes? Do you appreciate history? Do you believe in magic? See you at Airventure 2024.

Osh 23! Pre-game and Day 1

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I love planes with growly face.

It’s the most wonderful time of the year! No, not Christmas. It’s Airventure 2023! My happy place. Where I can geek out over aircraft and no one thinks I’m strange. (At least, not for geeking out over aircraft.)

Dragon Lady

I arrived on Saturday and spent the bulk of the afternoon as well as most of Sunday sitting along the runway in the North 40. Not sure how busy this runway is normally, but during Osh it is incredibly busy. Lots of people flying in for the show plus lots of warbirds. Of course, lots of flying means lots of “interesting” landings, lots of go-arounds and sometimes also an incident or two.

Once such incident involved a Cessna 180 amphibian with landing gear issues. I’ve heard a couple versions of what happened – some say the gear didn’t come down until late and some say it came down but didn’t deploy properly. I didn’t see the plane until it was down and rolling out along the runway. It was apparent that it was at an odd angle – nose tilted down. At first I was afraid it would fall forward and smash its prop onto the ground. It stopped on the runway and the pilot reported that he believed he had a flat tire and he was unable to move off the runway.

Of course everyone on downwind and final for the runway had to go around. The airport then shifted to single runway ops while ARFF, the Airport Operations department and a dozen EAA personnel surrounded the plane to figure out what to do with it. Eventually they had several people sit on the back of the pontoons to lift the front of the plane. They were apparently able to lower the front gear and pin it in place. It was towed off the runway but later we saw it taxiing under its own power over to the FBO.

I wandered over to Boeing Plaza Sunday evening, expecting to see the usual display of military might. What I saw instead made me wonder if someone had spiked my drink. First thing to come into view was the Dream Lifter. I had seen pictures of it before, but it is far more impressive (and oddball) in person. It looks like someone wrapped a large metal blanket around a 747.

As I walked past the Dream Lifter my eyes beheld a sight even more bizzare – the Super Guppy. At first glance it doesn’t look like an airplane. It doesn’t look like it can fly at all. It is the ultimate “Frankenstine’s Monster” of airplanes. Bulbous head (that opens sideways on a hinge), wings that seem too short with propellors that appear to have been stolen from a C-130. It’s preposterous. Ridiculous. An abomination. And yet… kinda cool.

Those two planes alone were enough to make me question my sanity. But then I saw the F-16. A lovely airplane, as all F-16s are. But this one was YELLOW. You read that correctly. Yellow with blue trim. I took a million pictures of it because my brain hurt and I wanted to make sure I wasn’t dreaming. I wasn’t. That plane is as yellow as the sunflowers in my yard. But the color doesn’t make it any less mean.

Couple of fun facts about Osh so far:

– There were 2,143 airplane operations at KOSH on Sunday. This is on par with last year, which saw record-breaking attendance.

– EAA currently has around 280,000 members. I must say, I’m proud to be one of them. Not only does EAA throw one heck of an aviation party, but they are also strong advocates for general aviation,

So what’s next? Well the week is young and there is a lot of aviation magic still to come. I’ll keep you posted.

A350

Wings, Wheels and Wow!

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Ah, summer! The pace is slower and it’s time to relax, right? Not in my world! Sure, I’m able to spend some time chilling on the porch swing, but I’m also super busy with all the fun events that come along with sunshine and warm weather. This year those events include an air show at the cargo airport, a ginormous car show and, of course, Airventure at Oshkosh.

We found out a couple of years ago that the cargo airport was going to host the first air show in the area since 2007. That’s kind-of a big deal! An outside company handled most of the details, but airport staff still had a lot of work to do to prepare for all the planes and attendees. Fortunately, I had no responsibilites whatsoever – all I had to do was show up with my free ticket and enjoy!

The show was completely sold out for both Saturday and Sunday. It was strange to see so many people at an airport that is usually rather quiet. I didn’t expect there to be many static displays so I was pleasantly surprised to see F-35s, F-16s, a C-5, a C-17, a C47 and an A-10. The air show performers were amazing and included the likes of Mike Goulian, Rob Holland and Mike Pietsch.

There were also various warbird flight formations, the F-22 Raptor Demonstration Team, a jet truck and STOL drag racing. I’ve seen STOL competions many times, but STOL drag racing was new to me. It was basically a STOL competion with flying back and forth between two points. It was actually a lot of fun to watch. The air show wrapped up with the power and precision of the Blue Angels. For being the first air show in the area in such a long time I’d have to say they did a pretty good job. Rumor has it they plan to come back again next year.

The next big event involved wheels rather than wings. The Good Guys Hot Rod Association came to town bringing with them over 6,000 very cool old cars. I was under the impression that the show was for American cars only. When I found out any make could attend, I really wanted to take our 1954 MG TF 1500. It’s a beautiful old car, but it is NOT a hot rod. The MG surrounded by hot rods is like Dame Judy Dench hanging out with Motley Crue – kinda crazy but also totally awesome.

Just getting to the show was a challenge. For one thing, we don’t take the car on the highway. Ever. It is too small, too open and too low to the ground. Plus it has no seatbelts. We had to make our way to the event via back roads and side streets. Figuring out where to pick up our registration and actually get into the show was also a challenge. Once we sorted it out and joined the queue to enter the show grounds… woah! People lined the streets to watch the cars come in. I realized right then that car people love cars – even small British roadsters with only 69 horsepower.

After we got inside we found a spot to park and began the completely overwhelming process of trying to see as many of the cars as we could. We walked through the lot we were in and the lot next to it. Then we saw more cars ahead so we walked through there. Then we saw multiple covered display areas so we walked through there, which emptied us into another lot with more cars… OK, what the heck is this place? Osh for cars? Actually, that’s exactly what it is.

The show area stretched on and on and on. In addition to all the show cars there was an auto-cross course, a vendor area with everything automotive for sale, food trucks everywhere and a flea market. And a craft area. And even MORE cars on display inside. Did I mention Osh for cars?

The only downside is that a line of storms rolled in so we left earlier than we would have liked. We got stuck in a downpour a few minutes later. Fortunately we had the top up and the side windows in. Unfortunately the windshield wipers don’t work. We disconnected them last year, because they liked to run randomly for no reason and refused to turn off. Fortunately we can manipulate the wipers manually. Unfortunately, the wipers are useless, which is another reason why we disconnected them. All in all it was an excellent adventure and we will definitely be back.

Speaking of Osh, in just a few days I’ll be headed to Airventure 2023. I’ll be blogging, as usual. I’ll also be posting tons of pics and videos over on Twitter (@Jen_Niffer). At least, I’ll post as many as Mr. Space X will allow. If you still have an account, give me a follow. Otherwise you can find me on Instagram (@talesfromtheterminal). If you think I should join Threads, comment here and let me know. Maybe I’ll set up an account and drop some content there also. Hope to see you in Wisconsin!

More Than Just Bombs

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A trip to Pensacola Florida usually means a visit to the National Naval Aviation Museum. Can you say F-14s? (Talk to me Goose!) Unfortunately, an incident that happened at NAS Pensacola in late 2019 forced the closure of the museum to the public – only Department of Defense ID holders can visit. I have a family member with that clearance who could escort me, but coordinating with them hasn’t been possible.

So I found myself searching for an alternative. A friend mentioned a museum near Destin. She couldn’t remember the name of it, but recalled that they had a lot of airplanes. That got my attention! I did some research and came up with the Air Force Armament Museum on Eglin AFB. A museum on an Air Force Base? Heck yeah!

Similar sign – different location.

On the way there we drove by Hurlburt Field, another military base. They had a number of signs posted to “Beware of Low Flying Aircraft. Any time you have to watch out for airplanes on the way to an Air Force Museum located on an Air Force Base it is pretty much guaranteed that you are going to have a good time.

The first thing I noticed upon arrival at the Armament Museum is that a lot of the airplanes and exhibits are outside. I started at the B-52 and made a sweep around the building to make sure I saw them all. I was pleased to see that the collection includes some of my all-time favorites, like the SR-71 Blackbird, the A-10 Warthog, the F-16 Falcon, the F-15 Eagle and the F-4 Phantom. Actually, there are two Phantoms. Because the more Phantoms the better.

They also have a number of historical airplanes on display including the C-47, the B-17 and the B-25. Most aviation and military history enthusiasts are well aware of the critical roles these planes played in WWII. In case you are wondering, yes – they have a P-51 Mustang as well (inside the museum).

I was about half-way through my tour of the outside exhibits when I heard the unmistakable sound of military jets taking off. Needless to say, this got my immediate attention. I stopped inspecting the airplanes on the ground and started scanning the skies instead. Sure enough, an F-35 came into view, quickly followed by another. Then two more.

They flew overhead and then out of sight. I could still hear them so I kept watching and after a minute or so they circled overhead again. And again. And again. If I had to take a guess I’d say they were practicing approaches and possibly touch and goes. Whatever they were up to, I now had an air show going on overhead to go along with all the cool airplanes on the ground. Excellent!

I finished the tour of the outside exhibits and somewhat reluctantly headed inside. (The F-35s were still ripping around – it was hard to stop watching!) I quickly discovered that while the building itself may be rather small, it sure packs a big punch. If you can drop it, shoot it or launch it from an airplane, they’ve got it. And then some!

When it comes to munitions I can’t really say I have a favorite. (For me it is really all about the airplanes.) That said, there were a few items in the museum that I recognized. For example, the AIM 9 Sidewinder. It entered service in 1956 and versions of it are still being used today. Airplanes that have employed the Sidewinder include the F-14, F-15, F-16, F-18, F-22 and F-35. Is that an all-star list, or what?

Another weapon that caught my eye was the Tomahawk cruise missle. It entered the US military arsenal in 1985. It is designed to fly subsonic at low altitudes and has a variety of uses. I typically think of them as Navy weapons, but maybe that’s because they play a prominent role in Top Gun Maverick. (Talk to me, Rooster!)

After a thorough exploration of the building, it was time to head back to the beach. If you find yourself anywhere near Destin, Florida, I highly recommend you spend an hour or two at the Air Force Armament Museum. There is no admission charge and it is open every day from 9:30am – 5pm including most Federal holidays. And who knows – there might be F-35s putting on a show when you visit. Be prepared to stay awhile, just in case.

Hello Stranger

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Love this livery.

Well look at this – a blog post from me. Surprise! Sorry it has been so long. Life has been… well, let’s just say it has been complicated. I haven’t had much free time and, frankly, I’ve been too exhausted at the end of each day to even think about writing. But I’m trying to change that so hopefully you’ll see posts more regularly.

So what have I been up to? Work mostly. Lots of work. So much, in fact, I have done almost no plane spotting in the last 7 months. The only time I see airplanes at work is if they happen to taxi by my desk at the same time I happen to look up. I’ll snap a pic if I can, but let’s face it – photos taken through a window aren’t the highest quality. That said, I have managed to take a few decent ones here and there.

I DROVE ON THE RUNWAY!

Last fall I volunteered to help out at the annual Runway 5 K. I usually assist with the water station located at the half-way point of the course. This year I was handed the keys to a shuttle and asked if I would drive the water crew and supplies out to our spot. Wait… what? You are asking me to drive a shuttle ON THE RUNWAY??? Oh heck yeah!

Outside of work I have moved to a new house. I love it because I’m surrounded by several acres of fields and forest. The downside, however, is I am no longer on the approach path to the airport so I don’t get to see those big beautiful cargo planes flying over. I miss them. But I do get to see lots of Cessnas and other small planes. I often see student pilots overhead too. If you happen to do your flight training north of the city and find yourself flying over what looks like a Christmas Tree farm – you might see me down there waving. Or taking pictures of you. Or both.

There have been some aviation events in the news over the last few months that are worth mentioning. You may recall the story of a ground crew worker who got sucked into an engine in Alabama. That haunts me. I see ground crews outside my window all the time. I can’t open my window which is a good thing because I’d probably be opening it constantly to yell words of caution. Not because they don’t do a good job – from what I can see they are careful. But OMG if anyone gets sucked into an engine in front of me… That would be worse than horrible.

You probably also remember the great Southwest Holdiay Meltdown of 2022. They are our largest carrier so of course it impacted my airport a great deal. I walked down to baggage just to witness for myself the giant mass of bags which were piled up everywhere. It was truly impressive – and not in a good way. But perhaps the Southwest employees took some comfort from noting that United also had a substantial collection of bags stacked by their baggage office. After all, misery loves company.

So many bags.

Since it has been awhile, you might be wondering how the airport itself is doing. The passenger airport is doing quite well. In fact, we’re getting a new airline later this spring – Sun County. Well, not entirely new – they fly charter flights pretty regularly. But new as a scheduled airline. We have ZERO available ticket counter space, so I’m curious to see how the miracle workers down in building maintenance are going to find a place for them. No word yet on what gate they’ll be using, but hopefully one near my desk.

The cargo airport, on the other hand, is struggling. The war in Ukraine, covid, inflation and other factors have taken a huge bite out of our cargo traffic. A number of regular carriers haven’t been in for months, including Turkish Air, Korean Air, Etihad and China Air. Business Development is working hard to bring in new carriers. In the meantime, one small bright spot arrives in June in the form of an air show. This will be the first one held at the airport in over ten years. I’m already getting excited!

Special visitors!

Well that’s it for now. Not sure when my next post will be, but I will try not to be such a stranger. After all, spring is coming which means air show season is almost here. And I’m hoping to visit some aviation museums too. Stay tuned!

Alaska’s Pixar livery

Osh 22 Wrap-Up

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I looked at my Apple Watch fitness challenge for August and nearly fell over – I need to walk 171 miles this month to achieve the goal. What? Where in the heck did it come up with such a ridiculous goal? Then I realized that I walked 60 miles in 6 days during the last week of July, which apparently convinced my watch that I’m suddenly into massive amounts of walking. No, I’m not. It’s called Airventure. Even with riding trams and buses as much as possible, I still walk a lot. Everyone knows Osh is a marathon. Well, everyone except for my watch.

Osh is always an epic adventure and this year was no exception. The weather was perfect. The crowds were large. The aircraft were impressive. My feet are still tired. In a week that features one amazing event after the next, it is hard to single anything out as better than the rest, but here are a few of my favorites.

Hawkeyes!

I’ve never seen a Hawkeye in person before, so standing on the flight line as two of them flew in was definitely a special moment. I always love seeing something new! The also performed during one of the airshows.

F-18 Growlers

I can hear some of you now: “But Jenn – F-18s are nothing new. They’ve been doing airshow demonstrations for years. They aren’t special.” I know. I don’t care. I just like F-18s!

MiG-29

I nearly passed out when a MiG-29 showed up on Friday. Talk about something I never thought I’d see! It arrived with a team of L-159s and a business jet, all painted in variations of grey and white cammo. The planes belong to Draken International, founded by Jared Isaacman. The bizjet and L-159s landed fairly quickly but the MiG put on a bit of a show. First time I’ve witnessed a plane use a parachute upon landing.

Memorial Brick

Glen Towler knew pretty much everyone at Airventure, which was why he was known as the “Mayor of Oshkosh.” He traveled all the way from New Zealand to attend every year. Sadly, Glen passed away from cancer in May. Thanks to generous donations by friends, a memorial brick was unveiled by the Brown Arch. It is a fitting tribute to someone who loved the place so much.

Mid-day at the Oasis

Airventure unveiled a new perk for Lifetime Members this year – the Oasis. It’s a building just off the main walkway along the flightline where Lifetime Members and one guest each could go to relax, grab a snack and use the potty trailer. It was really, really nice. It quickly became our go-to meeting location and we often spent time there recharging batteries and resting our feet.

Night Air Show

The night air shows are always spectacular. Every time I see one I think they can’t possibly get any better. Airplanes with lights and sparklers at night? Amazing! Fireworks? Super! Airplanes with sparklers and fireworks at the same time? Jaw dropping!!

Maverick!

We wrapped up Osh 22 by attending a showing of Top Gun Maverick at the Fly-In Theater. Later estimates indicated an attendance of roughly 7,000 people. All I know is that the place was packed! The event kicked off with a fly-over and a presentation by Kevin LaRosa, the aerial coordinator for the movie. Kevin had never attended Osh before and admitted to being a bit blown away by the whole event. I had seen Top Gun Maverick twice in the theater, but seeing it again with a huge crowd of aviation enthusiasts was something special.

The end of Osh always makes me a little sad. It’s hard to say goodbye to my friends, most of whom I only see at Airventure. My feet are happy for the break, though. And, of course, it is never too early to start thinking ahead to Osh23. Hope to see you there!

Quick OSH22 Update

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Hello readers! You might be wondering why I’ve only done one blog post so far at Airventure 2022. Don’t worry – there’s more coming! In the meantime, however, I am posting a TON of content over on twitter. No twitter account? No problem! Just click here to check out all the action.

Parking Airplanes & Feeling Fisk-y

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Civil Air Patrol identifies and records every plane that lands.

It’s that time of year again! The annual gathering of the aviation faithful begins today at EAA’s Airventure in Oshkosh Wisconsin. Once again I arrived early to soak in the atmosphere and to volunteer with Flight Line Ops parking airplanes in the North 40.

Last year I assisted in the camping area. I asked for a simple assignment and they gave it to me – stand on the taxiway and point airplanes down whatever row they were filling. Easy! This year, however, my friend Hillel, his son Jacob and I were assigned to park planes in the Aircraft Parking Area. Located near the Weeks Hangar, this is a grassy, no-camping area for those who have accommodations elsewhere and just need a place to park.

This was a very different operation from parking planes in camping. For one thing, our team was much smaller. For another, the parking rows are shorter and planes don’t get packed in as tightly. I mostly stood out near the taxiway and directed planes down a row to Hillel and Jacob, who either positioned them in a parking spot or stopped them and pushed the plane in tail-first. (Known as “tailing” this method allow for many more airplanes to be parked together in a row. )

The EAA plane has an entourage.

However, there was one instance where both Jacob and Hillel were busy and an airplane arrived to be parked. One of the other team members pointed it down a row and I realized I was going to have to marshal it into a spot. By myself. Me. Um… wait, what? How is this happening??? I didn’t have time to think about it – I just stood where the plane needed to be and started motioning them forward. I stopped them when they were in position, signaled for them to cut the engine. Then I did a little happy dance when I realized that the were in the right place and no one died. Yay! Go me!

I parked this plane!

After our parking shift we decided to make the pilgrimage to Fisk. I had never been there before and was super exicted to see it. For those who aren’t familiar with the process for flying into Oshkosh during Airventure, it’s unique. Whitman Field transforms from a smallish airfield to one of the busiest airports in the country. 10,000 airplanes fly in for the week. That much traffic would quickly overwhelm radio frequencies and become a huge burden on local controllers. So the FAA brings in controllers to manage the event. They take over the tower for the week. They also manage the approach to Osh from a hut in the middle of a field. Yes, I’m serious. (And don’t call me Shirley.)

The amazing pink-shirts!

I won’t go into the whole procedure – I encourage you to read the Airventure Notice and watch some videos posted by those who have flown in. The last step before arriving at Osh is to cross over Fisk. Controllers with binoculars and a radio identify each plane as it approaches. They call on the radio ask the pilot to acknowledge by rocking their wings. Then they give instructions about what to do next. Sometimes they clear planes to continue the approach. Or sometimes they’ll turn them and send them back into one of the holds to get back in line.

Being able to sit in the grass, listen the the controllers and watch the planes on approach rock their wings was nothing short of amazing. Getting so many airplanes through the airspace and to the airport is a masterpiece of choreography. I have listened the frequency on LiveATC, but being there, listening and watching gave me a whole new appreciation for what they do and the challenges they face.

That’s a lot of airplanes!

Now I’m off to explore all the amazing things scheduled for Day One. Or at least, as many as I can. No one can see it all. Trust me – I’ve tried. Stayed tuned for more LIVE from Osh 2022!

F-16 at sunset.

ATC Zero

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From zero to hero.

On a recent Thursday I found myself with a few minutes available for plane spotting after work. I knew that United’s Star Alliance livery had landed earlier, so I pulled up Flightaware to check the departure time. The first thing I noticed was that there were a lot of planes in holding patterns. And there was a note in red indicating that inbound flights were being held at their origin cities for at least the next half hour.

I glanced up at the sky. It was a nice day, partly cloudy. No storms. Light wind. The weather shouldn’t be causing any delays. I looked over at the south runway. There were no signs of any issues – no paving crews or ARFF vehicles. I walked back to my car and pulled out my scanner. The frequencies were suspiciously quiet. I began to wonder… could the airport be ATC zero?

No tower? No problem!

ATC zero means that there are no controllers on duty so the field is treated as uncontrolled. The most common reason for an airport to be ATC zero these days is covid. The tower and tracon are shut down so they can be thoroughly cleaned. This was not the first time it has happened at my airport. However, it was the first time it has happened during the busy travel season.

I saw some plane spotting friends by the north runway and they confirmed my suspicions. The airport was indeed ATC zero. One of the Centers (probably Indianapolis Center) was handling approach control, but anyone wanting to land or take off had to follow the same procedures used at uncontrolled fields, which involves calling out your position and intentions on a common frequency, and monitoring that frequency for other planes in the traffic pattern with you.

No tower – no problem here either!

General aviation and business jet pilots tend to have more experience with uncontrolled fields. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the small planes that were coming and going during this time seemed to be pretty comfortable with the situation. Some of the commercial airliners, however, were clearly a bit less familiar with the procedures, as evidenced by one pilot who initially carried on with calling the tower, even though no one was in it.

I kept an eye on the Star Alliance plane while chatting with the other spotters. I was only half listening to the scanner, so we were all surprised to see a Southwest flight on short final suddenly turn to the south. It was quite unusual to see a commercial airliner make a turn so close to the airfield. In fact, I’ve never seen anything like it in the hundreds (thousands?) of hours I’ve spent watching planes at my airport. Then one of the other spotters saw the reason – a Cessna just crossing the runway threshhold.

In the 360 turn.

The faster jet had gotten uncomfortably close to the smaller plane. I was pretty sure I heard the Cessna call out its position. Did the Southwest pilots miss the transmission? The Cessna landed and taxied off the runway while the Southwest flight did a 360 and got back onto the approach.

I got to wondering about the incident. The two planes seemed awfully close together. Did someone screw up? The next day I pulled up Live ATC to see if it could shed more light on what had happened. Turns out the Cessna did call out its position and the Southwest pilots heard it. The Southwest pilots continued to check in with the Cessna as both got closer to the field. Eventually the Southwest pilots realized they were catching up too fast and they announced their 360 turn.

Different Cessna. Different day.

So, just how close did the two planes get? When Southwest entered the pattern and called in, they were 15 miles out. The Cessna at that time claimed to be on “short final.” Southwest made calls at 11 miles out, 7 miles out and 5 miles out. At this point the Cessna called that they were still on short final. Southwest asked them to specify the number of miles and the Cessna said two, then amended that to a mile and a half. A few seconds after that Southwest announced their turn “at the inner marker.” Best guesstimate then is a three mile separation, possibly a little less. I believe this is within the regs… but it definitely looked closer than usual to me.

Ultimately, good communucation and situational awareness kept this from being an incident. Shortly after Southwest landed, the ATC tower re-opened and resumed control. It took a while for them to get everything sorted but I’m willing to bet no one complained. And the few minutes I had for spotting? Well it turned into a couple of hours. But I did finally catch that Star Alliance livery!

Yep, I stuck the departure.