Cold, isn't it?

[garstonboy]

We may think it's cold, but it's always colder somewhere else:



The apron at Sheremetyevo Terminal 1 area in January 1990. It was about -25C!

[ronturner]

Wow. .... and it guess it was more or less just another day at the office for those guys.

[Beemer]

Not some thing you need to worry about where you live, Ron, or is it?

[garstonboy]

Since Christmas is a time for storytelling, I shall tell something of the background story to the photo. We arrived quite late (from Warsaw I think) and there was no hangarage space available, so we had to park in the cargo area. At that time, apart from the handling agent, there was no facility to handle executive jets, and they never knew quite what to do with us.

The next morning we arrived to find the aircraft covered in snow and ice. We usually had a Russian hostie available, who would help with getting things organised, but on this occasion, there was no-one available, so as the only Russian speaker, yours truly was despatched to go and organise de-icing, fuel and catering. The de-icing vehicle, when it appeared, was one of those trucks closely resembling the ones that you see in Red Square on May Day, carrying missiles. Basically, it was a massive tanker. No sophisticated spraying, just something closely resembling a fire hose, which sprayed the fluid all over the aircraft in huge quantities. Then the fuel bowser arrived, and while the captain supervised refuelling, I went off to order the catering. Thankfully, they had a McDonald's style picture menu, which made things a lot easier.

With all the supplies on board, we checked the flight plan and were given permission (much stamping of papers) to leave. There was now a huge puddle around the aircraft, and we had put a thick mat by the door to stop the snow and ice from being carried into the cabin on our boots. I was sitting on the jump seat, and we called for taxi clearance. We were heading for southern Russia where the weather would be much warmer. We were told to wait for the 'Follow Me' vehicle (a Lada Neva), which arrived about five minutes later. It was impossible to tell where the taxiway was, because the lights were covered by snow. We set off behind the vehicle down the apron towards the taxiway. Having done this several times before in decent weather, I had a fairly good idea where the main taxiway was. Suddenly, the 'Follow Me' went off quickly to the right and the captain was about to follow him. His lights were still lit, but I said "Stop." I realised he had done his bit, we were now on the main taxiway and he was going off somewhere else. We called the tower, and they confirmed this, so we set off down what we believed was the taxiway, which was now a lot more discernable.

The remainder of the flight was uneventful, but an unintended consequence of the de-icing was that the stitching that held the soles of my boots onto the uppers started to become detached the following day. We reckoned it was the de-icing fluid, which had some property that attacked the stitching At least it didn't seem to strip the paint from the aircraft. Not wishing to go through all that again, we returned home via Istanbul...

[ronturner]

No Beemer, not something I have to worry about very cold just recently ( -3) which is very abnormal for us.
The first Christmas we were here, 2005, we awoke to a light covering of snow, but brilliant blue sky. We got the '172 out of the hangar and taxied out leaving a trail in the snow; same on the runway. We enjoyed a fabulous flight over the whole of the south Vendéé and got some great photos. We had the sky to ourselves. All the controlled airspace was downgraded that day with no SIV and no zone controls. Absolutely no chit chat.

After getting back home we left the Cessna out to dry off and started our aperitifs and Christmas lunch. It was the first time we ever had a Christmas alone, just the two of us, but we reflected on just how lucky we were.

I am taking this opportunity to wish everybody who contributes to or visits this site and very happy Christmas and a good 2023. Especially, a big thank you to the photographers.


Ron