Congestion Over the North Coast!

XanaduRanch

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Sep 15, 2002
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Wow! I rarely post here (being afraid of the moderator Sr. Medina) but thought I'd pass this along.

As some of you know our home, Xanadu, is in the hills above and between Sosua and Cabarete so we have a clear view between Puerto Plata, Sosua, and Cabarete, including the airport.

While taking a break from programming around 2:00-2:15 this afternoon I wandered out by the pool and watched a small Cessna buzzing overhead, away from the POP airport. Over the beach at about 1000 feet heading west was a helicopter that we see often flying up and down the coast. A few miles behind the helicopter, who was really moving was a 727 approaching fast from Cabarete. As I watched the Cessna droned a few hundred feet over head toward La Cienega, the helicopter and the 727 continued on to the airport. Following the Cessna I looked up and saw a much larger jet, coming from the southeast in the direction of Punta Cana, from the bottom up! Both wings in profile as he made a nearly 45 degree hard bank and climb off to the North, then East off toward Cabarete with his engines screaming. To my amazement just as he disappeared into a shower off Cabarete another 727 entered from the southeast, and also immediately banked into the pattern. The Cessna reappeared and followed the first jet into the airport so close I'd have been nervous about eddies from the first jet if I'd been a pilot. Before he disappeared below the horizon and landed, the second jet imerged from the clouds now heading due west on approach to POP behind the Cessna. At the same time the third jet was just disappearing into the clouds starting his big circle. At this point yet a fourth jet enters from the North, banks left (east) and tails number three while a fifth enters the hold from the southeast.

I was stunned! In 2-1/2 years here at this house I've never seen anything like it.

It took them over 45 minutes to get them all out of that stack and back into the airport. Obviously they weren't handling the traffic very well or they would have adjusted their courses further out so they were in a nice tidy train rather than circling "stacked". But, it ain't O'Hare! I wonder what they did with all those planes once they hit the ground. Must have been mayhem!

Only thing I can figure is the peso just hit 100:1 today and everybody decided all at once to go have a cheap $100 Dominican vacation. LOL.

Tom aka XR Actually, I am a rocket scientist.
 

XanaduRanch

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Sep 15, 2002
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And It Is Still Continuing ...

At 3:15, just walk out, same thing. Watching one jet on final (The pilot made me laugh a little because he dropped his landing gear while still over Cabarete and continued that way all the way in - just in case he had to make an emergency landing on the Sosua-Cabarete highway - must be a Dominican pilot) two more cam out of the southeast, banked, and climbe away to the north and then east of Cabarete, appearing 5-10 minutes later on final.

What is going on today? Sosua's gonna be packed!

Tom aka XR I'm tired! I was up all night trying to round off infinity.
 

carlos

Super Moderator
Staff member
May 29, 2002
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XR,



Great details. Pull up a chair and enjoy it my friend...just keep your hands down..you do not want to reach for one of those jets..lol

btw, one more wisecrack about me and the airline forum and I am sending Kubla Khan after you ;)
 

XanaduRanch

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Sep 15, 2002
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cmedina07 said:
XR, Great details. Pull up a chair and enjoy it my friend...just keep your hands down..you do not want to reach for one of those jets..lol btw, one more wisecrack about me and the airline forum and I am sending Kubla Khan after you.
Put my hands up! Heavens no! They don't observe standard minumums here. I have had DC10's 300 feet above the house. So close I could just about read the titles on the books the vactioners were reading in their seats. Wouldn't want one of those guys think I was signaling him to land!

Tom aka XR I'm writing a book. So far I've got the page numbers done.

P.S.
Wasn't Kublakahn a singer back in the 80's? She was kinda cute for a brief while. So you've seen those other posts. Damn! I thought you never left this place! When Robert was making changes and everyone wanted a 'Kiddie Pool' I argued loudly against it on the grounds that it would be silly when we already have the Airline Forum. Can I start an Aeromar thread now? Please! Pretty Please! I think their website is still down! LOL.
 

carlos

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May 29, 2002
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I actually read your comments and found it funny and sadly true.

I think it is a good idea to keep your hands down..last thing you need is the pilot thinking you are letting him know he missed the landing spot

Pilot: Devuelvete, ahi es la pista..donde esta el gringo con la botella de vino


lol...sorry dude..couldn't resist
 

Jersey Devil

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Jul 5, 2002
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dms3611 said:
Wasn't Kublakahn a singer back in the 80's?

You mean Chaka Khan. Her big hit in the 80?s was

I Feel For You, with Stevie Wonder playing harmonica on that

record. I think she started her carrer in Rufus, i.e. Rufus featuring

Chaka Khan.

JD
 

kjdrga

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Mar 25, 2002
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I've been sitting at the Wendy's in the Las Americas airport and I've seen a plane land onto the airstrip while there was a plane gearing to take of in the same direction from which the plane landed. Yes there was a plane on the ground in from of the plane landing. The landing plane was coming out of a rain storm. Once it landed and just about gave those of us watching a heart attack, the other plane took off.....

That plane that landed was the one we were scheduled to leave on, it was a frightful flight to Miami that day.
 

eli

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Jun 10, 2003
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How unfortunate there are no Dominicans flying the route to blame the landing on.
 
S

Stephen

Guest
Very true...........Eli...........

..............but these were probabaly women pilots.
 

toby

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Dec 8, 2003
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...funny posts guys...on our Christmas trip the air traffic was just as frightening and having a family member who is a pilot didn't help matters...the air traffic vs size and conditions of airport is the problem here and the air traffic controllers are doing thier best (wouldn't want thier job) also over booking with so many flights a day is a recipe for things to go wrong. If i was XR I would be kissing my St. Christopher metal and crossing myself that he does not witness something nightmarish.
...like you said XR it ain't O'Hare!
Toby
P.S. There was 5 air bus/727 planes in the air circling(stacked) we spotted while in our landing procedures and 4 small air craft in our flight path field that we saw..we landed and applauded for a reason! The pilot had the biggest grin on his face as the challenge of landing was and i quote " the biggest thrill he can have when flying such boring planes". Motoconchos of the sky!
 

XanaduRanch

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Sep 15, 2002
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I Agree, Jan!

JanH said:
No, Stephen - that SNAFU should be blamed on MALE controllers!
Because not only do they have to perform this very difficult work while putting up with the mood swings :: wink wink :: of their latin-blooded wives back home, but being Dominican, also with "las lunas" of their two or three nobias as well!

That'd be rough! :confused:

Tom aka XR I spilled spot remover on my dog. He's gone now.
 

JanH

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Dec 26, 2002
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..and the defense won :laugh:

back to the topic, you know how men can't juggle several things at a time because of only thinking on one side of the brain? Well, the male controllers were concentrating on 1 plane landing and couldn't think about the one taking off.
 

XanaduRanch

*** Sin Bin ***
Sep 15, 2002
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Somehow I get the feeling ...

JanH said:
... and the defense won ... [That time of the month you girls always win - or at least we let you think you did -XR] ... you know how men can't juggle several things at a time because of only thinking on one side of the brain? Well, the male controllers were concentrating on 1 plane landing and couldn't think about the one taking off.
... that this may be the first thread ever that cmedina07 has ever had to split and bounce from the Airline Info forum, to the Mars/P*nis forum. Sorry Carlos! Anna dear, you ready?

I know I like to concentrate on both the landings, and the take-offs ...

Tom aka XR I am ROOT. Obey me!
 

JanH

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Dec 26, 2002
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Seriously -

We noticed alot of flights over the house in January. I assumed it was because of high tourist season. But my god, they were low. Were they running parallel to your ranch?

One visitor said they were about to land and took off rreally quick because of the fog. (POP doesn't have fog navigation lights.)