http://www.gocho.com/airport/blog/ The Official CHO Blog en bhutchinson@gocho.com Copyright 2010 2010-02-28T19:17:00-05:00 http://www.gocho.com/airport/blog/current-arrivals-departures-flight-tracking/ http://www.gocho.com/airport/blog/current-arrivals-departures-flight-tracking/#When:19:17:00Z CHO has upgraded its data feed for the web page display of current arrivals, current departures, and flight tracking.  Current arrival and departure information provides more detail than "on time" or "delayed" or "cancelled", while flight tracking allows drilling for even greater detail regarding a particular flight, including a visual depiction of where the aircraft is on a map.  All of this information is available at www.GoCHO.com.  In addition, all of this great information is also available en español.   Coming soon? Flight alerts - or up-to-the minute information on a specific flight sent directly to an email address or via text to a mobile phone. 2010-02-28T19:17:00-05:00 http://www.gocho.com/airport/blog/fascinating-noise/ http://www.gocho.com/airport/blog/fascinating-noise/#When:08:25:00Z I am always fascinated by the varying levels of noise created by different types of aircraft.  A military T-45 is doing touch and go's today and it is VERY loud.  However, it appears to be a very small jet-even cute in my book.  Although frustrating to some neighbors, I love when we are visited by aircraft that don't normally frequent CHO.  There are so many different types, and today, the T-45 is a mighty mouse, a ferocious sounding speck in the distance that keeps zipping by my window.  Go Navy!       2009-12-04T08:25:00-05:00 http://www.gocho.com/airport/blog/f-15e-fighter-jet-squadron-to-fly-over-charlottesville/ http://www.gocho.com/airport/blog/f-15e-fighter-jet-squadron-to-fly-over-charlottesville/#When:19:54:01Z As noted in the release below, UVA ROTC (Army, Navy & Air Force) will be conducting a POW/MIA vigil tomorrow. Be forwarned!  The vigil will conclude with a special ceremony including a flyover of 4 F-15E's between 2:30 p.m.-3:00 p.m. This could be NOISY! The squadron will be led by 1996 UVA graduate Major James Gresis. Did you know the F-15E can fly at speeds of Mach 2.3-2.5, reach an altitude of 30,000 feet in less than 60 seconds, & begin to track its target at 10 miles away? Enjoy-we hope they do an airfield fly-by of CHO! Photo Courtesy of  Wikipedia Contact: Matt Kelly434-924-7291mkelly@virginia.eduPOW/MIA Vigil Planned at the University of VirginiaSeptember 8, 2009 - Cadets from all three branches of the University ofVirginia ROTC program will hold a 'round-the-clock vigil for Americanservice members held as prisoners of war or reported missing in action.The event starts Sept. 14 at 1:30 p.m. on the north steps of theRotunda.The annual vigil, in which cadets and midshipmen from U.Va.'s Army, AirForce and Navy ROTC programs march in half-hour shifts during a 24-hourperiod, will end with a ceremony Sept. 15 at 2:30 p.m.David N. Harker, an outreach coordinator for the Virginia Department ofVeterans' Services and a Vietnam War veteran, will speak at theconcluding ceremony on "Standing up for American Ideals of Liberty andJustice for All."A Lynchburg native, Harker was captured by the Viet Cong after beingwounded in combat in Quang Tin province in South Vietnam on Jan. 8,1968. His family was notified eight days later that he was missing inaction and then told on March 12, 1968, that he was a prisoner of war.He was held for five years before his release on March 5, 1973.The ceremony is also scheduled to include remarks from Col. DanielDeBree, commander of the Air Force ROTC unit at U.Va.; an exhibitiondrill team performance; a 21-gun salute; and a fly-over of four F-15Esfrom the Seymour Johnson Air Force Base in North Carolina, which willclose the ceremony following "Taps." The F-15E fly-over will be led byMajor James Gresis, a 1996 graduate of the School of Engineering andApplied Science.Local veterans and members of the Charlottesville/Albemarle AmericanLegion Post 74 have been invited to the ceremony. This year's ceremonyis open to the public and sponsored by the Arnold Air Society, aprofessional and service organization for Air Force ROTC cadets.# # #   2009-09-14T19:54:01-05:00 http://www.gocho.com/airport/blog/bone-picking-at-cho/ http://www.gocho.com/airport/blog/bone-picking-at-cho/#When:23:09:00Z I had just opened the door to my room at Hotel Roanoke this afternoon when my phone began to ring.  As I looked at the caller id and saw it was work, I knew it could not be good,  It was already after office hours which meant it must be a public safety officer, CHO’s police.  Before I could answer there was a knock on the door I had barely shut, and there stood Jeff Brill, CHO’s director of finance and administration.  With a grimace on his face, he handed me his phone stating that Bill Pahuta, deputy director, needed to speak with me immediately. Not having traveled with me, you would not be aware that almost every time I leave town on business for CHO, strange things happen at work.  Due to this history, a sense of dread tightened my chest.  It worsened as I heard Bill say “I’m sorry, I hate to call you but something has happened”.  Without even listening to the rest of his statement, my thoughts immediately jumped to calamity and mayhem. My record wasn't to be broken this trip. I vaguely heard his voice say “contractor” and I gulped air, breathing a slight bit.  Maybe not so bad.  Construction site: turned over equipment? cut down someone else's trees? ran over the neighbor’s shed? blew up the neighbor’s house?  My pulse started to quicken but I reminded myself our contractor is highly respected and responsible, and apologized to Bill for not listening to the rest of his comment. “Bones”.  I’m sorry, what did you say?  “Bones”.  Bones?  “Yes, bones.”  Do you mean real bones or Fox Network Bones?  “Sigh, real bones”.  You mean like George Washington dead body in the grave bones?  “Yes, Barb (long pause), those bones.”  “The contractor just unearthed bones.”  “We need to call the police”. CHO has WONDERFUL police officers so naturally I think this must be really bad-murdered bones bad.  CHO police are not accustomed to dealing with something like that, or bones of any kind for that matter. Or just as sinister, I wonder does this mean we just dug up someone's bones like George Washington and now have to explain?  “Don’t know yet, can’t tell what the bones are”.  The pitch of my voice quadrupled to rival Tiny Tim (the musician for you young folks) as I asked Bill to call me as soon as the police arrived and determined what to do next.  Rationally, I knew the airport woods were full of deer, woodchucks, and coyote so they say, but my brain was on overdrive.  I even recalled the archeological analysis that had to be conducted on the site before receiving final permits and approvals but that was meaningless at the moment. I tapped my fingers and chewed on my cheek.  Torn between feeling like a criminal about to be discovered and an innocent airport official with the luck of the Titanic, I noticed Jeff shooting pool.  Only Jeff could be whizzing around a pool table right now, smoothly moving from shot to shot, from front to back like a cheerleader with a baton.  Joy, joy as Jeff always says.  Good grief I think.  I commenced my wait to hear from Bill.  Or from a detective.  A reporter.  A family member.   I am a good airport director I exclaim to myself (current state of paranoia not considered).  I do my job, sometimes more, polite and courteous even when asked for information no airport employee could or should answer:  what time does my son’s flight get in next week (you mean you need to know what day and airline to look it up); what is the longitude and latitude of my house on “x” street; how do I find what airline I made reservations with for my flight this afternoon; I heard flights and schools were canceled or delayed today due to snow, what about next week; what was the temperature and rainfall the day I was born; what will the weather be for my niece’s wedding next month and do you think we should we rent a tent; Airport, I didn't call the airport, I called Belk, transfer me to Belk this minute; I can’t give you my name or tell you where my sister lives because we don’t want to be put on the LIST, but could you tell the airplane that hovers and spotlights her house every night to stop it.  Yes Charlottesville, these are just a few of the REAL phone calls to our office.  We get them every day.  Not to make light of anyone’s concern, but you know what I mean.  Some days it takes great patience to be remain polite. I even admit it, I recently laughed when I received a letter that stated the sender knew we must have a well-stocked lost and found and would like to pay a reduced rate for a size 6 gold and diamond engagement and wedding ring, please check and reserve them right away.  I give her credit for innovative thinking. I just don’t deserve bones! I shook myself free of my thoughts and Jeff and I left for a scheduled meeting.  I moved around the room, meekly smiling and shaking hands, wondering:  has he found vertebrae on his airport?  Has she discovered teeth on her airport?  Our engineer took pity on me and reminded me layers of ancient ruins lie beneath many cities as he suppressed a laugh.  Jeff on the other hand thoroughly enjoyed the moment, gleefully telling anyone who would listen that we dug up bones at CHO today, disturbing some ancient burial ground, freeing spirits and demons upon the airport.  All I could think?  Headlines, whispers in the grocery aisle, stares at the dry cleaners.  A television crime show episode in the making. Unable to cope with the months being shaved from my life, I dialed Bill.  I heard his reassuring voice, and he calmly but distinctly announced “bear”.   Did you say bear or did you mean to say bones?  “Bear”.  What do you mean bear?  “Bear, Barb, as in a bear”.  You mean a real bear?  “Uh, yes, a real bear”. What does a bear have to do with this (duh)?  Do you see a bear? “No Barb”.  “Bear bones”. “The bones are bear bones”. I knew it!  My rational self was right.  Deer, woodchucks, coyote and bear!  We’ve seen them, tracked them, or otherwise chased them from our property.  We have chased their hunters from our woods as well.     WHEW as they say back home. Big. Sigh. Of. Relief. And exasperation.   Darn Jeff.  Darn bear.  Darn bones.   Tags #CHO #Where’s Barb #bear #bones   2009-08-26T23:09:00-05:00 http://www.gocho.com/airport/blog/slot-swaps/ http://www.gocho.com/airport/blog/slot-swaps/#When:19:12:00Z Say that five times as fast as you can.  Today has certainly been interesting and as it draws to a close, CHO still doesn’t know how the Delta/US Airways friendly slot & facilities swap at New York LaGuardia (LGA) will impact its service.  What are slots?  LGA is a slot-controlled airport, meaning that a commercial airline must have a slot (from capped or limited capacity) for each take off and landing between the hours of 7:00 am and 9:59 p.m.  No slot, no flight between those hours.  The announcement indicates that US Airways will gain slots from Delta at Ronald Reagan Washington National (DCA) as well as rights to service to and from both Brazil and Japan.  Delta intends to make LGA its newest domestic hub, gaining 125 US Airways Express slots.  US Airways will keep 72 peak hour slots, maintaining its status as the third largest carrier at LGA, at least for now. In addition to this swap announcement, AirTran Airways announced that it will stop flying to and from Newark, NJ (EWR) and trade its slots to Continental Airlines for Continental’s slots at DCA and LGA.  AirTran will receive four slots at LGA and six at DCA, or 2 daily flights and 3 daily flights respectively. This follows Southwest Airlines' commencement of LGA service in June, after purchasing now-defunct ATA’s 14 slots through bankruptcy proceedings.  Through negotiations, Southwest turned 7 daily peak hour flights into 8 flights spread throughout the day overlapping non-controlled hours.  Southwest is now bidding for bankrupt Frontier Airlines, which, in addition to eliminating one of its primary competitors at Denver, will give it Frontier’s Atlanta (ATL) assets where Southwest does not currently offer service,and where AirTran and Delta currently maintain hubs. This pattern of competition between Delta-AirTran-Southwest has emerged at two of the nation’s most congested airports, despite delays of up to 2.5 hours, not uncommon at LGA for weather or capacity-related issues.  For example, a tweet (www.twitter.com) today from  @FltAdvisor states:  “LGA Departure flight delays due to TM Initiatives:SWAP, averaging 2 hours and 16 minutes to 2 hours and 30 minutes, Increasing ...”.  As defined by FAA (www.faa.gov), a traffic management (tm) SWAP is a “Severe Weather Avoidance Plan. An approved plan to minimize the effect of severe weather on traffic flows in impacted terminal and/or ARTCC areas. SWAP is normally implemented to provide the least disruption to the ATC system when flight through portions of airspace is difficult or impossible due to severe weather.”  For CHO, the result can be tremendous.  LGA remains its top market, generating more passenger traffic and airline revenue than any other destination, direct or not.   2009-08-12T19:12:00-05:00 http://www.gocho.com/airport/blog/on/ http://www.gocho.com/airport/blog/on/#When:14:07:00Z 2009-07-27T14:07:00-05:00 http://www.gocho.com/airport/blog/did-you-know/ http://www.gocho.com/airport/blog/did-you-know/#When:08:55:00Z Today is the anniversary of the first hurricane hunter flight, a 1943 flight into a hurricane resulting from a friendly bet.  Hard to imagine flying into a storm of such strength without the assistance of modern GPS, radar, etc.  Although a "storm patrol bill" supported by the U.S. Weathaer Bureau was passed in 1936, flights did not become official until 1946, at which time meteorological data recording commenced.  Photo courtesy of NOAA:  View of Hurricane Katrina eye taken from hurricane hunter.   2009-07-27T08:55:00-05:00 http://www.gocho.com/airport/blog/1st-annual-charlottesville-piedown-what/ http://www.gocho.com/airport/blog/1st-annual-charlottesville-piedown-what/#When:18:11:00Z I attended the first annual Charlottesville PieDown yesterday.  Yes, the first annual Cville Piedown, held at Mudhouse on the downtown mall.  This event, a competition for the title of Charlottesville Pie Master, was phenomenal.  Not just because it was fun, or the pies pretty and delicious, or the company wonderful, but because this all came about as the result of Twitter.  Unbelievable I assert, that over 30 people filled Mudhouse to standing room only on the Sunday of a holiday weekend, just to watch 5 people eat pie (and get a tiny taste if patient).  Mayor Norris was there, participating as a judge (lucky!) and before it ended Congressman Tom Perriello stopped by as well.  The event was well covered  by both The Daily Progress and NBC 29.  All because they follow social media darling Twitter.  Count me among them.  What does twitter mean to me?  A FAST, let me repeat, FAST and easy way to find and communicate with corporate customers, colleagues (local and otherwise), and friends or family in 140 words or less.  Already a person of few words, I confess I love it.  I might even receive complaints, but that is encouraged.  I want to be trusted and available, and want the opportunity to tackle a problem if at all possible.  In addition, Twitter allows all followers to see the post and response, promoting sharing and creativity in a new and improved way.  Following peers in aviation, I am able to network more than before; and, following news (or anyone!), the opportunity to hear it first on Twitter. Most importantly, I have met the most congenial, helpful, friendly, bright, intelligent group of people imaginable.  During my initial Twitter days, it was pretty obvious who the original tweeters of Charlottesville included, and while significantly more techno-intelligent than me, they were gracious and accommodating, helpful and encouraging.  Turning to park at the back of the Omni, I voiced a moment of trepidation to my daughter who eagerly accompanied me to the Piedown.  However, it turned to excitement when I saw Joe Meade & family as I parked my car.  No, I had not yet met Joe, but already recognized him as I pointed him out to my daughter.  It was a bit unique, finding familiar faces that I had never met.  Try explaining that one to your great aunt!  And I think that's what I found most unique and intriguing yesterday, recognizing that this group of online commuicators understands that it's not just about the technology, but the relationship as well. Oh, and in case you are interested, it's all documented-be sure and visit the website for pictures, recipes and the people who made it possible. Stay tuned to Fall 2009 - First Annual Crozet Piedown to come! 2009-05-25T18:11:00-05:00 http://www.gocho.com/airport/blog/stringent-id-requirements-enacted-by-tsa/ http://www.gocho.com/airport/blog/stringent-id-requirements-enacted-by-tsa/#When:10:36:00Z PLEASE be sure and check your id BEFORE you purchase airline tickets or make reservations.  Effective May 15, 2009, TSA requires that the name on the ticket MATCH the name on the id.  For example, if the name on your id is SPICEY BEAR CVILLAIN, but you purchased your ticket as SPICY CVILLAIN, you WILL NOT be allowed to complete the screening process and board the aircraft.  This new requirement comes from a 911 Commission recommendation.  The second phase, which will be effective August 15, 2009, will require a ticket purchaser to include date of birth and gender.  Why?  TSA is taking over the comparison of passenger name against the "no fly list" and this will enhance the process by reducing the likelihood of a passenger being mistakenly identified as someone legitimately on the list.  TSA states that eventually they will allow small discrepancies (such as use of middle initial on one and not on the other), but in the meantime, BE CAREFUL!  Check http://www.TSA.gov for the full story. 2009-05-18T10:36:00-05:00 http://www.gocho.com/airport/blog/visiting-hornet/ http://www.gocho.com/airport/blog/visiting-hornet/#When:06:57:00Z Central Virginia was host to a F/A-18 Hornet this morning, flying by the tower and tipping its wing several times in greeting to those on the ground.  This is the same aircraft utilized by the Navy's Blue Angels.  This $57 million aircraft has an airspeed of Mach 1.8+.   2009-05-13T06:57:00-05:00