Comments on: Planes, and Planes, and Planes.

By: Shamrock

Shamrock — Fri, 29 Sep 2006 23:40:31 +0000

Jim, when I started reading your post I immediately thought of the absence of planes in the days after 9/11. It’s still with me, the strangeness of the absence, and the strangeness of the return of the planes. To this day, I get edgy when I notice any plane that’s not exactly on the approach or take-off path where I expect it to be.

By: joated

joated — Fri, 29 Sep 2006 23:08:19 +0000

From my former home under the Morris County airport approach and near the Morristown Hospital (helicopters, ya know) and also within hearing and sight of the Newark approaches, I could sometimes see (and hear) a dozen or more planes in the skies at one time.

Now I’m temporarily in my SW Adirondacks cabin and I might–might–see one plane an our flying out of Albany or maybe Boston heading to Chicago (I guess). During the weekend afternoon I might–might–see one small Piper or maybe a Cesna heading further north.

And no humming of tires on the highway either. The blacktop stops at my driveway and the “road” ends a quarter mile into the woods.

Almost heaven.

By: Teresa

Teresa — Fri, 29 Sep 2006 22:37:03 +0000

When we were in the Chicago burbs, there were constant planes overhead. When we walked at night, you could see them lined up for landing at O’Hare generally about 6-10 deep, not counting the planes in holding patterns.

The 4 days after Sept 11th were definitely eerie - as were the next several months while O’Hare ramped back up to “normal”. For those 4 days, the only planes in the sky were the 2 fighter jets that made a constant patrol very VERY high - you could just barely see their lights blinking. There were rumors that there were at least 3 of them and one was flying without lights.

I was surprised at how much I missed the planes when they were suddenly gone. Where we are now is very quiet. We get a few - very few - planes overhead. But we aren’t on any approach to Logan, so the planes we see most are those up at altitude headed (probably) for Europe. I do kinda miss all the air traffic that Chicago had. It was comforting… as long as it wasn’t a honking big airline flying low and noisy at 4am directly over my house…

By: WitNit

WitNit — Fri, 29 Sep 2006 16:34:57 +0000

The mind blocks out whatever is routine and doesn’t constitute a threat or holds any immediate value, which allows us to focus…that’s why when you read a good book, the world fades away….

By: Rantin' Ron

Rantin' Ron — Fri, 29 Sep 2006 13:24:21 +0000

We’re so tucked away up here in the mountains that, when we do hear one, we run outside to look! Usually it’s a small private jet heading to Elk River where the rich folks reside or a sightseeing chopper.

By: Jean

Jean — Fri, 29 Sep 2006 04:11:31 +0000

places like that are beautiful…worth getting used to.

By: Craig

Craig — Fri, 29 Sep 2006 02:17:10 +0000

It’s easy to do, Jim. Very easy.

By: shoe

shoe — Fri, 29 Sep 2006 01:56:40 +0000

interesting. while i don’t live in a big city, we get lots of private planes, i see them fairly regularly.

in austin, a huge part of the student neighborhood was in the flightpath of the austin airport before it moved out to the old airforce base (where you flew in). i remember the noise still, and planes haven’t flown over those homes in years.