The KMSP FlightAware is pretty interesting tonight

how'z the blizzard progressing? has it stopped snowing yet? can't find a live cam at KMSP. just rain here earlier today west of ORD.
 
Got like 3" inches really fast starting right around lunch time and then it slowed down a bit. I haven't looked outside yet but will be driving into the airport in a couple of hours. I think the winds are gonna be crazy later on tonight and tomorrow.
 
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You are subscribed to MSP Noise E-News for Metropolitan Airports Commission. This information has recently been updated, and is now available here:

Unusual Runway Use at MSP Due to Weather
04/10/2019 02:34 PM CDT

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Strong northeasterly winds associated with a winter storm today, and possibly tomorrow, will activate use of Runway 4 at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (MSP). Use of MSP Runway 4 usually occurs when heavy or large aircraft require additional runway length or when a strong northeasterly wind blows through the Twin Cities area.

Air Traffic Controllers at MSP decide which runways to use based on wind direction, weather conditions, and air traffic demand. Typically aircraft arrive and depart at MSP using the parallel runways, but today's unusual wintery-weather and accompanying windy conditions from the northeast contribute to aircraft taking off and landing on other MSP runways. Arrivals on MSP Runway 4 will overfly Bloomington and Richfield; and departures from Runway 4 will overfly Mendota Heights and St. Paul.

For details on specific flight activity, please view our FlightTracker.
 
Yeah, they don't use RWY4 that often.
 
They're fun to fly. 1000' vertical separation looks really close! It can get surprisingly busy in the hold as there are lots of company planning & fuel conversations going on.. Fun few days in the midwest. Hope everyone got where they needed too OK.
 
Sinistar said:
My folks are supposedly coming into MSP from PHX tonight. So took a quick peek at MSP flightaware. What amazes me are the holds (or whatever your IR pilots call them) off to the west. Its like they are stacked on top of each other!

https://flightaware.com/live/airport_status_bigmap.rvt?airport=KMSP
Click to expand...

Yes they're called holds and yes they stack the planes on top of each other 1000' ft apart. When a plane departs the holding fix on the final approach, everybody moves down 1000' ft until the next plane, at the bottom of the stack, is cleared and departs on the approach. Its actually kind of cool though seeing how "synchronized" the planes are in this hold... Usually you get planes at different points in the same pattern so they look a little less "on top of each other."

You should check out the Oceanside VOR (OCN) in Southern California on a Saturday or Sunday when the weather is good. Since you're still VFR on a practice approach they dont require the same separation and I've seen and participated in practice approaches that will stack 8 or 9 deep at 500 ft intervals from 2000' up to 7000' all holding at the same fix doing the same pattern.
 
apr911 said:
Yes they're called holds and yes they stack the planes on top of each other 1000' ft apart. When a plane departs the holding fix on the final approach, everybody moves down 1000' ft until the next plane, at the bottom of the stack, is cleared and departs on the approach. Its actually kind of cool though seeing how "synchronized" the planes are in this hold... Usually you get planes at different points in the same pattern so they look a little less "on top of each other."

You should check out the Oceanside VOR (OCN) in Southern California on a Saturday or Sunday when the weather is good. Since you're still VFR on a practice approach they dont require the same separation and I've seen and participated in practice approaches that will stack 8 or 9 deep at 500 ft intervals from 2000' up to 7000' all holding at the same fix doing the same pattern.
Click to expand...

Been there, done that. Got a story about holding at OCN. I'm under the hood headin up V23 to OCN. Controller starts vectoring me around for traffic, controller amusement, i dunno. Then he says proceed direct OCN. I twist the OBS to get what radial I'm on and turn to go direct, CDI needle goes peg to peg. I do it again to find about where I am to pick a heading to fly directly at OCN. Needle goes whipping by peg to peg. I try again. CFI says take off the hood and look down. There it is, the OCN VOR. I was doing perfect turns around a pylon on it. Moral of the story is don't try to go direct to a VOR with standard rate turns if you're just a couple miles away and perpendicular to it when you start.
 
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