Saturday, October 14, 2006

Someone else at the wheel


Here is "Ottawa Tower". Very cool and clear morning as I am sitting in the back of an A319 bound for Toronto (CYYZ). It's nice having someone else fly because then I don't have to pay attention to anything other then focusing my shots. Ottawa Tower speak in both English and French as well as the arrival, departure and Montreal Center controllers. An example of how this can cause issues happened to me the other day when leaving the ramp to enter the taxiway. I was cleared to taxi B to runway 25 and hold short. Right after the controller was speaking in french to some other airplane. As I pulled out of the apron and was about to enter bravo taxiway a Transport Canada Citation was about to meet me and he was still moving. If there is anyone you should ever give way these are the people (seeing that they are authorized to carry matches and burn pilot licenses :). So I stopped, waited and was about to key the mike to ask what was going on and then the controller said the Citation would hold for me (the conversation that took place in french apparently). The Citation thinking I would keep going because he knew what was going on still taxiied towards me but me being anglo to the core had no idea. .


Fall colours still aren't as prevalent in Ottawa as they were in Quebec city. It hasn't been cold enough to speed up the process but after this morning I am sure it will be soon. The air is smooth as silk.


Proceeding direct CELAR intersection I presume. Rideau River passing by the airport.


Buttonville airport (CYKZ) Now I have remarked about this airport being hard to find if you are trying to land at it but everytime I am not its always plain as day and easy to see. I have been 2 miles final at night on a GPS approach and still didn't see it till about a mile and a half. It was snowing at the time so I am not blind completly. My least favourite airport because of its stealth, fuelers and line service is bad and its got lots of training aircraft on nice days and when the weather is crappy its hard to make it in because of the lack of lighting. That's alot of bitching for one post. The rest will be more positive :) Can't be sunshine and roses all the time. Again, more to come.....
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7 comments:

Anonymous said...

My nemesis airport is Caldwell/Essex County in New Jersey: every time I go there, I have trouble finding it, even with the GPS.

It's just a matter of altitude -- your photo of Toronto/Buttonville is taken from a much higher altitude than you would be at during approach, so the airport stands out. Finding smaller airports in the middle of developed areas at low altitude is never easy for me, at least.

Flyin Dutchman said...

Hello David,

I just posted some shots of KCDW. Its really close to Teterboro. I can't believe the amount of airports down in that area.

If you could stay higher coming into Buttonville it wouldn't be a problem like you said but as you know it lies under the localizer's for the 24's at Pearson and thus we get pushed down out of the way.

Safe flying

Anonymous said...

Thanks for answering my questions and for more photos. On the French/English question, I seem to remember an English pilot's death at Charles de Gaulle, Paris, when a taxying wing-tip sliced through the cockpit window of a holding plane after someone did not understand an ATC instruction in French. Sad.

Anonymous said...

hey - are we going to find out where those mountains are? they look like BC, but could be anywhere...

dkflygirl

Flyin Dutchman said...

Those mountains are the BC coastal mountains between YXS and YVR.

James said...

Good old Buttonville. I did all my training there - those pesky Seneca Bonanzas!, but ya, that place is so hard to find at night. Doing the night rating was a challenge!

Nelly's Blog said...

Nice blog...I work at UPS and can take pictures of the planes coming and going...I haven't done that yet. I've enjoyed other pictures,,my blog is a lot like yours come visit me sometimes....I just might take some planes of the UPS ONES..