Hurricane Hunters have seen the unimaginable – Photo: NOAA
As the summer season comes around, the climate in Florida changes from hot to humid. However, that’s not surprising. Neither is the extreme weather the Sunshine State receives from the massive rain storms that, often times, turn into tropical storms off the east coast.
Recently, I had the opportunity to head down to the Northeast Florida Regional Airport (KSGJ) in St. Augustine, to see the Hurricane Hunters at work!
The Floridian community was invited to see the Lockheed WC-130J and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Gulfstream IV put on display.
Approaching the C-130 – Photo: Steven Paduchak
With the purpose of tropical storm and hurricane reconnaissance, the Hurricane Hunters, also known as the 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron (53rd WRS), operate out of the 403rd Reserve Wing at Kessler Air Force Base in Biloxi, Mississippi. Though they are technically under the Department of Defense, their purpose falls under the direction of the Department of Commerce.
I went down to the airport for the afternoon with a couple of friends, and once we arrived, we immediately saw the two aircraft on display. Members of NOAA and the United States Air Force (USAF) were in attendance to show off their aircraft, which mainly fly into category 3 hurricanes or higher at 10,000 feet.
Their role is to serve as the primary response team for hurricane and tropical storm analysis. The Hurricane Hunters seek out each storm’s magnitude, and send all information back to the National Hurricane Center in Miami. Proceeding under direction of the National Hurricane Operations Plan, the squadron flies in the interest of public safety.
This is the oldest An-12 still flying, which was recently repainted. EW-338TI is an An-12BP of RubyStar. Here it is in Vitebsk – Photo: Bernie Leighton | AirlineReporter
But Bernie, you already flew on an Antonov An-12 last year! Do you really think I’d settle for one An-12? Come on now, who am I?
Since I was already in Minsk, after having made my way there on a Tu-154M, there had to be another plane to fly on, or some other diversion to pass the time in Minsk. Well, other than the ominously-named “Texas Show Bar” in the hotel. That place was scary!
Anyhow. Thankfully, my friend had already taken care of this and set up an An-12 with quite the livery! Built in 1961 for the Soviet Air Force, its history becomes murky after the collapse of the USSR. We know it was floating around Bulgaria in 2001 and, heck, it is unclear if it was even built in Voronezh, Tashkent, or Irkutsk! It didn’t matter — I wanted it to fly — with me on it.
Lufthansa’s First Class Terminal at Frankfurt Airport. Is this the ultimate airline lounge?
Every major airline in the world tries to ensure that their hub lounges are the best that there can be. I am lucky enough to have visited a few of these in my life. From the Singapore Krisflyer Lounge to the Qantas First Class Lounge. However, there has always been one lounge in my sights that I never thought I could attain – one lounge that seemed unreachable.
So many people have visited it and raved about how amazing it was. Surely, I could find a way to visit it once in my life. What am I talking about, you are probably asking by now? That would be Lufthansa’s First Class Terminal (FCT) at their Frankfurt hub.
A ray of hope in the darkness of European flying, sitting on the ground at Prague’s Ruzyne Airport – Photo: Bernie Leighton | AirlineReporter
No matter where in the world, when you fly economy on a small turboprop, you likely are not going to have high expectations. This will just be some basic transportation to get from point A to point B. I was shocked when I recently flew an Air Serbia ATR-72-500 from Prague to Belgrade.
Often, flying in Europe can be an even-less-pleasant experience than flying in America. When I landed in Europe, after my not-so-stellar international experience, I said to myself, “I bet you Air Serbia can beat this.” And they did!
Come fly with Lufthansa! – Photo: Robert Schadt & Lufthansa
Roughly sixty years ago, on June 7, 1955, Lufthansa commenced long-haul service with a flight from Hamburg, Germany to New York City. To celebrate the anniversary, Lufthansa recreated a series of classic photos from throughout the years.
Safety first! Demonstrating life jackets – Photo: Robert Schadt & Lufthansa
How much has changed over the intervening six decades? Here are some fun facts, according to the airline:
- What began as two long-haul flights a week from Germany to New York, taking 20 hours for the trip (including a stop in Dusseldorf and a refueling stop in Ireland), has evolved and expanded over the years into the present 104 Lufthansa long-haul flights to 77 destinations worldwide, per day.
- With its four Super Constellations, Lufthansa carried 74,040 passengers in its first year of long-haul operations, with 18,420 of them crossing the North Atlantic. Today, Lufthansa’s long-haul fleet consists of more than 130 state-of-the-art aircraft, which carry over 15 million passengers per year – more than two-and-a-half million of them to and from the U.S.
- At the equivalent of approximately three month’s salary, the price of a transatlantic Economy Class ticket, back then, kept the experience of flying with Lufthansa exclusive, only possible for a small and affluent circle of people. Today, a round-trip Economy Class ticket for a flight with Lufthansa to the eastern United States can cost as little as one-third of a monthly salary.
Check out some additional historical photos, brought more up-to-date…
