I thought I would follow up the last blog with a note on the annual rainfall in the UAE, and Dubai/Sharjah in particular. My first taste of rain was early January when I took a friend, AMM, to the airport. Traffic was just backed up everywhere and I would have only called the rain light.
However, it did rain when President Bush arrived. As I mentioned earlier, all the bridges, overpasses, and tunnels were closed. The night he left, it started pouring and continued for approximately thirty-six hours straight. In an area that only gets about eleven days of rain a year, they received a record rainfall causing flooding everywhere. I’m sure the prevailing thought is “who needs drainage?” What President Bush was not able to close, the rain did. The only way to equate this event would be to compare it to a “snow day” or “hurricane” party day in the States. We ended up with eighteen inches of water just standing in front of our apartment for two to three days. This area came to a stand still. In the states when you mix sand and water you get a beach, here you get a sticky mud!
As the good drivers of the UAE found out, when you hit deep standing water at thirty klicks or better your car doesn’t work anymore. Cars were everywhere. Many cars were covered just where they were parked. It is very difficult for camel drivers to understand mechanics!
During the last four trips to Kabul, the temperature hasn’t gone above 0 degrees Celsius and is usually about -20 at night. Only a light dusting of snow has hit the valley but extremely heavy snow in the mountains. I keep thinking it is only a matter of time till winter hits but I’m beginning to think if we can make it through the first week of February, we may have bypassed winter in the valley.
I have inserted a recently taken picture of the RWY 29 in Kabul take off position.. You will be able to blow it up to see the mountains right off the departure end. The other interesting thing about this picture is when you blow up the L1011 on the upper left part of the picture; it is an old Delta L1011 which I flew years ago. The L1011 stayed on that taxiway for about a week due to a mechanical.
The problem in Kabul, at least at the airport is electricity. When it is -20 at night with no power, the building gets cold soaked and it really can’t warm up during the day. Adding to that is the fact that some of the doors don’t close and the windows leak air it is hard to file a flight plan. ISAF supplies the computer for flight planning so it is always up during the daylight hours. But I can tell you, one computer doesn’t heat a room! Still, the only approach available is the VOR/DME.
Now it is time for another commercial. For those of you that keep asking about the “kids” and what is going on in their lives, there is now a new web site that connects them all. http://www.theturbevilles.com/ should answer all your questions. There are also connections available to their videos made on cruise. The videos show that there is far too much time available on cruise for junior officers.
While you’re there, be sure to vote for Captain Bob as your pilot of choice. You’ll see what I mean when you get to the web site. Actually, just enjoy the great job they have done getting this site put together. I think this is a preamble for the blogs from Tilbisi, Georgia. A definite site for “old woodpeckers, blackhawks, and executioners!”
As A has said before, we joined the Aviation Club in Dubai. It has all the athletic amenities we could wish for plus about eight tennis courts. At the center of all this is the Dubai Tennis Stadium where the Dubai Open takes place later this month. I’m sure you will see some of the results on TV during the two weeks it runs. Additionally, it has about twelve upscale restaurants on the property of which we’ve only hit four so far. The best news of all is the owner…Dubai Duty Free Shops. We can all guess what is sold in Duty Free Shops at the airports and at the club they are sold for the same cost. This is the only place, other than hotels in the UAE, that can sell booze
by the drink. Dubai is looking up!
However, it did rain when President Bush arrived. As I mentioned earlier, all the bridges, overpasses, and tunnels were closed. The night he left, it started pouring and continued for approximately thirty-six hours straight. In an area that only gets about eleven days of rain a year, they received a record rainfall causing flooding everywhere. I’m sure the prevailing thought is “who needs drainage?” What President Bush was not able to close, the rain did. The only way to equate this event would be to compare it to a “snow day” or “hurricane” party day in the States. We ended up with eighteen inches of water just standing in front of our apartment for two to three days. This area came to a stand still. In the states when you mix sand and water you get a beach, here you get a sticky mud!
As the good drivers of the UAE found out, when you hit deep standing water at thirty klicks or better your car doesn’t work anymore. Cars were everywhere. Many cars were covered just where they were parked. It is very difficult for camel drivers to understand mechanics!
During the last four trips to Kabul, the temperature hasn’t gone above 0 degrees Celsius and is usually about -20 at night. Only a light dusting of snow has hit the valley but extremely heavy snow in the mountains. I keep thinking it is only a matter of time till winter hits but I’m beginning to think if we can make it through the first week of February, we may have bypassed winter in the valley.
I have inserted a recently taken picture of the RWY 29 in Kabul take off position.. You will be able to blow it up to see the mountains right off the departure end. The other interesting thing about this picture is when you blow up the L1011 on the upper left part of the picture; it is an old Delta L1011 which I flew years ago. The L1011 stayed on that taxiway for about a week due to a mechanical.
The problem in Kabul, at least at the airport is electricity. When it is -20 at night with no power, the building gets cold soaked and it really can’t warm up during the day. Adding to that is the fact that some of the doors don’t close and the windows leak air it is hard to file a flight plan. ISAF supplies the computer for flight planning so it is always up during the daylight hours. But I can tell you, one computer doesn’t heat a room! Still, the only approach available is the VOR/DME.
Now it is time for another commercial. For those of you that keep asking about the “kids” and what is going on in their lives, there is now a new web site that connects them all. http://www.theturbevilles.com/ should answer all your questions. There are also connections available to their videos made on cruise. The videos show that there is far too much time available on cruise for junior officers.
While you’re there, be sure to vote for Captain Bob as your pilot of choice. You’ll see what I mean when you get to the web site. Actually, just enjoy the great job they have done getting this site put together. I think this is a preamble for the blogs from Tilbisi, Georgia. A definite site for “old woodpeckers, blackhawks, and executioners!”
As A has said before, we joined the Aviation Club in Dubai. It has all the athletic amenities we could wish for plus about eight tennis courts. At the center of all this is the Dubai Tennis Stadium where the Dubai Open takes place later this month. I’m sure you will see some of the results on TV during the two weeks it runs. Additionally, it has about twelve upscale restaurants on the property of which we’ve only hit four so far. The best news of all is the owner…Dubai Duty Free Shops. We can all guess what is sold in Duty Free Shops at the airports and at the club they are sold for the same cost. This is the only place, other than hotels in the UAE, that can sell booze
by the drink. Dubai is looking up!
4 comments:
Be on the lookout for Tiger this week. He has a two stroke lead as of this morning.
Man,that's a lot of rain!!
Really a great picture once it is expanded.
Bob
good to see pns again
and party for Mardi Gras and the Super bowl.. Go Giants (sorry RS)
great game
back to atl and home
Thanks B and A
great to see you guys. we look forward to our invite to the lake to hear all the details! NT
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