CHA-CLT-CHA June 2011 pt.2.

After about an hour and a half of plane spotting, I headed back to A3 for our next flight. The A320 had not yet arrived, so I took one more scour of concourse A. By the time I did that, stopped at the gift shop, the aircraft had arrived from Atlanta.

My aircraft, N352NW, performing Delta Air Lines 1817 to Atlanta.

 

Departure Board

N577RP- Delta Connection (Chautauqua Airlines) flight 6085 from New York-Kennedy

 

Flight #3:
Delta Air Lines Flight 1817
N352NW (delivered 2/24/1998 to Northwest Airlines)
Seat: 18F
CLT- A3                 RWY: 18C
ATL- T4                 RWY: 10
ETD: 11:50am       ATD: 11:49am
ETA:   1:14pm       ATA: 12:54pm
F/A: Sonya, Mae, Joy
C/A: Mike
F/O: Carl
Base: MSP (PMNW)
I/B:   1863 ATL
O/B: 2211 DFW
Load Factor: 135/148= 91%
Cruising Info: FL260 @ 478kts
2^nd flight on A320
1^st flight on aircraft
Map: DL 1817

At about 11:25, they started boarding. 

Readying for departure to Atlanta, while the other Airbus prepares for departure for Minneapolis/St. Paul.

Pushback commenced at 11:49. 

Taxiing on taxiway E11

We did something rather surprising; we taxied straight from the pushback point, located on taxiway E11, to taxiway N, made a right turn onto runway 36C and taxied to the takeoff end, bypassing about five other aircraft as we did so, made a 180 and took off on runway 18C.

The takeoff video can be found here: Delta Air Lines 1817 Take-off CLT

Passing the Rock Hill (KUZA) airport.

This flight seemed to pass even quicker than the flight over to Charlotte. 

At our cruising altitude.

Beginning our descent for Atlanta.

Cabin Shot

Initial speed brake extension

Before I knew it, the speed brakes were extended, as we were on downwind for a west-east runway. I thought to myself, “Hmm…I wonder if we will be landing on the new runway?” Sure enough, runway 10 was our runway today.

The landing video can be found here: Delta Air Lines 1817 Landing ATL 

Close up view of the field.

View of speed brakes as we fly downwind.

Taxiing to T4, from runway 10.

Delta Air Lines flight 1653 to Miami.

Delta Air Lines 894 from Myrtle Beach and Delta Connection flight 5094 from Moline, are both taxiing in to their gate's.

N881AS- Delta Connection (ASA) flight 5002 to Jacksonville (NC) taking the active for departure.

N3744F

Delta Air Lines flight 857 to Fort Lauderdale.

N912DL- Delta Air Lines flight 2003 to Panama City (FL).

N651DL- Delta Air Lines flight 1701 from Boston.

N528US- Delta Air Lines flight 1602 from Las Vegas.

We touched down at 12:44pm, 30 minutes prior to our scheduled arrival. Taxiing from the “Macon runway,” as my Dad calls it, took 10 minutes, still putting us in, at gate T4, 20 minutes ahead of schedule.

N175DZ- Delta Air Lines 166 to New York-Kennedy.

The front office of N352NW.

Delta Air Lines flight 2211 departure board.

On time: 10/10
Aircraft:  10/10
Crew:     10/10
Seats:       9/10
Service:   8/10
Avg.:      47/50=A

Thanks to the fact that we were very early, we had even more time to kill in Atlanta before heading back to Chattanooga. We started off by going to the BEST restaurant in the entire airport, the Chili’s Too, which is located right near the Delta Sky Club, in the center of Concourse A.  What makes it so fantastic is the fact that it overlooks the alley between Concourse A and B. The food is so-so, service…pretty good, the view...awesome – and we had the only booth overlooking the alley. After a leisurely lunch, the next task was to conquer the international terminal. I must say, it was a painful success. By 3:30, I had seen every corner of Concourse E, plus boarding was to start soon. Our flight was scheduled to depart out of C55, one of the farthest gates down the Delta end of Concourse C. By now, my feet were hurting and I was starting to feel tired, so sitting sounded like a fantastic idea.

Flight #4:
Delta Connection Flight 5056
N849AS (delivered 10/28/1999)
Seat: 10A
CLT- C55               RWY: 8R
ATL- 3                    RWY: 2
ETD: 4:17pm         ATD: 4:52pm
ETA: 5:05pm         ATA: 5:43pm
F/A: Jamison
C/A: Ray
F/O: Quincy
Base: ATL
I/B:   5144 GNV
O/B: 5056 ATL
Load Factor: 50/50= 100%
Cruising Info: 12,000ft @ 402kts
10^th flight on CRJ-200
1^st flight on aircraft
Map: DL 5056

N981EV, occupying our gate.

 

Prior to reaching our gate, we had learned that our flight was delayed so we did not rush to get to our gate. By the time we got there, another aircraft was still at our gate. Considering the fact that we were supposed to be boarding soon, we were unsure as to how this would pan out. Finally, at about 4pm, the inbound, 5144 from Gainesville, arrived. 

N849AS- Delta Connection (ASA) flight 5144 from Gainesville, pulling in.

Boarding started at about 4:35pm. After boarding we just sat there, and sat there, and sat there some more. The captain came on to let us know that they had yet to fuel the aircraft! We had to wait another five or so minutes until the truck arrived, and another ten minutes until they fueled the airplane. 

Our aircraft being fueled.

Wing view, as Delta Air Lines flight 2161 pushes back for Philly.

Cabin shot.

Finally, fueling was completed. Pushback commenced at 4:52pm. Pushback from C55 is, in my eyes, pretty complicated. The driver has to pushes us back about 25 feet, then turn us 90°, and finally push us back an additional 70 feet, into the alley. After being released from the tug, we waited a few more minutes, before continuing on. Our path was interesting, to say the least. We took F4, made a right on F, a left on F5, a left on E, before taking H to the end of 8R. After waiting for 4 other aircraft to take off, it was our turn. We rotated off the ground at 5:19, 14 minutes behind scheduled arrival time.

The takeoff video can be found here: Delta Connection (ASA) 5056 Take-off ATL 

Wing view on climb out.

 

With this being the shortest flight so far, I was surprised that we were offered snacks. Jamison offered peanuts, pretzels and Biscoff cookies as he galloped down the aisle. No drinks on this flight, which was understandable, considering the fact that not too long after the snack service, we began a rather steep descent for runway 2. 

Beginning descent.

Spoilers deployed.

Finally after a short 21 minute flight time, we touched down on runway 2, and made a quick taxi to gate 3, arriving 38 minutes past the scheduled arrival time.

The landing video can be found here: Delta Connection (ASA) 5056 Landing CHA

N849AS getting ready to perform a relatively empty flight back to Atlanta, as flight 5056.

On time:   7/10
Aircraft:    7/10
Crew:        8/10
Seats:        6/10
Service:    9/10
Avg.:        37/50=C

               

Overall, it was a good trip. Despite some bumps in the road, this trip was pretty smooth.

More pics from my trip can be found on my Flickr page: http://www.flickr.com/photos/rokinryan/
Please tell me what you think and if, and where, I can improve.

CHA-CLT-CHA June 2011 pt.1.

The night before my day trip, I could not sleep at all. I kept waking up and looking at the clock. Finally, 4:00am came. I quickly got up and got ready. My father and I were out by 4:15am. The drive to the airport was a snap, and we were there by 4:25. There was only one other customer ahead of us. When it was our turn, the gate agent said, “I have something to tell you.” At that point, I knew what she was going to say, “Your flight has been cancelled.” I beat her to it, and she confirmed my intuition. Thankfully, a van was waiting for us. Four other people boarded, and we were off at 4:45. What truly irked me was the fact that maintenance had discovered the problem the night before, and ferried it out. This was all by a 10pm, leaving plenty of time for another aircraft to be ferried to Chattanooga, or to have passengers notified.

Flight #1:
Delta Connection Flight 5583
N902EV (delivered 3/20/2002)
Seat: 10A
CHA- 3                  RWY: N/A
ATL- C57              RWY: N/A
ETD: 5:45am        ATD: 4:45am
ETA: 6:31am        ATA: 6:40am
F/A: N/A
C/A: N/A
F/O: N/A
Base: N/A
I/B: 5241 ATL
O/B: N/A
Load Factor: 6/50 on van, 47/50 scheduled on flight
Cruising Info: 3ft @ 75mph
10^th flight on CRJ-200
1^st flight on aircraft
Map: DL 5583

                 

The driver made great time. We pulled up front of check-in only 9 minutes past DL5583’s scheduled arrival time. 

Here is ASA 5583. Spectacular, no?

On time:    0/10
Aircraft:    0/10
Crew:        0/10
Seats:        0/10
Service:     0/10
Avg.:          0/50=F--

After a breezy check-in, and security (full body scan for me), we made our way to A11.

Flight #2:
Delta Air Lines Flight 1058
N769NC (delivered 5/10/1978 to North Central)
Seat: 18A
ATL- A11               RWY: 27R
CLT- A3                 RWY: 18C
ETD: 7:40am         ATD: 8:17am
ETA: 8:58am         ATA: 9:41am
F/A: Sue Ellen, Conrad, Shan
C/A: Dave
F/O: Mike
Base: DTW (PMNW)
I/B:   2274 BNA
O/B: 1058 ATL
Load Factor:   95/125= 76%
Cruising Info: FL230 @ 434kts
4^th flight on DC-9-50
1^st flight on aircraft
Map: DL 1058

I stopped for some Starbucks and joined my father. He then informed me that boarding would be a little late, due to maintenance issues with the number 2 engine, APU problems, electrical issues, and air conditioning problems. In order for us to be able to board, the crew had to do an engine run. 

My aircraft, N769NC, performing Delta Air Lines 1058 to Charlotte.

N630DL- Delta Air Lines flight 323 to San Juan.

Departure Board

N674DL- Delta Air Lines flight 2127 to Fort Lauderdale.

Finally at 8:05, our zone was called. Due to a light load, boarding was finished in no time. However, Maintenance had not finished with the aircraft. 

Preparing for departure to Charlotte.

N6704Z- Delta Air Lines flight 676 to Washington-National.

Cabin Shot

Aisle Shot

 

N523US- Delta Air Lines flight 1625 from Baltimore.

Finally at 8:20, we pushed back, and then held in position by A15 for 5 more minutes. 

N987DL- Delta Air Lines flight 511 to Jacksonville.

N273AT

N284AT

N896AT

N3742C- Delta Air Lines flight 937 from Raleigh-Durham.

Terminal F, to be opened next April.

After a quick taxi, waiting for 3 other aircraft to takeoff, we took off. After takeoff from 27R, we made our way to EATWO. From there we headed to the Greenwood VOR (GRD) and then began our UNARM1 STAR.

The takeoff video can be found here:  Delta Air Lines 1058 Take-off ATL

Initial Climbout

A look back at the field.

Initial Descent into Charlotte.

The flight was uneventful, no drink service for this short hop (though I thought we deserved something due to all the delays we had). We touched down on 18C at 9:31; 27 minutes shy of an hour delay.

The landing video can be found here: Delta Air Lines 1058 Landing CLT

Crossing runway 5/23

N15986- Resting between operating flights:
Continental Express flight 2044 from Houston-Bush &
Continental Express flight 2666 to Houston-Bush

N909FJ

Wing view after parking at A3.

Cockpit view

N769NC unloading luggage after arriving, with me, from Atlanta.

Delta Air Lines flight 1058 departure board.

N769NC- starting to load up for the return flight, Delta 1058, to Atlanta.

We then taxied to gate A3, where we had to wait for the ground crew, ugh! After we deplaned, the captain and first officer had a good chat with the station manager. Wonder why?

On time:   7/10
Aircraft:   7/10
Crew:       9/10
Seats:      7/10
Service:   9/10
Avg.:      39/50=C

Part 2 will be in the next post....