Dispatching "Con Air"!

( For security and privacy concers, all photos displayed have been altered to protect the identites of those shown and sensitive infomation has been edited out of all photos and no specific details or information are provided ).

Island Air, has been providing flights to the State of Hawaii, Dept. of Corrections for prisoner transport more commonly known as "ConAir" since late last year. It's nothing like you think or saw in the movie. Prisoner transfer happen everyday all across the country. All are uneventful.

  

These flights are done and provide a controlled, safe, efficent and economical way of transporting a large number of prisoners between the neighbor islands instead of placing them on scheduled flights.

These flights normally are controlled by the Department of Corrections who advises us on which days they will need a transport and we then provide a crew and aircraft for them.

The ConAir flights are considered by Island Air Supplemental Operations conducted under Domestic Flight Rules.

Under FAR 121.537 Responsibility for Operational Control during supplemental operations, both the Captain of the flight and the Director of Flight Operations are jointly responsible for all aspects of the flight. The Dispatchers act for the Dir. of FLTOPS

As the dispatcher on duty, we monitor the flight and keep track of it. We provide a crew wth a dispatch release and current weather on the day of flight. All other aspects are routine. Crews receive a full briefing from the dispatcher. The aircraft is pre-flighted and then the crew awaits the passengers and guards for the flight.

While all transfer are done, state sherriff deputies closely oversee the operation.

From a dispatching point of view, "ConAir" flights are handled like any other flight.
It's just another day at the office.

Military Aviation in Hawaii

Hawaii has always been a focal point of the U.S. Military. A strategic point in the Pacific. We are a critical link in the defense of the U.S. As some may or may not know, HNL is a joint civilian/military airfield. On any given day you can see a variety of military aircraft coming or going from here.

Here's a look of some of the aircraft that I have seen from my office window.

The U.S. Marine Corps VIP C-20, also known as the "Grey Ghost

 A USAF C-40B Executive transport aircraft

A USAF C-130 Hercules aircraft arriving and taxing to Joint Base Pearl Harbor/Hickam, Hawaii

 A Hawaii Air National Guard F-22 departing via RWY 22L in HNL

 A Navy F-18 Super Hornet after departing 08L in HNL

 Followed by a USAF KC-10 airborne refueler

 Another refueler, the old but venerable KC-135 departing RWY 22L on a rainy day

 A US Navy P-3 Orion  turboprop anti-submarine and maritime surveillance aircraft. As Ryan, a visitor to my blog pointed out, that Navy P-3 was recently painted in that old seaplane paint scheme in honor of the Centennial of Naval Aviation.
Thanks Ryan!

A USAF C17 based out of Elmendorf AFB in Alaska takes the high speed
after landing on 04R in HNL

And a pair of UH-60 of the U.S. Army practicing the ILS on RWY 08 at HNL

And probably the most recognized aircraft in the world...

Air Force One lands at Hickam Air Force (AFB) with US President George W. Bush on board for his first visit to Hawaii while holding office. On the ground, the second Boeing VC-25A.

(I've seen Air Force One twice, but never had a camera with me, so I got this photo from Wikipedia. Photo credit: CPL Roman Gray, USMC)

Hawaii is proud of it's service to our country and also of it's military personnel. These island will remain an integral part of the U.S. Military and the U.S.A. to ensure that all people and countries of the Pacific region remain a safe place

Hollywood comes to HNL

I consider myself lucky to have my office right at the airport. I also consider it even luckier that my office overlooks Honolulu International Airport. Even though I'm busy alot, I do have the opportunity to take in the view of the airfield.

So today I was fortunate to have the opportunity of being able to see them film one of my favorite shows on TV, Hawaii Five-0 at the hanger next door.

Cameras roll as two actors portraying U.S. Marshall deputies are seen walking off the Grumman G-II.

In the shot is Officer Dan "Dano " Williams played by Scott Cann standing in front of his silver Chevy that he drives around with and LT Commander Steven "Steve" McGarrett played by actor Alex O'Loughlin. Both actors watch the action from the sidelines.

Cameras roll as the actors portraying U.S. Marshall's escort a prisoner from the aircraft. Actors Scott Cann and Alex O'Loughlin can be seeing standing in the foreground next to the silver car

This shot shows the actors waiting around and taking a break as they wait for the crew to set up. Once they completed with the shoot on the ramp, the cast and crew moved into the hanger for more shooting.

The Hawaii Five-O crew started at 0400L setting things up and cameras were rolling at around 0600L. They completed all filming on location by 1230L. I look forward to watching this unfold when the show airs sometime in the near future.

For more information on the show, go to:

www.cbs.com/primetime/hawaii_five_o

25 Years Ago...

...on that cold January morning atop the Space Shuttle Challenger, rode seven astronauts. Each member as diverse as the United Sates is. All loved.

Please take a moment to reflect on these astronauts and all those that have gone before to help pave the way for our future in space.

"Their truest testimony will not be in the words we speak, but in the way they led their lives and in the way they lost those lives - with dedication, honor and an unquenchable desire to explore this mysterious and beautiful universe". - President Ronald Regan, Challenger Memorial Service, 1986.

Remember...

Richard "Dick" Scobee, Michael Smith, Ellison Onizuka, Judith Resnik, Ron McNair, Gregory Jarvis and Christa McAuliffe.

IMC Practice

Dispatching can be a challenge. Even on good days. But when weather sets in, it's a whole new dynamic.

On the 15th of Dec, This is what The North Pacific Surface Analysis was looking like. A long Low Pressure System extending from around Midway Island in the Pacific Northwest all the way across the Central Pacific and over into CONUS.

This is what the weather normally looks like around here, but as shown in the SA above, things were about to get wetter!

On Sunday morning the 19th of Dec this is what we came to work to. The beginning of 48 hours of weather to contend with (Our shift in dispatch is 9 hours). I myself actually look forward to days like this, it's because we rarely get them. Heavy rains mainly over Kauai to the west, Oahu and Western Molokai in the east. This shot of Doppler from weatherunderground.com show the cells in the area and intensity of moisture in the clouds. Upper level winds were light, but movement was from the WSW (West Southwest) direction.

On the ramp, rain gear is the uniform of the day as the weather makes the early morning preflights for the crews a fun one. Winds with the associated system was light and variable, so this caused having with visibility and ceilings. The wind wasn't there to keep the moisture moving so everything just "sat" around.

Later in the morning, visibility dropped to as low as 1/4 mile with +SHRA (heavy rain showers)and alot of TS (thunderstorms) in EMBD CB's (Embedded Cumulonimbus Nimbus clouds) here in HNL. We held flights going into MKK due to visibility was nearly zero. And LNY was slowly losing it's battle with the weather. Myself and the other dispatcher kept on updating the weather as quickly as it was being amended by the National Weather Service (NWS) and kept the crew well informed.

Now we know it was bad when HNL goes down below and alternates are required for the flights to return. Fuel loads were all increased for all flight outbound from HNL and inbound. By some luck when our flights were legal to depart, they all made it into their destinations on the first shot. No missed approaches occurred.

Due to the instability of the atmosphere over the Hawaiian Islands, we are looking at more continued wet weather into the Christmas weekend as another front approaches from the west.

In the mean time, it's back to blue skies and sunny weather...

...for now!!!