Thursday, October 08, 2009

Good Morning, Shreveport

Waking up at 4:00am is never fun, especially when you are used to waking up late.  Sometimes though, it does provide for a spectacular morning.  I was headed for work, as there is no other reason for me to be up that early.  The weather this morning is low IFR, with visibility under a mile and low clouds.  Three passengers are here to go to Shreveport, and while doing the preflight walkaround I am thinking of all the risk we are about to take on for three people.  After losing an engine two months ago, I think about if the weather had been like this when it happened.  The weather is too low in Dallas for us to come back if something goes wrong, and Waco, 60nm south, is chosen as our emergency airport.  The visibility is also too low in Shreveport for us to land, so I’m wondering where the flight will end up.  It seems inane to send the plane out with nowhere to go*, but they load us up with about 6 hours of fuel and tell us to hope for the best. 

I’m at the controls as we throw forward the throttle, the airplane shakes with power as it speeds down into the blackness of early morning.  As the light ATR quickly accelerates to liftoff speed, we bring up the landing gear and are immediately swallowed by the orange clouds, lit up by the awakening city below.  Intruding on their sleep, the clouds are cranky and welcome us with violent bumps and turbulence.  With apologies, we quickly try to get out of their way, climbing to 7,000 feet, and with a sudden calmness the airplane surfaces from the clouds like a submarine, greeted by the first yellow and orange rays of sunlight the day will offer. 

I can’t help but admire the view; holding the cold yoke in one hand, power levers in the other, feeling a little bit of pride for reaching this secret location.  This morning’s sunrise is supposed to be hidden from view.  It makes it all the more special.  Soon though, work comes back into the equation.  We still have nowhere to go.  With Shreveport swamped in thick fog and low clouds, we begin holding over the Quittman VOR to wait and watch.  The good news is that conditions in Dallas have improved to the point where we can go back if/when we need to.  It’s actually a pretty nice way to spend the morning.  At 13,000 feet, flying in slow circles, I sip on my cranapple juice and watch the sun rise slowly over a sea of clouds.  For an hour we enjoy the view before heading back to DFW. 

Once we get back, the company wants us to wait an hour and then try again.  Why not just wait to begin with?  Who knows.  But an hour later, the weather is much better and we make it all the way to Shreveport, pick up 6 people and fly back to Dallas.  About $3000 for all that, so I’m hoping their tickets cost $333 each to at least break even.  Probably not, but I had fun.

*We were able to fly to either Killeen or Waco at all times during the flight.  We’d never actually take off without being able to divert to an alternate airport!