Runway Air Traffic Control
You here for the tower job? Good, come in, grab a seat. There were no other applicants so
*radio starts crackling*
CLIPPER 1 [BOEING 707-320B, PAN AMERICAN WORLD AIRWAYS, OUTBOUND TO SAN FRANCISCO]: Idlewild Tower, Clipper 1, holding short of four left, ready for departure.
TOWER [IDLEWILD-KENNEDY AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL, NEW YORK CITY]: Clipper 1, cleared for takeoff, four left.
CLIPPER 1: Cleared for takeoff four left, Clipper 1. Good night, Tower.
That was a Jet Clipper. I came to this field in 1948. Before that I was at the Marine Air Terminal, where the Clippers came in on the water.
SPEEDBIRD 535 [VICKERS VC10, BRITISH OVERSEAS AIRWAYS CORPORATION, INBOUND FROM LONDON]: Tower, Speedbird 535. We have been in your pattern for some time.
TOWER: Speedbird, continue holding. You are number four.
BRANIFF 6 [BOEING 707-227, BRANIFF INTERNATIONAL AIRWAYS, INBOUND FROM DALLAS]: Evening, Tower. Braniff 6. No hurry on our end. The boys in back have found the bar.
TOWER: Braniff, continue holding. You are number five.
BRANIFF 6: Suits us fine, Tower. Y'all take your time.
SWISSAIR 110 [DOUGLAS DC-8, INBOUND FROM ZURICH]: Tower, Swissair 110. We wish it recorded that we arrived on time.
TOWER: Recorded, Swissair. Cleared to land four right.
MOHAWK 10 [CONVAIR 440 METROPOLITAN, MOHAWK AIRLINES, INBOUND FROM ALBANY]: Tower, Mohawk 10. We are the small one.
TOWER: I have you, Mohawk. Two engines, propellers, north of the field. Welcome to Idlewild.
After the war the land planes came and they were gorgeous. A Lockheed Constellation, three tails, four engines you could hear from Jamaica Bay, and a navigator behind the pilots who could see the stars. A Douglas DC-6, which always wanted fuel. A Boeing 377 Stratocruiser, two decks, and a bar on the lower one.
EASTERN 11 [BOEING 727-100, EASTERN AIR LINES, INBOUND FROM BOSTON]: Tower, Eastern 11. We are a Boeing 727.
TOWER: I know what you are, Eastern. You arrived in February and you have not stopped mentioning it. Four left, Eastern. Then gate four.
EASTERN 11: There is a Constellation at gate four, Tower.
TOWER: TWA 44, you are at gate four. You are moving.
TWA 44 [LOCKHEED L-749 CONSTELLATION, TRANS WORLD AIRLINES, RESTING]: Tower, TWA 44. We are not moving. Good evening.
TOWER: TWA, you have a Boeing behind you.
TWA 44: We crossed the Atlantic in 1946, Tower. We have earned gate four.
NATIONAL 7 [DOUGLAS DC-8, NATIONAL AIRLINES, OUTBOUND TO MIAMI]: Tower, National 7, we would like to depart.
TOWER: Everyone would like to depart, National. Hold short of four right.
NATIONAL 7: Tower, we have a hundred and twenty people on board who want to be in Miami.
AIR FORCE [IDENTIFICATION WITHHELD]: Tower.
TOWER: Go ahead, Air Force.
AIR FORCE: We are on your field. We will not say where. We require a service. We will not say which.
FLYING TIGER 49 [CANADAIR CL-44, FLYING TIGER LINE, CARGO]: Tower, Flying Tiger 49, we have stopped.
TOWER: Flying Tiger, you are on taxiway Bravo. Taxiway Bravo is not a place to stop.
FLYING TIGER 49: We are aware of where we are, Tower. We are carrying crates. The crates have shifted. We are considering the crates.
TOWER: Consider them at the cargo ramp, Flying Tiger.
NORTHWEST 71 [BOEING 720B, NORTHWEST ORIENT AIRLINES, INBOUND FROM CHICAGO]: Tower, Northwest 71, we would like a gate.
TOWER: Speedbird, cleared to land, four right.
SPEEDBIRD 535: Cleared four right, Speedbird 535. We shall try not to enjoy it.
TOWER: Northwest, gate nine.
NORTHWEST 71: Tower, there is a Caravelle at nine.
TOWER: There is nothing at nine, Northwest.
CARAVELLE 31 [SUD AVIATION CARAVELLE, DREAMING ABOUT PARIS]: Tour, ici Caravelle, poste neuf. Bonsoir.
Seattle-Tacoma International Airport
Aspen-Pitkin County Airport, Sardy Field
Washington National Airport
Paris-Orly Airport
Aeropuerto Internacional de Ciudad Juárez
Aeroporto Internacional do Galeão, Rio de Janeiro
Welcome to 1964.
