foaming the runway

[Bucky]

I was listening to KABC radio yesterday during the JetBlue incident.
Here was my best attempt at a transcript of the dialog from memory. I
know it sounds like something out of Airplane or Abbot and Costello,
but I did not exaggerate or make anything up, not even the last line.

["R" is the radio host. "F" is the fire dept official.]

R: ...and the fire department has already foamed the runway in
preparation...
F: <interrupts> We don't foam the runway.
R: You haven't? When are you going to foam the runway?
F: We're not going to do that. We'll have firetrucks with foam ready to
spray on the plane if necessary.
R: So these firetrucks can foam the runway if necessary?
F: No, they're just going to foam the PLANE if necessary.
R: But they're also going to foam the runway too, right?
F: <starting to get irritated> No, we are NOT foaming the runway.
R: Cuz I was told that you're supposed to foam the runway.
F: We don't do that.
R: Is that a deviation from standard procedure?
F: <getting really irritated> NO! There's no reason to foam the runway.
We only foam the plane.
R: But not the runway?
F: No, there's no reason to.
R: Why not?
F: We only spray foam when there's a fire. Foam on the runway can cause
more problems like making the plane skid.
R: <pause> So you're not going to foam the runway?
F: <sounding exhausted> No.
R: OK, I know I'm testing your patience here. One last time for our
listeners: you are NOT foaming the runway?
F: No, we are not foaming the runway.
R: Hmm, I must have watched too many Bruce Willis movies.

[Mortimer Schnerd, RN]

Bucky wrote:
> R: OK, I know I'm testing your patience here. One last time for our
> listeners: you are NOT foaming the runway?
> F: No, we are not foaming the runway.
> R: Hmm, I must have watched too many Bruce Willis movies.


Or taken too many Dumbass pills at breakfast.



--
Mortimer Schnerd, RN

[Dave]

Ahhhhhh..

Looks like you have a "Stupid School " down there as well... :(

We have at least one In Canada ...

Graduating every year..

Probably affilliated....

Dave

lOn 22 Sep 2005 14:57:35 -0700, "Bucky" > wrote:

>I was listening to KABC radio yesterday during the JetBlue incident.
>Here was my best attempt at a transcript of the dialog from memory. I
>know it sounds like something out of Airplane or Abbot and Costello,
>but I did not exaggerate or make anything up, not even the last line.
>
>["R" is the radio host. "F" is the fire dept official.]
>
>R: ...and the fire department has already foamed the runway in
>preparation...
>F: <interrupts> We don't foam the runway.
>R: You haven't? When are you going to foam the runway?
>F: We're not going to do that. We'll have firetrucks with foam ready to
>spray on the plane if necessary.
>R: So these firetrucks can foam the runway if necessary?
>F: No, they're just going to foam the PLANE if necessary.
>R: But they're also going to foam the runway too, right?
>F: <starting to get irritated> No, we are NOT foaming the runway.
>R: Cuz I was told that you're supposed to foam the runway.
>F: We don't do that.
>R: Is that a deviation from standard procedure?
>F: <getting really irritated> NO! There's no reason to foam the runway.
>We only foam the plane.
>R: But not the runway?
>F: No, there's no reason to.
>R: Why not?
>F: We only spray foam when there's a fire. Foam on the runway can cause
>more problems like making the plane skid.
>R: <pause> So you're not going to foam the runway?
>F: <sounding exhausted> No.
>R: OK, I know I'm testing your patience here. One last time for our
>listeners: you are NOT foaming the runway?
>F: No, we are not foaming the runway.
>R: Hmm, I must have watched too many Bruce Willis movies.

[John Doe]

"R" is an idiot

[OtisWinslow]

They don't have to take supid pills. They're born that way. I
believe about 5% of what I get from the media.


"Mortimer Schnerd, RN" > wrote in message
om...
> Bucky wrote:
>> R: OK, I know I'm testing your patience here. One last time for our
>> listeners: you are NOT foaming the runway?
>> F: No, we are not foaming the runway.
>> R: Hmm, I must have watched too many Bruce Willis movies.
>
>
> Or taken too many Dumbass pills at breakfast.
>
>
>
> --
> Mortimer Schnerd, RN
>
>
>
>

[Matt Barrow]

"OtisWinslow" > wrote in message
.. .
> They don't have to take supid pills. They're born that way. I
> believe about 5% of what I get from the media.
>
>
Boy, that's naive; I believe about -50%. IOW, I take half of what they
trowel out and reverse it; the other half I just dump. :~)

[Brien K. Meehan]

Isn't it standard procedure to foam the tarmac too?

[Bob Moore]

"Brien K. Meehan" > wrote

> Isn't it standard procedure to foam the tarmac too?

Ha-Ha!

Bob Moore

[Newps]

Brien K. Meehan wrote:

> Isn't it standard procedure to foam the tarmac too?

Since there is absolutely no context to your post the answer is no.

[Kev]

Bucky wrote:
> I was listening to KABC radio yesterday during the JetBlue incident.
> [... reporter talking to fire official...]
> F: No, we are not foaming the runway.
> R: Hmm, I must have watched too many Bruce Willis movies.

Unfortunately, you can't blame the reporter too much. He's right about
the movies and airplanes. Let's see, according to the movies:

* you must foam the runway
* shooting a gun in the airplane blows a giant hole
* the bullet hole sucks everything out... for hours
* depressurization causes an airplane to dive out of control
* a failed engine makes a GA airplane dive out of control
* when diving out of control, both pilots must pull back on the yoke
* etc

It's also sad how so many of those Jet Blue passengers were sure they
were going to die... because of that canted front gear. And how the AP
reported breathlessly that the pilot did something unusual when he
"balanced the plane on its rear wheels while landing". I guess they
never noticed that's the way airplanes usually land.

Ah well.
Kev

[Ron Natalie]

Kev wrote:

> * a failed engine makes a GA airplane dive out of control
> * when diving out of control, both pilots must pull back on the yoke
> * etc
When in that uncontrollasble dive, you get prop overspeed noises
even if the plane is turbine powered.

[John Gaquin]

"Kev" > wrote in message
>
> ..... And how the AP
> reported breathlessly that the pilot did something unusual when he
> "balanced the plane on its rear wheels while landing". I guess they
> never noticed that's the way airplanes usually land.

Knowledge and accuracy have naught to do with it. You should know that by
now. All these talking-head news weasels are constantly searching for that
one big story that will propel them to national prominence. Any abnormality
in aviation has them hoping and praying for an exclusive stand-up with a
thirty second clear shot of a Sioux City redux. Absent that, they will
desperately try to convince the public that it *almost* happened -- We were
Just!!! That!!! Close!!! to disaster!!!, and we caught it for you LIVE!!!!!.
Now back to you, Randy! Heather Clueless- [designer top open to the second
button, hair cutely and fashionably tousled] KQXX Disaster-Cam News!!
L-A-X!

[[email protected]]

Bucky wrote:
> R: OK, I know I'm testing your patience here. One last time for our
> listeners: you are NOT foaming the runway?
> F: No, we are not foaming the runway.
> R: Hmm, I must have watched too many Bruce Willis movies.

delurk and hallo

Here's a nice foamy runway: http://www.bywat.co.uk/manston.html . But I
see from

www.boeing.com/assocproducts/aircompat/faqs/runwayfoamrequirements.pdf

that this sort of thing is no longer fashionable and anyway was mostly
military.

But I expect you know all this. I'm posting because I did have some
memory of a more recent civil airliner landing on a foamed runway...
hmm, well, this isn't it but Wikipedia mentions a Vietnam Airlines
incident: "29 October 2004: The nose gear of an Airbus A321 failed to
deploy prior to landing at Hanoi. The aircraft declared an emergency
and landed without the nose gear on a runway lined with foam." Dunno if
there is any accuracy to this.

Anyway.

What's my justification for posting anything here? Not much: I'm not a
pilot (though my father was; RAF in the war (Liberators in Coastal
Command) and airlines after (Hermes to 707)).

And as a minor matter of passing historical interest, our guest young
bachelor at Christmas for some years in the early 60s was Ian Whittle
(son of Sir Frank), a flying colleague of my father's in Kuwait
Airways, and who spoke at his funeral last year. They first flew
together on a DC-3 out of Beirut in 1958. Prior to that, Ian had flown
Vampires with the RAF, iirc, and he ended his career on 747s for Cathay
Pacific.

And he gave me a pogo stick one Christmas.

Cheers!
relurk
--
Nick