'Twas the Night Before Christmas

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Postby ZK-Brock » Sun Dec 24, 2006 1:26 pm

Twas the night before Christmas, and out on the ramp,
Not an airplane was stirring, not even a Champ.
The aircraft were fastened to tiedowns with care,
In hopes that come morning, they all would be there.
The fuel trucks were nestled, all snug in their spots,
With gusts from two-forty at 39 knots.
I slumped at the fuel desk, now finally caught up,
And settled down comfortably, resting my butt.
When the radio lit up with noise and with chatter,
I turned up the scanner to see what was the matter.
A voice clearly heard over static and snow,
Called for clearance to land at the airport below.
He barked his transmission so lively and quick,
I'd have sworn that the call sign he used was "St. Nick".
I ran to the panel to turn up the lights,
The better to welcome this magical flight.
He called his position, no room for denial,
"St. Nicholas One, turnin' left onto final."
And what to my wondering eyes should appear,
But a Rutan-built sleigh, with eight Rotax Reindeer!
With vectors to final, down the glideslope he came,
As he passed all fixes, he called them by name:
"Now Ringo! Now Tolga! Now Trini and Bacun!
On Comet! On Cupid!" What pills was he takin'?
While controllers were sittin', and scratchin' their head,
They phoned to my office, and I heard it with dread,
The message they left was both urgent and dour:
"When Santa pulls in, have him please call the tower."
He landed like silk, with the sled runners sparking,
Then I heard "Left at Charlie," and "Taxi to parking."
He slowed to a taxi, turned off of three-oh
And stopped on the ramp with a "Ho, ho-ho-ho..."
He stepped out of the sleigh, but before he could talk,
I ran out to meet him with my best set of chocks.
His red helmet and goggles were covered with frost
And his beard was all blackened from Reindeer exhaust.
His breath smelled like peppermint, gone slightly stale,
And he puffed on a pipe, but he didn't inhale.
His cheeks were all rosy and jiggled like jelly,
His boots were as black as a cropduster's belly.
He was chubby and plump, in his suit of bright red,
And he asked me to "fill it, with hundred low-lead."
He came dashing in from the snow-covered pump,
I knew he was anxious for drainin' the sump.
I spoke not a word, but went straight to my work,
And I filled up the sleigh, but I spilled like a jerk.
He came out of the restroom, and sighed in relief,
Then he picked up a phone for a Flight Service brief.
And I thought as he silently scribed in his log,
These reindeer could land in an eighth-mile fog.
He completed his pre-flight, from the front to the rear,
Then he put on his headset, and I heard him yell, "Clear!"
And laying a finger on his push-to-talk,
He called up the tower for clearance and squawk.
"Take taxiway Charlie, the southbound direction,
Turn right three-two-zero at pilot's discretion"
He sped down the runway, the best of the best,
"Your traffic's a Grumman, inbound from the west."
Then I heard him proclaim, as he climbed thru the night,
"Merry Christmas to all! I have traffic in sight."

Copied from PPRuNE. Merry Christmas everyone. :cheers: :cheers:
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Postby JonARNZ » Sun Dec 24, 2006 2:20 pm

:clap: well done, very clever. Merry Christmas!! :thumbup:
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Postby brownbox » Sun Dec 24, 2006 2:59 pm

:clap: :clap: :clap:
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Postby ardypilot » Sun Dec 24, 2006 4:48 pm

Thanks for posting, I have seen that before somewhere, but it's still a good read :D

"When Santa pulls in, have him please call the tower."

That got me thinking, do ATC wish pilots a Merry Christmas when they land on the 25th? (Towerguy?)

I can just imagne this, New Zealand 104, taxi to gate 7 via taxiway delta, Merry Christmas and welcome to Wellington :lol:
Last edited by ardypilot on Sun Dec 24, 2006 4:48 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Postby Kelburn » Sun Dec 24, 2006 4:51 pm

Considering your title: T'was the night before christmas.
Well to night for me it's : T'was the nigt before I go to Melbourne

I'm so excited, this is only my second time oversee's. :clap: :clap: :clap:
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Isn't it evident?? Boeing are my favourite aircraft.

P.S. that's is my real birthday but I wish to keep my real age secret to keep you all pondering.
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Postby squirrel350 » Sun Dec 24, 2006 7:44 pm

what a crack up absolutely well thought of thanks for sharing it.
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Postby ZK-Brock » Mon Dec 25, 2006 8:08 am

Trolly wrote: Thanks for posting, I have seen that before somewhere, but it's still a good read :D

"When Santa pulls in, have him please call the tower."

That got me thinking, do ATC wish pilots a Merry Christmas when they land on the 25th? (Towerguy?)

I can just imagne this, New Zealand 104, taxi to gate 7 via taxiway delta, Merry Christmas and welcome to Wellington :lol:

I've heard a few blessings on the Nelson Tower today. However the best was on Nelsaon Delivery last night (123.3). Across came a recorded message of an american santa saying "ho ho ho merry chirstmas everyone". The controller just acknowledged the transmission with a click of the PTT, and moved on to the next saab waiting for clearance :lol: :lol:
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Postby towerguy » Mon Dec 25, 2006 11:18 am

yes there is a bit of to and fro - merry xmas , have a good flight and all the rest of it - more so when its quiet otherwise just get the calls done , but usually pretty relaxed - just like most places it depends who is on and how good a day they are having :D
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Postby ardypilot » Tue Dec 26, 2006 10:54 am

Thats interesting, I noticed so much air traffic yesterday. I guess the aviation industry is one that never stops running, not even on Christmas day!
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Postby ZK-Brock » Tue Dec 26, 2006 12:29 pm

Really Trolly? In Nelson I noticed quite the opposite, only a few Saabs and Dashes every few hours, not much happening at all. Perhapas you noticed more because people were travelling internationally today instead of on domestic routes?
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Postby ardypilot » Tue Dec 26, 2006 2:44 pm

Yea, lots of props in the morning, helicopters all day long, and the heavies were flying over my house for 23L at NZAA as usual.
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Postby ZK-Brock » Tue Dec 26, 2006 3:08 pm

Xmas flying would be cool, once I've got my Private ticket I'll try and take some people flying on Xmas day. B)
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