Over The Pole To The Orient
FROM CAP’N MERYL
Link to this week’s column at USAToday.com/travel:
http://www.usatoday.com/travel/columnist/getline/2005-02-14-ask-the-captain_x.htm
Over The Pole To The Orient
This week I flew a trip originating from New
York’s Kennedy Airport instead of from my own
Chicago base. Being on reserve means I’m very
junior in my position seniority-wise. I fly
leftover trips that aren’t otherwise covered.
Maybe someone has called in sick, or taken some
vacation, or whatever. It’s not that unusual that
we’re sent to another base to cover a trip.
I had my choice this day to fly right back to
London, where I flew my most recent trip, or to
take this trip to Tokyo. Even though London was
so much fun and I’m anxious to go back, I needed
the extra flight time for the month and opted for
the Tokyo trip.
When I spoke with the dispatcher for the flight
from JKF to Narita I asked her if we would fly the
same basic route as we would out of Chicago—across
Canada and just slightly north or south of
Anchorage, Alaska, or if we would fly over the
North Pole. She responded that normally we would
stick to the Canadian airways just north of the
route we generally take out of Chicago, but due to
some “closures” in Canadian airspace, today we
would fly over the pole which on some routes saves
substantial time, but on others takes just a
little longer.
This day it would cost us an extra 34 minutes of
flying time. (This week’s column at USAToday.com
– link is at the top – discusses taking short cuts
over the pole and over previously unfriendly
countries, like Russia.)
When I asked what “closures” meant, she responded
that it usually means manpower shortages for some
areas of Canada.
Manpower shortages? Okay, stop right there. I
immediately pictured three Canadian guys dressed
to the hilt in plaid winter clothing, ice-fishing
somewhere on a frozen lake in the middle of the
Great Canadian Nowhere. Here’s how the
conversation goes:
The first guy says, “Great day for ice-fishing,
eh?”
Second guy: “Sure is—pass me another beer, eh?”
Third guy, looking up as an airliner passes high
overhead heading due north: “Not that much farther
over the pole anyway, eh?”
They all laugh, just a little guiltily.
So over the pole we went. Well, not quite over
the pole but close enough. We passed within about
400 miles of it. We can actually plug a fix into
our onboard computer (NPOLE) and it gives us the
bearing (always north in this case) and the
mileage.
The minute the dispatcher said “Over The Pole” I
immediately and involuntarily tacked on in my head
“To The Orient.” It sounded like poetry, so much
so that as each new vista in our flight unfolded
before us, verses of poetry appeared unbidden in
my alleged mind. When we arrived at our hotel in
Narita, Japan, I sat down and in less than 10
minutes penned the poem you see below. No
laughing, now; some things just can’t be helped.
I’ve added some new photos to the Photo Gallery
which appear in a new section entitled, not
surprisingly, “Over The Pole To The Orient.” The
pictures are in sequence as the flight unfolded.
The absence of many pictures on the way home is
due to the fact we took off in the evening and it
was pitch black a good part of the way. I went on
my break and when I returned to the cockpit we
were just going by Lake Erie, so that’s where the
first picture is on the return flight.
I also added some photos to the “Japan” Photo
Album. My earlier readers will remember that my
first trip there I ran my camera battery dead
before arriving and got no pictures at all in
Narita itself. I carry an extra battery now.
Here’s a link right to the photo gallery on my
website: http://www.fromthecockpit.com/gallery/
Okay, deep breath, here goes Cap’n Meryl’s poem.
By the way, I’m old school in that I still believe
poems should rhyme. No Haiku for me!
Over The Pole To The Orient
Over the Pole to the Orient
On silver wings we fly;
America fades behind us as
We head for Canadian sky.
Over the pole to the Orient
And Canada’s soon below;
The sun sits low in the western sky
And casts a blood-red glow.
Over the Pole to the Orient
Across the Arctic Sea;
Below is nothing but snow and ice
As far as the eye can see.
Over the Pole to the Orient
And Russia is soon in our sight;
Siberian steppes for a thousand miles
Reflecting a dazzling white.
Over the Pole to the Orient
And nothing but mountains below;
To the far horizon and back again
All covered with milky snow
Over the Pole to the Orient
And the sun has dropped out of sight;
The Northern Lights now fill the sky
They dance through the Arctic night.
Over the Pole to the Orient
We’re over the Sea of Japan;
We start our final approach and then
There’s nothing to do but land.
Over the pole to the Orient
Our journey has come to an end;
Next day we’ll fly away home so we
Can do it all over again!
Until Next Time,
Maintain Airspeed!
Cap’n Meryl
Link to this week’s column at USAToday.com/travel:
http://www.usatoday.com/travel/columnist/getline/2005-02-14-ask-the-captain_x.htm
Over The Pole To The Orient
This week I flew a trip originating from New
York’s Kennedy Airport instead of from my own
Chicago base. Being on reserve means I’m very
junior in my position seniority-wise. I fly
leftover trips that aren’t otherwise covered.
Maybe someone has called in sick, or taken some
vacation, or whatever. It’s not that unusual that
we’re sent to another base to cover a trip.
I had my choice this day to fly right back to
London, where I flew my most recent trip, or to
take this trip to Tokyo. Even though London was
so much fun and I’m anxious to go back, I needed
the extra flight time for the month and opted for
the Tokyo trip.
When I spoke with the dispatcher for the flight
from JKF to Narita I asked her if we would fly the
same basic route as we would out of Chicago—across
Canada and just slightly north or south of
Anchorage, Alaska, or if we would fly over the
North Pole. She responded that normally we would
stick to the Canadian airways just north of the
route we generally take out of Chicago, but due to
some “closures” in Canadian airspace, today we
would fly over the pole which on some routes saves
substantial time, but on others takes just a
little longer.
This day it would cost us an extra 34 minutes of
flying time. (This week’s column at USAToday.com
– link is at the top – discusses taking short cuts
over the pole and over previously unfriendly
countries, like Russia.)
When I asked what “closures” meant, she responded
that it usually means manpower shortages for some
areas of Canada.
Manpower shortages? Okay, stop right there. I
immediately pictured three Canadian guys dressed
to the hilt in plaid winter clothing, ice-fishing
somewhere on a frozen lake in the middle of the
Great Canadian Nowhere. Here’s how the
conversation goes:
The first guy says, “Great day for ice-fishing,
eh?”
Second guy: “Sure is—pass me another beer, eh?”
Third guy, looking up as an airliner passes high
overhead heading due north: “Not that much farther
over the pole anyway, eh?”
They all laugh, just a little guiltily.
So over the pole we went. Well, not quite over
the pole but close enough. We passed within about
400 miles of it. We can actually plug a fix into
our onboard computer (NPOLE) and it gives us the
bearing (always north in this case) and the
mileage.
The minute the dispatcher said “Over The Pole” I
immediately and involuntarily tacked on in my head
“To The Orient.” It sounded like poetry, so much
so that as each new vista in our flight unfolded
before us, verses of poetry appeared unbidden in
my alleged mind. When we arrived at our hotel in
Narita, Japan, I sat down and in less than 10
minutes penned the poem you see below. No
laughing, now; some things just can’t be helped.
I’ve added some new photos to the Photo Gallery
which appear in a new section entitled, not
surprisingly, “Over The Pole To The Orient.” The
pictures are in sequence as the flight unfolded.
The absence of many pictures on the way home is
due to the fact we took off in the evening and it
was pitch black a good part of the way. I went on
my break and when I returned to the cockpit we
were just going by Lake Erie, so that’s where the
first picture is on the return flight.
I also added some photos to the “Japan” Photo
Album. My earlier readers will remember that my
first trip there I ran my camera battery dead
before arriving and got no pictures at all in
Narita itself. I carry an extra battery now.
Here’s a link right to the photo gallery on my
website: http://www.fromthecockpit.com/gallery/
Okay, deep breath, here goes Cap’n Meryl’s poem.
By the way, I’m old school in that I still believe
poems should rhyme. No Haiku for me!
Over The Pole To The Orient
Over the Pole to the Orient
On silver wings we fly;
America fades behind us as
We head for Canadian sky.
Over the pole to the Orient
And Canada’s soon below;
The sun sits low in the western sky
And casts a blood-red glow.
Over the Pole to the Orient
Across the Arctic Sea;
Below is nothing but snow and ice
As far as the eye can see.
Over the Pole to the Orient
And Russia is soon in our sight;
Siberian steppes for a thousand miles
Reflecting a dazzling white.
Over the Pole to the Orient
And nothing but mountains below;
To the far horizon and back again
All covered with milky snow
Over the Pole to the Orient
And the sun has dropped out of sight;
The Northern Lights now fill the sky
They dance through the Arctic night.
Over the Pole to the Orient
We’re over the Sea of Japan;
We start our final approach and then
There’s nothing to do but land.
Over the pole to the Orient
Our journey has come to an end;
Next day we’ll fly away home so we
Can do it all over again!
Until Next Time,
Maintain Airspeed!
Cap’n Meryl
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