Couple of pictures...

A C-5 Galaxy clearing the runway in Charleston, SC. Big plane. Kinda funny looking too.



As we wait in line in Atlanta, a Northwest 747 sporting the new Delta colors begins its takeoff roll.


And here we sit, in line, in Atlanta. It's summer time again, which means thunderstorms. Weather has already rolled through the ATL area, skewing the flight schedules, and making us number 25 in line for our runway of departure, even though we left the gate on time. A US Airways Airbus A320 waits ahead of us, bound for Phoenix.


Look similar to the last picture?? Moments before the wind picked up and the rain began blowing sideways, the sky was getting darker as a large cell approached the airfield from the west.



"Ladies and Gentlemen, from the flight deck: good news and bad news. Good news is, we are currently number four for departure. The bad news? Those of you on the right side of the aircraft have a pretty good view of a thunderstorm that has moved onto the airport. All departures have been stopped until the storm passes. The storm appears to be moving quickly, and as soon as it passes we will have you on your way to Charlotte as quickly and safely as possible. Appreciate your patience. Thanks."


The APU comes up, and the engines spool down to conserve fuel. We sit in line, who knows how many are behind us now, waiting for the storm to roll through. Twenty minutes later, the cell has moved to the northeast, and the departure corridors are clear. Approach control needs just a minute to clear all of the arriving aircraft from their holding patterns before they can accept departures, but it shouldn't be long now...