17 April 2010
Quiet Skies Over London
Speaking of air travel, there's been none of it here since Iceland has launched its Dr. Evil volcanic assault on the rest of europe. Once the blank skies were pointed out to me, I can't stop noticing. It's been beautiful and sunny and clear. The complete lack of anything in the sky is almost shocking. Odd and fascinating. And it's gone literally quiet as well. We're less than 5 miles from London City, which is a protected habitat and breeding ground for the endangered jumbolina, which makes a distinctive pitch-dropping sound on approach. We're also 15 miles from Stansted and about 18, as the heron flies, from Heathrow (a fact I try not to dwell on when I'm 90 minutes into an attempt to get there). There's never not metal criss-crossing the sky. Except now.
like post-9/11, actually.
ReplyDeleteA prelude to the coming apocalypse, when only military jets will be in the skies perhaps?
ReplyDeleteI do indeed hate riding in the BAe 146s. Seems I always get the window seat (3X I've been in one) directly under the wings. Not only does it give the passenger a front row seat less and a meter away from those 4 whiny jet engines, but the aluminum reinforcing fuselage ribs are twice as wide under the wings, taking roughly one arm width out of the row. Cram 2 large Germans into the seats next to me, and it makes for a sardine-like fit.
And who was the idiot who showed that maintenance costs on 4 engine planes were lower than on 2 engine craft, and then got a bonus and promotion for his illogical conclusion? That's why the rest of the world is migrating to 2 engine craft. BAe, failure. Yes, I hate this airplane, and now you've given me another reason to despise it as well.