airport – A Darker View

An Antonov AN-124?

At the south end of the runway there is a parking area for transient aircraft. The hard stands here are usually populated with a flock of private jets that ferry the well-to-do to their Hawaii vacation homes. Occasionally there is a regular cargo 747 that is parked here, looming above the Learjets and Gulfstreams.

This was a bit different…

From a distance I thought it was the usual 747, not paying much attention during my routine commute. A bit closer and I did a double take… This was no 747, but rather an Antonov. I knew immediately it was an AN-something, but could not remember which.

Social media chatter later that day provided the answer… An Antonov AN-124 making a stopover from Asia while headed to Seattle. A Ukranian aircraft currently operating out of Germany on charter for special cargoes.

Lei Day

In Hawaiʻi May first is lei day…

A rack of lei await tourists at the Hilo Airport

Lei Day

In Hawaiʻi May first is lei day…

Lei Day

In Hawaiʻi May first is lei day…

Lei

Walking Old-A

Several hours without transportation. My vehicle is in the transmission shop for a checkout, have been having some rough shifts. Stranded for the morning without wheels in the old industrial area I had no intention of sitting in the shop’s waiting area for a few hours.

Old Airport Beach Park Kona — Looking down the old runway at the Old Kona Airport Recreation Area

Just up the coast from the old industrial area is a large beach park. Called Old-A’s or Old Airport, it is the site of the original landing strip just north of town. Abandoned when the jet age rendered this airstrip far too small. The area was used for a while as a drag-strip, the old airport was eventually converted to a park. The old terminal building was renovated into a multi-use pavilion. The old runway is still there, now an enormous parking lot that fronts the rocky shoreline along one side and a community garden on the other.

Continue reading “Walking Old-A”

Postcard from Alaska – Arriving Juneau

Arrival in Juneau is always pleasant. This is a very small airport, far smaller than even Kona or Hilo. As a result there are no long lines, no mile long walk to the rental car agency, no shuttle vans or snarled traffic awaiting once you do free yourself from the terminal. Walk from the gate down one flight of stairs to the single baggage claim. Forty feet from the luggage you find the rental desks, where you pick up a key and walk out into the parking lot just outside the terminal for your vehicle. As you load your luggage you can turn and see the plane sitting just the other side of the fence. A complete contrast to our experience with the enormous labyrinth that is SEA or PDX.

The jet was a 737-800 Combi model, the front half was air cargo, with a bulkhead just over the wing. We boarded and debarked by walking across the tarmac to stairs at the tail of the plane. I expect to walk across the flightline in Kona, but at SeaTac?!

Alaska Air Combi — Alaska Air flight 61 unloads cargo and passengers in Juneau

Postcard from Alaska – Arriving Juneau

Arrival in Juneau is always pleasant. This is a very small airport, far smaller than even Kona or Hilo. As a result there are no long lines, no mile long walk to the rental car agency, no shuttle vans or snarled traffic awaiting once you do free yourself from the terminal. Walk from the gate down one flight of stairs to the single baggage claim. Forty feet from the luggage you find the rental desks, where you pick up a key and walk out into the parking lot just outside the terminal for your vehicle. A complete contrast to our experience with the enormous labyrinth that is SEA or PDX.