Look familiar? A 'heavy' wingletted 757 follows us to runway 18L. Almost the same shot as the sunset picture I posted in a previous entry.
Here we sit in Louisville, KY, home of one of the UPS hubs. The alarm went off at 5:00am, just enough time to get ready, grab a quick breakfast downstairs, and then hop in the van at 5:45am for a 6:00am show-time. As I get ready, the anchor on the weather channel talks of severe weather in the midwest, with thunderstorms moving through the Louisville area. Oh, the thunder, that's what originally woke me up at 4:15am... Should be interesting getting out of here, but the storms are moving quickly, so maybe we can launch and then skirt around them to Charlotte.Good plan, but unfortunately that's not what Charlotte's weather had planned for us (but, but.. the weather channel didn't say anything about thunderstorms in Charlotte!). Air traffic control asks me if we're CAT III capable when I call to get a clearance for our flight plan to Charlotte(Category I, II, and III are based upon the aircraft equipment and determine what visibility and ceiling requirements must be met to land during low visibility). Uh oh. No, I say we're only CAT I capable (the least capable, with CAT III being the most...). "Roger, Charlotte is under a groundstop due to fog, only CAT III aircraft are cleared to go. Update in one hour."
Okie doke... looks like we got up early for nothing! Hold off on boarding, as no one wants to be trapped on an RJ for any longer than they have to be. An hour goes by, ATC tells us the groundstop is still in effect, expect another update in another hour. Almost time for another update when ATC calls to tell us that the fog is lifting, and the groundstop has been canceled. Board the passengers and let's go!
Twenty minutes later, the passengers are all on board, most have already missed their original connections in CLT, but still have hope as most other flights will likely be delayed. All of the bags have been loaded, and the jetway pulled from the plane. I'm just finishing up the weight and balance when ATC calls us back: "There's another groundstop for Charlotte, expect an update in 45 minutes." Great. Well the weather has improved, so this must just be due to heavy volume due to everyone trying to get into CLT at the same time. Ops in Louisville needs their gate for another flight, so we decide to push off an wait it out elsewhere, hoping it will be short lived...
We taxi to a spot where we are out of the way, and wait... and wait... and wait. The update comes, but it's not good news. Another 45 minutes before the next update. ATC calls us at the next update time, this time with better news! We're released with a wheels up time in 30 minutes. 4 hours and 1 minute after we were supposed to depart, our wheels leave the ground enroute to CLT...
Another heavy UPS plane lands while we wait out the groundstop. 4 hours late to Charlotte, we have a Charleston, SC turn to do, then head up to Newark. Weather is good in Charleston, and we successfully cut our delay down to 3 hours by the time we return to Charlotte. Newark is always delayed if there's any sort of weather up there... we're worried about another groundstop. When I call ATC for our flight plan clearance I ask if there are any delays heading up. The answer is good! No delays for Newark.30 minutes after we pulled into the gate, we're being pushed back again with another plane full of people, this time heading to Newark. A short taxi later, and I call ground control for clearance to taxi to the runway.
ATC: "Uhh, there's a groundstop for Newark, didn't they tell you?"
Us: "No, they told us there weren't any delays when we called 20 minutes ago!"
ATC: "Well, a groundstop is in effect for Newark, expect an update in 58 minutes."
Here we sit, in the 'north hardstand' (an area of the ramp where we can park and wait out delays), next to an Airways 737 also waiting out a delay for somewhere... I wonder where.
Ramp control: "Cactus xxxx (US Airways call sign), dispatch just called us and said you have a mainteance item limiting you to day-time only, is that correct?"
Airways flt: "Affirmative."
Ramp control: "Roger, they want you to return to the gate."
Airways flt: "Uhhh, ok. Let us start them up and talk to dispatch. We'll call you when we're ready to move."
Ouch! Maybe they're having a worse day than we are... We sit for the hour, and ATC thankfully has good news. The groundstop is expired, and we've got a wheels up time in 10 minutes. Start 'em up. 12 hours and 30 minutes after we got to the airport in Louisville, we're waiting for the van in Newark. 4 hours after our scheduled arrival time. I guess it could have been worse!
