Tower Conversations

I've mentioned that my wife goes to Florida periodically to help her mother travel to and fro with her stroke-impaired stepfather.

InsideTrip is an airline booking service we may start using. It not only finds the cheapest fares (I compared it to our old service, which was the cheapest I could find previously, and the fares match) ... but it rates the airlines on all sorts of factors which can be summed up as "speed, comfort, and ease."

There are a dozen travel factors you can customize. Everything from number of stops, to security check wait time, to legroom on the aircraft, to the age of the aircraft, to the airline's lost bag record, and several others. Once you get a list of flights, click the "Details" link to see the data that rated that flight.

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CONVERSATIONS WITH THE TOWER

Tower: Eastern 702, cleared for takeoff, contact Departure on 124.7
Pilot (Eastern 702): Tower, Eastern 702, switching to Departure. By the way, as we lifted off we saw some kind of dead animal on the far end of the runway.
Tower: Continental 635, cleared for takeoff behind Eastern 702, contact Departure on frequency 124.7. Did you copy the report from Eastern 702?
Pilot (Continental 635): Continental 635, roger, cleared for takeoff; and yes, we copied Eastern, and have already notified our caterers.

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Tower (to pilot after landing): Just to let you know, on the approach you were a little bit left of the centerline.
Pilot: That is correct, Sir. And my first officer was slightly to the right.

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Lost Student Pilot: Unknown airport with Cessna 150 circling overhead, please identify yourself!

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Pilot: Tower -- Cessna N2349 -- student pilot -- out of fuel!
Tower: Roger Cessna N2349'er, reduce airspeed to best glide! Do you have the airfield in sight?
Pilot: Uh, Tower ... I am on the south ramp. I just want to know where the fuel truck is.

[selected from re-quest.net]

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WISDOM for YOUR WEEK: "Do not wear yourself out to get rich; have the wisdom to show restraint. Cast but a glance at riches, and they are gone, for they will surely sprout wings and fly off to the sky like an eagle." (Proverbs 23:4-5)

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