It's pretty rare to land backwards(over St. Jean Bay) in St. Barth, but yesterday was certainly a first for me in SXM. We left SBH and got put into a

[tim]

Backwards In/Out SXM, The Turtle and the D-Cups

It's pretty rare to land backwards(over St. Jean Bay) in St. Barth, but yesterday was certainly a first for me in SXM. We left SBH and got put into a holding pattern to wait for the big Air France jet to land. After circling three times we headed to the SXM airport in an unusual direction and crossed over Simpson Bay Lagoon to land towards the open water. If that wasn't a shocker, my U.S. Air flight took off in the same direction. Travel on a Monday in October was very quiet at the airports with planes only partially filled. SXM is going to try to start putting passengers through the new terminal some time next week. A reliable source has told me the old terminal will be bulldozed ASAP.

My first surprise of yesterday occurred in the morning when I went for a farewell swim at Saline, a beach I haven't been to in at least six months. Snorkeling near the far left shore, I saw the prettiest young turtle hiding under a ledge. He/she then came out and we swam together until I got tired of it. That's the first turtle I can ever remember seeing at Saline, and a beautiful site it was.

Speaking of large, beautiful round things, walking along the water's edge at Saline were a young woman and her man, the female of which I couldn't help notice. She had some new store-bought D-cups, not particularly unusual on Saline but quite prominent on her otherwise tiny frame. I've got nothing against enhancements, but if I were truly an advocate, I guess I would by now have had my bald spots repaved with real hair. My wife recently told me that my thinning hair has become obvious if one looks closely in certain lights, so maybe I should give it a try.

 

[andynap]

Re: Backwards In/Out SXM, The Turtle and the D-Cups

I think you should try the D-cups first. Too old for new hair.

 

[tim]

Re: Backwards In/Out SXM, The Turtle and the D-Cups

I'll discuss it with my wife and let you know her response.

 

[NYCFred]

Re: Backwards In/Out SXM, The Turtle and the D-Cups

<<<I'll discuss it with my wife and let you know her response. >>>

I sense the makings of a deal here, tim.

 

[KevinS]

Re: Backwards In/Out SXM, The Turtle and the D-Cups

Only once in 20+ years have I ever landed "backwards" in SXM, and never in SBH. It was disconcerting to land backwards in SXM, as I had never seen a backwards landing there. I see it happen enough in SBH that it would be interesting.

 

[Eddie]

Re: Backwards In/Out SXM, The Turtle and the D-Cups

Kevin- My last 3 trips into sbh have been backwards. Once, it was due to heavy rain, and wind. The other 2 times, I have no idea of the reason.

 

[elsie]

Re: Backwards In/Out SXM, The Turtle and the D-Cups

That's the first turtle I can ever remember seeing at Saline.

We see a lot of turtle at the outer Cape in the summer - of course, the water never gets much above 62.....Oh wait, you were referring to the aquatic reptile.....never mind.

 

[Seles]

Re: Backwards In/Out SXM, The Turtle and the D-Cups

Tim, until this year never backwards in SXM. So far this year 4 times, all due to wind in SBH. But this year I've landed & taken off twice in SXM backwards...all times had to do with airspace, circling planes, etc. Got into CLT both times early so no complaints here. I certainly prefer the shorter, over Corossol landing into SBH.

BTW, a Frenchman once told me that he shaved his head because women in general prefer 'bald'. You are a-HEAD of the times!

Ric

 

[ckoretsky]

Re: Backwards In/Out SXM, The Turtle and the D-Cups

We landed backwards at SBH on our second trip to the island. Scared the heck out of my huband and me because we were not expecting it. I have no idea why we landed that way, but the pilot and co-piloting were laughing uproariously upon landing and two really annoyed looking guys from the airport came over and starting talking loudly to them in French. Still wonder what the deal was...unforunately, we don't speak any French, so it's a mystery.

 

[tim]

D-Cups and Nudity

My friend AndyNap has suggested I go to the Cup Store and get my own size D's. My friend Ric has suggested that going nude up top by shaving my head would be considered sexy. Now I know both my friends have nothing but my best interest at heart with their advice, but I'm still hesitant.

With my own D's, would I be called a bald, bearded, big boobed-babe or simply a double-breasted old man? Or I can just imagine, sporting my new D-cups in a tight-fitting bike jersey, what other epithets might come from the imaginations of a couple of hundred testosterone-inspired bike racers at my next bike event. As far as the shaved-head look goes, what little hair is still left up there is covering the many scars of an active life that I can't imagine would be attractively exposed. Besides, having to shave even my face on a regular basis is a task I discontinued many, many years ago, so I can't imagine embarking on a course of action that would require such dedication to look halfway decent.

Grateful though I assuredly am for their intentions, maybe I just lack the courage to follow through at my age on these worthwhile suggestions of my friends. Perhaps when I'm a little older....

 

[andynap]

Re: D-Cups and Nudity

QUOTE:" Perhaps when I'm a little older.... "

As in DEAD??

 

[tim]

Re: D-Cups and Nudity

QUOTE:" Perhaps when I'm a little older.... "

As in DEAD??

Mon ami,

Since we both know I'm yet a young man, I consider that an uncharitable remark.

 

[KathandVance]

Re: D-Cups and Nudity

My skinny blonde young wife went nude in St Barts and without the Double D's she got a million stares.

 

[NYCFred]

Re: D-Cups and Nudity

<<<without the Double D's she got a million stares. >>>

Well, there's always room for improvement, right?

 

[Islander]

Backwards In/Out SXM, some theory to understand

Landings & winds: a bit of theory to understand things
"landing backward" is an expression a pilot would never use. A landing strip always has two runways, one in each direction. For example, SBH has runway 10 (magnetic heading of 100 degrees) (that is the one with the bumpy landing over La Tourmente hill, and runway 28 (magnetic heading of 280 degrees) (that's the one when passing over the beach in St Jean). So landing would be either for runway 10 (read "one zero"), or runway 28 ("two eight"). In SXM, there are runway 09 (the one usually used) and runway 27 (the one Tim refers as "backward"). Runways are built according to the prevailing winds of the region the whole year throughout (and also according to landscape obvioulsy).

Which way to go? Of course this is all about the winds of the day. A plane usually takes off and lands into the wind to get the extra little lift on the way up to help the plane rising or the extra aerodynamic braking the wind can bring to slow the aircraft upon landing. Landing (and take off) is made by the pilot in reference to "airspeed". The airspeed is different from the "ground speed" (actual speed over the ground) as lift is relative to the airflow (and not the ground). If the plane has a reference landing airspeed at, let's say 80 knots, the pilot will keep that speed during the approch phase. If the wind is a headwind of 20 knots (that is 20 knots from 100 degrees for runway 10), the ground speed will be of approximately 60 knots. That is why sometimes you have the feeling that an airplane is going very slow for landing on runway 10. The strong wind would help the plane to reach its reference speed at a slower ground speed. The stronger the wind, the more the effect.

Choosing the runway with the wind
In St Barths, the airport is not controlled. The agent in the tower is there only to give information to the pilot. Information includes air traffic, wind, temperature (almost no variation here) and atmospheric pressure (referred as "QNH"). Once the pilot has received that information (usually around "Fourchue island" for an approach into St Barths), he will decide which runway he is going for, in accordance to his airplane characterictics, wind speed & direction and also sun direction. This last one (the sun) can be a problem when landing runway 28 at the end of the afternoon because it gets in the eyes of the pilot during the approach.

In the Caribbean, the winds typically come from East (North East to South East). These winds are called the "Trade winds" and they come from the Atlantic (all the way from Western Africa). These winds are stronger during the winter season (December to April) when the ITCZ (inter tropical convergence zone) is further South. So, typically if you go to St Barths in winter, the landing will mostly be into the wind, that is runway 10. For those of you who visit the island in the summer season, and that includes fall also, the winds are usally calmer and vary in direction. This is the time when you have the highest chance of landing the other way around, runway 28 in St Barths, or runway 27 in St Maarten. (this is what happened to Tim a few days ago).

Sometimes when a depression goes over the Caribbean islands, the wind shifts around every few hours or so, and the aircraft follow that shifting pattern in their choice for the landing runway.

When the wind is calm (close to zero), the pilot really has the choice which way to go. In St Barths, pilots usually prefer to use runway 28 then because it gets a little "longer" (no obstacle to fly over on short final), thus longer braking distance. The exception usually is for the Dornier 228 (largest plane to land on the island) which almost always lands on runway 10 to keep the option of "going around" in case this is needed. (runway 28 does not leave that option in the last phase of the approach because of "La Tourmente hill" which is a huge obstacle at the end of runway 28. (that is the area where we always like to take pictures from)

Note that taking off runway 28 in St Barths is strictly forbidden for that same reason. Therefore, when the winds are strong Westerlies (very rare), the flights out of the island get sometimes cancelled. Then the only option to leave the island is by ferry.

In St Maarten, things are different. First the airport is controlled. That means that the runway choice is not given to the pilot. The tower decides which way is safer according to the last weather information (note that for larger airliners, the wind is important but also the weight of the aircraft, the temperature, the atmospheric pressure and the braking power related to the runway lenght and strenght). Sometimes pilots and ATC controllers discuss together for the best option. For example, a pilot can ask for a specific runway when he feels this is the safer way.

The crosswinds. We call "crosswinds" the winds which are not in the orientation of either runway. Obsioulsy we can't "turn" the runway into the wind to make the pilot's job easier (except for aircraft carriers). So now this is when things get interesting. The stronger the crosswind, the more difficult it gets. When the wind is more than 40-50 degrees off either runway direction, the landing can become very tricky or impossible. This happens sometimes in St Barths when the winds are very strong (35-40 knots) and come from North (usually along with a cold Front from Florida during the peak winter months; Xmas and New year are the perfect season for that to happen). The show at the airport is then amazing if you watch the airplanes litteraly "dancing" on the approach path (it's fun when you're not IN the airplane).

Last, in rare occasions, when the winds are calm, pilots (and controllers) might select a runway for air traffic avoidance reasons or accelerated procedures. USAir taking off from Runway 27 will safe a lot of fuel (thus costs) by saving several minutes of flying if (and it usually is) its direction of flight is Westbound (or North West bound). Also note that large airliners may take off from runway 27 but usually don't land on runway 27. The reason is the steep turn needed in the last approach phase (large mountain there).

The wind is usually an excellent help if blowing in the runway direction. Sometimes when there's little wind, the 747's (from KLM) must have their brakes cooled off (with the help of the fire truck spraying cold water) right after landing. The thrust reversers help for only about 10% of the total braking action. The brakes account for 70%, and the spoilers and other speed brakes account for the rest. The runways in St Maarten are considered short for these wide body aircraft.

Hoping that this answers some of the questions above.

 

[marybeth]

Re: Backwards In/Out SXM, some theory to understand

Wow, thanks for such a thorough explanation islander!

 

[JoshA]

Re: Backwards In/Out SXM, some theory to understa

Nice explanation of pilots' choices on landing and takeoff. My only question: Did someone make a roundoff error in designating runways in SBH? In SXM, runway 09 and 27 add to 36 (360 degrees) as they should. In SBH, runways 28 and 10 add to 380 degrees, which is more than a full circle.

 

[Islander]

Re: Backwards In/Out SXM, some theory to understa

Hi JoshA,

The runway numbers correspond to their magnetic orientation. Runway 10 means the runway is oriented to 100 degrees, runway 28 280 degrees, runway 09 090 degrees, runway 27 270 degress, etc.... all the runways in the world work the same way. So you could have runways 36 and 18, 35 and 17, 34 and 16, 33 and 15, 32 and 14, 31 and 13, 30 and 12, etc... the numbers added don't have to be 360 degrees but obviously all runway numbers on the same strip differ by 180 degrees.

The numbers give the pilots the right information for the inbound track (to match their compass heading), and is also used to calculate the crosswind component in the air before a landing. The wind is given by the tower as magnetic direction and speed in knots. The controller would say something like: "wind 110 (one one zero) degrees, 15 (one five) knots." The pilot knows then that if landing on runway 10 (magnetic orientation of 100), the wind is coming from 10 degrees to the right of the runway. This allows a more precise approach. (airliners would input this information in the "FMC" flight management computer, and the computer would tell them what landing distance is needed to brake, what is the correct approach reference speed called "Vref", and much more... etc..).

An interesting point is that the "magnetic variation" is the angle between Magnetic North (currently somewhere in Northern Canada) and True North (at the North Pole). The variation varies with time and Magnetic North is changing position all the time (True North is not), very slowly though. That means that the magnetic orientation of a runway can also chage with time, therefore its identification number also. This is more likely in high latitudes (North or South) where the variation is bigger. The reason why runways are numbered with magnetic reference (and not true), is because pilots (and sailors) use a magnetic compass to orientate (effectively a magnet attracted by magnetic North). The magnetic compass becomes useless when very close to the poles. All charts use true North as the reference, and magnetic variation has to be accounted for when calculating a route.

.... there's more to say but I think this becomes out of interest on this forum.... let me know if you wish to have more information on aviation related topics.

 

[JoshA]

Re: Backwards In/Out SXM, some theory to understa

all runway numbers on the same strip differ by 180 degrees

Of course! It's second runway direction = 180 + direction of first runway, not 360 - direction. I was fooled by the accident that due east orientation is preferred in the Caribbean because of trade wind direction which makes the total add to 360 as well as making the difference 180. Merci bien.