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Highlander
05-24-2008, 02:56 PM
Maui is a beautiful place! Getting there and home was somewhat of an adventure. The CRJ200 out of GRB was delayed because of low visibility in ORD. I spoke to the pilot, a very young gentleman. He assured me all would be well. I was pleasantly surprised how professional he was. He treated me with respect, answered my questions, and didn't make me feel rushed. It was a little bouncy going out of GRB but I was expecting it. The 777 out of Chicago was great! We upgraded to E+ (would recommend it to anyone flying on a long trip/money well spent). The FAs were fantastic, I listened to Ch 9. Nice to hear the pilot tell the ATC no when asked if departure position would be long enough. He said it wouldn't do and wanted more room. He was given it. It was one of the best flights I was ever on. We bounced a little over the rockies but it was expected. Watched movies (no video in headrest unfortunately), I had brought my own. The landing was smooth but the pressure in my ears was painful, don't know why. The GO! flight over to Maui was pretty nice. The plane could use some work. My tray was broken and the seats seemed worn. The landing was, well, shall I say...quick! We went up fast, smooth in flight, then the spoilers came out, had a lot of vibration, and we landed quickly. It seemed windy by the way we were rocking.

The week in Wailea was fantastic! Would recommend it. Snorkeled nearly everyday. Kayaked and parasailed with the wife too. Spent time at the pool and went to the luau. It was a great week.

The flight back to HNL on the HI 717 was intense. The plane was NICE but the flight kept me on my toes. We took off and did a hard bank back around 180 degrees from our original direction. The flight had some quick turns. On approach to HNL, we had a hard bank to the right, then the landing gear came out and I thought well we're lining up for approach, then another hard bank to the right with the nose pushed down. We leveled off for a moment then quick came down for a landing. Seemed like a big S flight. The 777 was nice until we got to the mainland. We had to fly around a storm that was pretty bouncy. Could see the lightning in the clouds below. But once we got passed them, it was a nice landing in ORD. We had upgraded to E+ again. Well worth it for a night flight. The United Express crj200 to GRB was the best flight of the entire trip. Had a man and woman as pilots. Had a 767 pilot catching a flight home riding with us. When I looked into the cockpit while walking by, she had her foot up just chillin. It was a smooth flight, got to see Lake MI, pilot even turned off the seatbelt sign for about 10 mins. We had a beautiful landing in GRB. I complimented the crew and thanked them for what they do.

All in all, six flights in seven days was a little stressful. But Maui squeezed in the middle made it bareable. Next time though, I will try and get the nonstop from ORD to OGG and eliminate the short flights. They weren't necessarily bad, just surprising at times.

Thanks to all for your support. Have a Great Weekend!!

LeslieDEN
05-24-2008, 08:13 PM
Great trip report, Highlander. Thanks. I'm sorry you didn't have seatback video -- it wasn't there on United 777? Maybe I don't know my 777s as well as I thought.

Anyway, that was a lot of flying in a really short time, and it sounds like you handled it great and that it was worth it.

Thanks also for the heads-up about the report on the other thread. It ties the pre-trip experience to the post-trip report, which I think is helpful to readers.

Highlander
05-25-2008, 01:21 PM
Thanks. Apparently, the 777 with United has the head rest monitors on "international" flights only. Even though it was an 8 hour flight, no head rest monitors. It was fine with me. I had my own entertainment as it was.

One post script...the thing that caused the most anxiety for me was the sharp banking that I didn't know was coming. I guess knowing the routes would have helped or prepared me better. My wife and I had a Great Time and we would go back again. I was even able to give her a foot rub on the flight back to Chicago.

Safe weekend to all!

LeslieDEN
05-26-2008, 02:19 AM
Apparently, the 777 with United has the head rest monitors on "international" flights only.
Ah ha. The flight I usually take from Denver to Dulles has Munich as its final destination, so I get the internationally configured one. Didn't realize that the other didn't have the monitors. Thanks.

Barb-SAN
05-26-2008, 03:26 AM
The flight back to HNL on the HI 717 was intense. The plane was NICE but the flight kept me on my toes. We took off and did a hard bank back around 180 degrees from our original direction. The flight had some quick turns. On approach to HNL, we had a hard bank to the right, then the landing gear came out and I thought well we're lining up for approach, then another hard bank to the right with the nose pushed down. We leveled off for a moment then quick came down for a landing. Seemed like a big S flight.

This illustrates one of the benefits of flight tracking before your flight. You can see different ways that the planes land and take off. They need to do both INTO the wind. Once the plane is airborne, it may need to change direction depending on its destination. Same thing on landing...if it is flying to the East and the wind is from the West, the plane will have to turn 180 degrees in order to land into the wind.

Here's an example of flight tracking I did awhile ago...the landing on Maui for Erica, who was on her honeymoon. I did a really long tracking for Monica when she went to Honolulu from the East Coast too, but I can't seem to find it now. I remember the landing in Honolulu also required a turn like this one. http://www.takingflight.us/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=1808&d=1177476847

Barb-SAN
05-26-2008, 06:38 PM
Here's a screen shot of a plane (Air New Zealand, flying in from San Francisco), landing at Honolulu airport. It looks like it is landing the way that you described, making 2 sharp turns to the right before landing. You can see the descent in the graphic (altitude represented by the green "wall", topped by yellow line).

How I found this flight...go first to www.flightaware.com (http://www.flightaware.com), and look up activity for Honolulu airport, and see what planes are arriving. Then go to www.fboweb.com (http://www.fboweb.com) and do a "quick track". Once that's started, click on "track in Google Earth". (You will need to have Google Earth already installed). This image has been "tilted" (there's a "tilt" slider just above the compass), so that you can see the altitude of the track.

This is a quick way to find out (potential) details of your plane's landing, if you don't have time to follow the entire track of your specific flight. At least you can see how other planes are landing (though this could change if the wind direction changes at the time of your flight).

Barb-SAN
05-26-2008, 06:42 PM
Here's a close-up of that descent:

Highlander
05-28-2008, 01:38 AM
Awesome display! I had gone to flightaware.com but not the other. It gives one an idea of what to expect from all angles. Had I known it ahead of time, it would not had been so unnerving. Thanks.