(First in a series.)

After much meeting, planning, E-Mailing, calling, then reshuffling, rechecking, and reconfirming, the day finally arrived! Time for our gathering, the Party In The Metroplex, which was less of a party due to recent events, but still turned out to be a really nice gathering of FlyerTalkers, and gave us the opportunity of meeting people only seen by their posts or in chat.

The following are my observations on the events of this weekend, summarized by day. I will post each day separately. Markbach has taken pictures of the event, and as soon as they are ready, we'll let you know where you can see them. And, YES, I'm in some of them. Just look for the tall, good-looking guy with the tan.

;-)

September 21, Day One:

With all activities now in place, it is now time to welcome our guests! A projected shortage of 10 seats for carpooling, etc., now turns into a surplus. 2ManyMiles sends an E-Mail that he is on the way from LGA. AA.com's Flight Tracker shows him ahead of schedule, with an 11 A.M. arrival. DFW's weather at that time is rain, but it doesn't last long. Time to head out and get some film and a new pager battery.

Paradocs calls to notify me that she's on the way from SAT, and should leave there on time, with a 2:45 P.M. ETA. She thanks me for my words of encouragement (she was kind of scared to make the trip, and I reassured her over the course of the last few days that she could do so in confidence), and the PIM Planning Group for keeping the event together, despite the changes. I shower and change clothes and head out to DFW. As I near the CDP (Capital Development Program) Building, the site of our first activity, CFM3RD calls to verify where we will be. I give him the new location and describe it as I pull up to it.

As I check in with the receptionist, 2ManyMiles walks up, and I meet him. We go to the conference room where we will start. Doppy and his guest, then Applefan, bollar, Leesa, B747-437B, Markbach, swag, CFM3RD, the world-famous cigarman, and all of the others arrive. The activity starts, and it is abbreviated further, due to the rain. A visit to Terminal E is now not possible.

We get general information on the airport from Rachel at DFW Corporate Communications, and tour the CDP office. This office also serves as the physical plant for the project. As this is a long-term project, they own all of their computers, rather than leasing, and much of the work is done at night, after the jets are removed from the work area. There are many other things which have been well-thought out, are environmentally friendly, and make sense, for example, to minimize the risk of injuries on the job, worker capabilities are measured in advance (so a worker who cannot lift a very heavy object does not do that).

Paradocs calls me during the tour. She reports that her flight is delayed for mechanical reasons, and they must wait for a replacement part to be flown in from DFW. Her ETA is now 5 P.M. I tell her not to worry, and that I'll meet her at dinner tonight. We head back to the Conference Room to watch a short video on the new rail system being built by Bombardier (they bought the company which was awarded the contract to build it). The system will move above operating aircraft in the terminal area. DFW claim that the system will allow anyone with a 30-minute connection between terminals to make their connection, one which was met with extreme skepticism from the group.

We also see the mockup of the new International Terminal, complete with plasma screens (so that airline spaces could be changed rapidly as needed), a new Hyatt Hotel with rooftop swimming pool which DFW will operate, and the train platforms. The Terminal's Customs area is designed to process 2800 pax/day, and the gates have been designed for wide-bodied aircraft, including the future Airbus A380. We talk about runways, and the delay in constructing the 8th one due to recent events. However, two runways will be lengthened to the 13,000 foot standard, allowing up to four aircraft to land simultaneously in adverse conditions.

DFW is one of two airports in the world (DEN being the other) to allow four aircraft to land at the same time in good conditions, and is the only one which can allow four to take off in good conditions (bollar, please correct me if I am wrong about that). Mugs and pens with the CDP logo are given to all who want them, and as we wait for the next phase of the DFW Tour, bollar talks some more about the runways, and welcomes everyone to the PIM.

We are picked up by our next guide from Public Relations, and shuttled to the Noise Compatibility Office, which deals with monitoring noise levels around the airport, and answering complaints from the community when an aircraft may fly somewhere it normally doesn't, causing the noise problem. They also provide information to the public on the potential impacts of expansion at DFW.

This, IMO, was the biggest hit of any of the tours! The office has three screens in which live radar feeds with transponder-only information are projected. We see aircraft from DFW, Love Field, Alliance and Meacham Airports in Fort Worth, as well as Addison Airport, Carswell Field (a military airfield in Fort Worth), and others, in various stages of flight.

Due to the reduced capacity at which DFW is operating, 80-85%, there are fewer aircraft in the pattern, yet this was still fascinating. The setup of this office is a first-of-its-kind for an airport. The office gets "edited" data from the FAA several days later, showing complete information on airline, aircraft type, flight number, etc. The data is edited so the FAA can mask the presence of special aircraft, like Air Force One. Our astute group of FT'ers spot several aircraft which made "go around" attempts, making very tight turns at both DFW and DAL!

The system also allows the managers to pinpoint specific street addresses in order to assist with the complaint process. It was mentioned by techgirl that jets fly over her house in the early morning hours, so the managers located her address on the map for the particular day we were seeing historical information. They isolated aircraft flying over on that day, and found out that there were only commuter turboprops operating over her house that day.

They can, just by the pattern of flight, and data, pick out traffic helicopters, turboprops, and jets. They also monitor, by color coding, departures and arrivals, and other airport's aircraft.

We "dialed" into one of the 35 Noise Monitoring Stations at the South end of DFW, to listen to aircraft taking off, and the noise footprint of each aircraft was presented in graph form. They explained in the Q and A session how they provide remedies to complaints if action is necessary (i.e. soundproofing affected houses, buying property, etc.), and what feedback is given to the necessary departments when needed. When investigating a complaint, they also have to obtain control tower recordings to see if the controllers were routing aircraft for specific reasons over areas they normally would not.

For example, several aircraft flew over areas in which they normally did not operate, and the complaints came in. After a study of radar data was inconclusive, they decided to get the recordings. The recordings were played for the people making the complaints, and what was heard was a controller giving aircraft the option of using a specific departure routing due to approaching weather, and instead of being delayed at the airport, four jets took him up on it before the weather came in.

This department has been so successful in making the community aware of noise issues, that meetings are no longer held with residents of the affected surrounding cities.

Which brings me to the really cool giveaways we received! We each received a big picture of the office we were in, done when it opened several years ago, a foam airplane with their logo on it, and a brochure detailing the Noise Monitoring Stations with their locations and purpose.

However, the best item of all was the "Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport Runway Use Plan", a large brochure which covers details of each runway, how the runways are used in all conditions and hours of the day, how aircraft are operated during the day, either in good and adverse conditions, how they are routed to and from DFW, some differences in aircraft engines (and how they relate to noise levels), FAA guidelines, and the like. There are maps detailing each runway, its length, and it's Preferential Rating over other runways for operation in certain traffic flow conditions.

I'll bet if you write to the following address, you could get a copy of it, if you are interested in this kind of thing.

Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport
Noise Compatibility Department
P.O. Box 619428
DFW Airport, TX 75261-9428

Tell them you learned about it from the FlyerTalk group of frequent flyers who toured there!

:-)

We thanked our hosts, and were shuttled back to the CDP Office. C-Man (cigarman), as is known by most of us, refers to CO as "God's Airline." So when an AA 757 is seen on takeoff outside the CDP, the remark is made to him by one of AA's most loyal fans, "Now THAT'S God's Airline. You're supposed to genuflect in its presence." We laughed. I remarked, "Hey, that's God's Aircraft!" Bollar and I, of course, have agreed to disagree on that point for sometime now.

LOL

If you ever check out his fabulous website (http://www.bollar.org/aviation.htm), you'll understand why.

Some of us went directly to La Casa to get a head start on "refreshments" for the dinner. On the way there, we saw two MD-11's which were being prepared for delivery to FedEx, and three MD-80's which were moved off to another side until things get better for AA.

At LaCasa, we met up with many more of our guests, including chasethemiles and her guest, also AASweets, MileTex, and ClueByFour. Paradocs and AlyFlyingForFun also arrived, and I was finally able to meet both of them.

:-)

Since you have seen the menus for the dinners in the posts in the Community section, I won't describe them. We spent the rest of the night eating, drinking, talking, learning, and exchanging information on travel and other subjects.

Cigarman and his "entourage" (he ALWAYS has an entourage, LOL) headed off to parts unknown to do their thing, while the rest of us adjourned for the evening to prepare for the next day's events.

(TO BE CONTINUED)

Studley







[This message has been edited by studley (edited 09-24-2001).]

http://www.lug.udel.edu/~mark/pics/index.php?album=PiM

be gentle on my server please

techgirl has volunteered to write captions, they should be posted last this week.

One addition, since I'll too lazy to write my own report..

Alas, since I was not allowed (by Texas law) to enter a gentleman's club, cigarman said he would try to arrange for some "takeout" to be delivered to the Westin. Sure enough, around 11:30, there is a sharp knock at my door. I jump up to answer it, but it was only AnnaS, who had just arrived and gotten the room 2 doors down from me. :-D

I wish I could have made it. My flight didn't get in till midnight on Friday, and had to work 6am Saturday. Sounds like it was a blast... in my new back yard no less! Hope everyone had fun, and that another will be arranged soon!

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preez mine da pratform gahp.

Don't worry mark, we only met with some of cigarman's clients. Nothing particularly exciting.

The nuns or the priests? :-D