Well, that was new....
 

On my drive to work I saw three planes landing at O'Hare simultaneously, which means either a) they got that 3rd runway finished or b) there'll be an exciting story on the evening news tonight.

Air Traffic Controller: there's a job I wouldn't want to have....

3 planes at one time? Sounds like an Air Force One flyover to me.

That brings up a good point - I wonder if he lands at O'Hare when he comes to Chicago.

Doesn't he live closer to Meigs? Oh wait..

:D

Ah, probably O'Hare:

I thought the president was in MV for vacation....

he is

I remember reading something recently about a new runway opening up at O'Hare.

Of course I can't remember what I had for dinner last night, so perhaps my memory is not the most reliable. :)

Dola.... per Wiki


Okay so November isn't that recently.

According to Wikipedia, here's the plan in 4 steps (apparently we're between 2 and 3 right now):

Blue = Existing Runway
Green = New Runway
Orange = Runway Removed

Do airports usually have intersecting runways? That seems odd.

Not unusual at all.

my prediction: midway becomes obama international in the next 30 years. maybe sooner.

The biggest problem with the new runway at ORD is that is takes forever to taxi to and from it. On the ground O Hare can be very confusing and exceptionally busy, the controllers are unforgiving if you don't get the read-backs correctly, and god forbid if you should go the wrong way. There is actually a section of the ramp called the "Penalty Box."

ohhh...now you guys done it. you got the fuckin pilot man here to regulate!!!!

Is that when you hear about people getting stuck on planes on the runway for five hours?

I generally fly into Midway when I fly to Chicago...mostly because it seems to take less time to get Downtown on the Orange Line. I could do without the bumpy landings though. It always seems like the landings at Midway are bumpy.

flying into Midway versus O'Hare is great

To answer your first question. No. Generally in a situation like that you have boarded and left the gate on time and are trying to complete the flight. Weather is usually the most likely culprit and it can be weather at the departure or arrival or somwhere in between. Planes fly common routes to get to large cities and if weather shuts off an arrival or departure then it back up like a closed interstate.

Weather is also dynamic in that it can change quickly and pilots try and take advantage of that by being ready to go if the call is given.

Other delays revolve around diverting. In that case you are need to land at a different airport because you lack the regulation required fuel to wait any longer for your original destination airport. ATC doesn't care how long it takes to get you to your destination they only care that you don't run out of fuel. When you divert, you are safe and sound and put to the back of the line for getting where you want to go.

Landings are rough at Midway because the runways are short. There is no room to screw around with soft landings, get down and get off the runway.

Had forgotten about this. Actually got to RUN on the new runway in September as part of one of the weirdest 5k races in which I've ever taken part: http://www.chicagoevents.com/event.cfm?eid=178

Hard to focus on your pace when planes are taking off directly over your head.

Ill be in Chicago tonight. Specifically landing at O'Hare. In fact, that is where I am spending the next couple of nights after seeing JFK. Good chance I'll be landing on the new runway.

Let us know how it goes, PilotMan!

pics plz k thx

:)

Hefin O'Hare

This made me laugh for some reason.

Which one of those guys is O'Hare?

Well, we have had a couple of successful days. We were on time yesterday and 30 min early today. The weather patters are really changing. The last couple of days have really looked a lot more like a winter day than a summer day. That is a big sign of the change of season's.

Tomorrow marks the last day of my 4 day trip, and the 8th in the last 9 days. I am ready to go home. The only problem is that our flight from JFK to O Hare has run late all week. That doesn't bode well for us. I would rather get home at 10 than 12. Cross your fingers.

We have gotten to OHare late enough the last couple nights that we have been landing on the south runway. So no new runway for us, but I don't mind, that taxi back from the north runway is terrible.

Did you know, that new runway on the north side is so far away it has it's own control tower, separate from the rest of the airport?

Doesn't surprise me. I still double-take at planes coming in to land at that runway since I still don't have an image of the airport extending that far in that direction.

Made it to JFK alright this afternoon. ATC delayed us on the ground before we left O Hare, and we took off an hour after out scheduled departure time.

I was worried about the flight back to Chicago, and sure enough, it was delayed by an hour and a half. Hope was in sight though, as a few minutes later, the company canceled the flight and now I am scheduled to fly back to Cincy, and get home a little later than the original schedule.

Looks like quite a few cancellations today. It could be weather, but it just doesn't look that bad.

Almost all of them have intersecting runways.. avoid the hassles of a nasty crosswind amongst other things.

Just hoping there are no motherfucking snakes on the plane...